was also
necessary to hire body-servants and several ponies to carry luggage, and
as each pony must have a _mapu_, or groom, it made quite a procession
when the party started out of Seoul on the journey to the northeast.

It was a fine day when the start was made. It was not early in the
morning, for, if there is anything a Korean hates to do, it is to make
an early start on a journey. If you had been in Yung Pak's place, you
would have gone crazy with impatience. The servants were late in
bringing around the ponies, and the process of loading them was a very
slow one.

But Yung Pak had long before learned to be patient under such
circumstances. In fact, he seemed to care little whether the start were
made in the morning or at noon. He calmly watched the servants at their
work, and, when at last all was declared ready, he gravely mounted his
pony and fell into the procession behind his father, with Wang Ken
immediately following.

A most comical sight was the cook, perched on top of his load of pans,
pots, and potatoes. As his pony trotted along with the others, it looked
as if the cook was in constant danger of a fall from his lofty seat, but
he sat as calm and unconcerned as one could imagine.

You would laugh if you should see the strings of eggs hanging across
this pony's back--yes, eggs. They were packed in bands of wheat straw,
and between each pair of eggs a straw was twisted. Thus a straw rope
enclosing twenty or more eggs, well protected, was made and thrown over
the top of the load.

Other riders had more comfortable seats, for most of the ponies carried
baggage in two wicker baskets,--one strapped upon each side,--and on top
of these was piled bedding and wadded clothing, which made a soft seat
for the rider.

The _mapus_ who accompanied the procession were dressed in short cotton
jackets, loose trousers, with sandals and cotton wrappings upon the
feet. They had to step lively to keep up with the ponies.

All the people in this company carried with them long garments made of
oiled paper. You have already learned that the Korean paper is very
tough, and when soaked with oil it forms a splendid protection against
the rain. Many of these garments had a very peculiar appearance, because
they were made of paper on which had been set copies for schoolboys to
use in learning to write.

As Yung Pak and his companions passed along the dirty streets of Seoul
toward a gate in the great wall, a curious crowd w