as attracted by the
unusual sight. This mob of men and boys were good-natured, but very
curious, and it gathered so close as to impede the progress of the
ponies. Moreover, a watchful eye had to be kept on all the luggage, lest
some over-covetous person might steal the provisions and supplies on the
ponies' backs.

Notwithstanding the slow progress made by Ki Pak's company, it took only
a short time to pass through the narrow streets and out by the great
gate, leaving behind the noisy mob of men and boys who had followed them
to the city's wall.

Once outside, upon the road which wound around and over the high hills
that surround the city, the pure country air seemed very sweet and
refreshing to Yung Pak, who knew nothing of life outside Seoul. This was
his first journey into the country, and the many strange sights drew
exclamations of surprise and wonder from him. The green waving grass and
swaying foliage of the trees were ever new sources of joy and pleasure,
and the delicate odours which the breezes bore to his sensitive nostrils
were refreshing and life-giving.

Among the strange sights which attracted Yung Pak's attention, as they
rode along through the country, were some very curious figures erected
by the roadside. These were posts, one side of which was roughly planed.
On the upper part of each of these posts was a rude carving of a hideous
human face with prominent teeth. The cheeks and teeth were slightly
coloured. A most fiendish appearance was presented by these figures,
called by the Koreans _syou-sal-mak-i_, and if looks counted for
anything, they ought well to serve their purpose,--the scaring away of
evil spirits from the village near which the figures always stood. The
mile-posts, or _fjang-seung_, along the way were often similarly
decorated.

[Illustration: "ON THE UPPER PART OF EACH OF THESE POSTS WAS A RUDE
CARVING"]

Another curiosity by the wayside which led to wonder on Yung Pak's part
was an old trunk of a tall tree. For about thirty feet from the ground
this was painted in coloured stripes very much like a barber's pole. The
top and branches of the tree had been trimmed off, and the upper end was
rudely carved in a shape representing a dragon with a forked tail. From
the head, which resembled that of an alligator, hung various cords, to
which were attached small brass bells and a wooden fish. Wang Ken told
Yung Pak that this was a monument to some famous Korean "doctor of
literature."