Waterbury evening Democrat., 1894-12-26

ing the space which tho life bestowed titles
OF tho deceased would occupy. Next came
fyc palanquins mado of q light native
wood and moro or less artistically hand
painted, in which were stored the most
priced possessions of the dead queen and
which were to be deposited In her tomb.
Then followed a large litter containing
food for the deceased during her voyage
across the misty border and Is more struc-
lures In the form of ordinary chairs of To-
comotion, upon which were painted the
Liany and varied titles of tho dead woman.
The chair lately used by the queen was
jealousy escorted by a body of guards
from tho palace, who were dressed In o
uniform Of white, topped OF with curious
ly shaped shaggy hats, also of snowy
whiteness. Besides the ordinary attend
ants each of the preceding groups was
escorted by officials Of the mandarin class,
clad In either court dress or mourning, a.
their particular duty or relationship d.
rected and exacted. The palace musicians
followed, clad IN their peculiar crimson
and yellowish robes, not playing the wild
sounding, hair raising melodies of every
day, but In grim, significant silence they
marched After them were zoo men from
the provincial militia, bearing little flags,
which, waving gently In the breeze, lent
very picturesque air TO that section of
the procession. Next was noticed q gi-
gantio red umbrella insignia of rank)
and rather smaller one of black silk,
each guarded by body Of mandarins,
while Immediately after came q collection
of gilt and wooden emblems representing
the gifts which were supposed to be show
cred on the deceased after her arrival in
heaven. The chair in which the soul of
the dead queen was carried was borne by
some 10 coolies and was the most striking
feature in the great show. In shape IL
resembled q miniature temple richly orna-
mentcd in gaudy paneling and draped
with green and black silk in alternate
squares.
To Brighten Evil Spirits
Four men seated in carts drawn by cool
les preceded this, wearing hideous black
masks, who grinncd. and glared on the
crowd as they passed. Their mission was
to scare away any evil spirits that may
have been lurking in the neighbOrhood of
the royal soul, but considering that n
sham bier had been sent over the road
previously for the purpose of deceiving
them it may be considered that they were
n supcrfluity. After this marched tho ex-
regent, whose high rank and many yir-
tues werc heralded abroad. Preceding his
white covered chair was his white silk
umbrella, held aloft, and Immediately in
his rear came two huge modelled horses
drawn in carts, and behind them again
came four real horses, with all the trap
pings OF state and war that could be
crowded on them. Two OF these again
were white and two piebald. At intervals
along tho whole line of the procession
were carried banners of tho guilds of the
capital. Many of them were of the most
beautiful workmanship. They varied in
shape rs in shade, but the whole made q
living picture of rich cOloring and indie
scribablc beauty. while tho picturesque
garb Of tho bearers added n charm to the
strange scene.
The great coffin in which lay tho body
Of tho dead queen was over feet long
and "A broad and most artistically orna-
mcntcd. Ii rested on a framework con-
structed of massive beams Is feet long
and intcrsccted by heavy rafters. Tho
weight of the whole may DO imagined
from tho fact that 500 men were required
to partly carry and partly drag the I'M
wieldy thing along. Tho tablet chair Of
the deceased followed and was almost rs
heavy. IL was built in palanquin shape,
and accompanying IL were n host of bell
ringers. On the tablets were written all
the virtues the deceased had displayed. as
was also her family history. Toward the
end of tho cOrtege came groups of manda-
rims, palace guards, exccutioncrs armed
with mimic swords and finally three grand
councillors of state, accompanied by their
anu somewhat rdpniellkc
company Of soldiers. The procession,
though supposed to he one of dignified
and sorrowful mourning. was turned into
n merry holiday.
Governmental Examinations.
The Land Of the Morning Calm has
SIvil service examinations. The cxamina-
tion yard Is situated in some quiet corner
of the city. There are n lot Of narrow
streets In the yard, ON either side of which
arS the competitors busy answering ques-
lions. composing poems or writing essays.
The seats run parallel with the street and
touch the wall Some sit, others squat
like the prUvcrhiaI Turk, others lie at full
length upon their stumachs, and still 9th
ers sprawl out on ono side so rs to leave
an arm free to use the pen. Each has In
front of him large sheet of heavy paper,
n Chinese brush. inkstonc and cake Of
ink paper Of note or commentaries Of
some sort and a goOdly book, which an
swers the purpose of n lexicon, a thesaurus.
n rhyming dictionary and n cyclopedia-
1t would MI an octave volume nf about
400 pages and gives general idea OF the
extent Of Korean knowledge and culture.
Everything that they do i prescribed by
the rules Of the examination, which they
must know by heart, tho number of words
to answer, the number of feet and verses
to q poem, the number of characters and
pages to an essay, the size of the letter
ing. The alignment, punctuation and
oven the way Of handing in the papers are
all matters of almost military discipline
Pcddlcrs stroll through, carrying eatables,
confectionery. drinkahlcs and tobacco It
Is said that smart hut INSCRIPTIONS stu
dents frequently have hired cmissary
disguised rs a fruit dealer to take out
~.