ards.

Where the Coreans--and I might have said all Asiatics--excel, is in their
capacity to show contempt. They do this in the most gentleman-like manner
one can imagine. They raise the head slowly, looking at the person they
despise with a half-bored, half "I do not care a bit" look; then,
leisurely closing the eyes and opening them again, they turn the head
away with a very slight expiration from the nose.

Fear--for those, at least, who cannot control it--is to all appearance a
somewhat stronger emotion. The eyes are wide open and become staring, the
nostrils are spread wide, and the under lip hangs quivering, while the
neck and body contract, and the hands, with fingers stiffly bent, are
brought up nearly as high as the head. The yellowish skin on such
occasions generally assumes a cadaverous whitish green colour which is
pitiful to behold.

On the other hand, when pluck is shown, instead of fear, a man will draw
himself up, with his arms down and hands tightly closed, and his mouth
will assume a placid yet firm expression, the lips being firmly shut (a
thing very unusual with Coreans), and the corners tending downwards,
while a frown becomes clearly defined upon his brow.

Laughter is seldom indulged in to any very great extent among the upper
classes, who think it undignified to show in a noisy manner the pleasure
which they derive from whatever it may be. Among the lower specimens of
Corean humanity, however, sudden explosions of merriment are often
noticeable. The Corean enjoys sarcasm, probably more than anything else
in the world; and caricature delights him. I remember once drawing a
caricature of an official and showing it to a friend of his, who, in
consequence, so lost the much-coveted air of dignity, and went into such
fits, that his servants had to come to his rescue and undo his
waist-girdle. This, having occurred after a hearty meal, led to his being
seized by a violent cough, and becoming subsequently sick. Were I quite
sure of not being murdered by my readers, I would like to call it
_see_-sickness, for it was caused by--seeing a joke!

Astonishment is always expressed by a comical countenance. Let me give
you an illustration. When we anchored at Fusan in the _Higo-Maru_, many
Coreans came on board to inspect the ship; and, as I looked towards the
shore with the captain's powerful long-sight glasses, several natives
collected round me to see what I was doing. I asked one of them to look
through