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Corea or Cho-sen

Corea or Cho-sen

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Chapter 1 No.1

Word Count: 4010    |    Released on: 06/12/2017

ung-sang Province-The cotton production-Body-sn

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steamer, Higo-Maru, of the Nippon Yusen Kaisha (Japan Steamship Company), which was to arrive, I think, from Vladivostock, when a

clock, we soon steamed past Battenberg Island and got away from t

rock, nor did she pretend to cut the water at the rate of twenty knots an hour. Still, taken all in all, she was a pretty good goer. Her captain was a Norwegian, and a

cabin comfortable. "Soup has got, fish has got, loast tulkey has got, plan-puddy all bulning has got. All same English countly. Dlink,

h we were to be treated by the captain, I began to feel rath

. Greathouse, formerly Consul-General for the United States at Yokohama-at which place I first had the pleasure of meeting him-who was now on his way to Corea, where he had been

od fortune of being in such good and agreeable company during a voyage which otherwise would have been extremely dull. Accordingly,

the companion-way, beaming all over, in his best silk gown and jacket, and rang th

nd raisins filled the centre of the table. There were little flags stuck in those dishes, and, indeed, everywhere. A big cake in the middle had prudently been tied to the table with a string, as the rolling moti

, with our feet on a level with our opposite companion's head; the next

dently prettier still. When you see all the plates and salt-cellars moving slowly away from you, and as slowly returnin

his countrymen followed suit during the progress of the dinner, and as number after number of the menu was gone through, so that we who remained had a capital time. Not

had an unlimited supply, kept us in fits all evening, and in fact the greater part of the night, so that when we

cast anchor, by the sight of hundreds of white spots moving slowly along the coast and on a road winding up a hill. As we drew nearer, the white spots becam

wn and fort can be plainly seen, while in the distance one may distinguish the city and castle of Tong-nai, in which the Governor resides. If I

come to meet the steamer in a boat, climbed up the rope-ladder which had

voice whispered in my ear

aid; "are you j

. It is not every day that one comes across such individuals! I went to speak to him, and I must confess that whether he had as a fact troubled the dead or not, he was none the less most courteous and polite with the living. He had, it is true, at times somewhat of a sinister look in his face; but fo

cts on the opposite shores. Fusan has been nominally in the hands of the Japanese from very ancient times, although it was only in 1876 that a treaty was concluded by which it was opened to Japanese trade. The spot on which the settlements lie is pretty, with its picturesque background of high mountains and the large number of little islands rising like green patches here and there in the bay. Maki, the largest island, directly opposite the settlement, is now used as a station for breeding horses of very small size, and it possesses good pastures on its high hills. In the history of the relations between Corea and Japan this province plays indeed a very important part, for being nearer than any other portion of the kingdom to the Japanese shores-the distance being, I believe, some 130 miles between the neare

about 1,200,000,000 lbs. In a recent report, the Commissioner of Customs at Fusan sets down the yearly consumption of cleaned cotton at about 300,000,000 lbs. The greater part of the cotton is made up into piece-goods for making garments and padding the native winter clothes. In the Kiung-sang province the pieces of cloth manufactured

o have it extorted the moment you have made it, is not encouraging to the poor Corean who has worked for it; therefore little exertion is displayed beyond what is necessary to earn, not the "daily bread," for t

s from the Commissioners' Report, a native woman can, with a roller-gin, turn out, say, nearly 3 lbs. of clean cotton from 12 lbs. of seed-cotton; while the industrious Japanese, who have brought over modern machines of the saw-gin type, can obtain 35 lbs. of clean cotton from 140 lbs. of

for fuel, while the ashes make fairly good manure. The quantity of clea

I was spreading out my napkin on my knees, I reminded the person who had

actor in that outrageous business, still he himself is said to have taken a considerable part in the criminal dealings. Remember that the account I am going to give you of the affair is on

, and begin your story," I remarked, a

umes and transparent horse-hair hats, were seen walking about, and being introduced here and there by a French bishop called Ridel. A few days later the curiosity of the foreign residents grew in intensity when the news spread that an American subject, a certain Jenkins, formerly interpreter at the U.S. Consulate, had, at his own expense, chartered a ship and hurriedly fitted out an expedition, taking under his command eight other Europeans, all of a more or less dubious character, and a suite of about

not told me what connection there was between Bishop

urope to explain the slaughter of foreigners which had taken place in his country, and also with the object of entering, if possible, into treaties with the different European monarchs-in fact to open his country to foreign t

he Han river. Among the eight Europeans of dubious character on board was a Frenchman, a Jesuit priest, who called himself Farout, but whose real name was Feron, and who played an important part in the piratical scheme, for, havin

missionary to occupy," I

ntinually, slowly steamed up the river Han to a point where it was deemed advisable to m

ir way to the tomb, where the relics lay of some royal personage supposed to have been buried there with mountains of gold and precious jewels, which relics were held in much veneration by the great Regent, the Tai-wen-kun. The impudent scheme, in a few words, was this: to take the natives by surprise, dig the body quickly out of its undergro

y natives followed the procession of armed men. The latter finally reached the desired spot, a funny little semi-spherical

had collected was getting more and more menacing. These seemed to spring out by hundreds from every side as by magic, and the body-snatchers were soon more than ten times outnumbered. No greater insult or infamous act could there be to a Corean mind than the violation of a grave. As spadeful after spadeful of earth was removed by the shaking hands of the frightened coolies, shouts, hisses, a

as bad enough for the thr

en all the strength of their men combined wa

a volley of rifle-shots. Frightened out of their lives by the murderous effects of these strange weapons, they fell back for a time, only to return by-and-by with fresh ardour to the attack. The body-snatchers, having little confidence in the courage and fidelity of the ruffian lot that composed their military escort, and

were attacked again by the angry mob, the news of their outrageous deed having spread even hitherwards, and two or three of their men were kille

that little was of such a conflicting character, that they were all acquitted. Oppert, nevertheless, was i

d one; but what part did this particular man

Oppert. Here at Fusan all the foreign residents look down on him, and his only pleasure is to come on board when a ship hap

ing and accurate details of the adventurous journey of the China, but he had alre

en constructed and afterwards abandoned, a treaty having been signed by Great Britain and China, to the effect that no fo

e Imperatrice Gulf. On account of the low tide we had to keep out at sea till very late, and it was only towards sunset that we were able to enter the inner harbour where Chemulp

1

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