The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1894-08-19

the average Corean chimney. AZ certain
hours Of fae morning and evening esen Of
these chEmneys wosnats forth the smoke q
the straw ~a1ca TIE people Use for the
lres Of their cooking ard The AR becomes
blue Tie dosrx - tie houses along tie
street are uzors Ike those Of q stable Or
barn tE41 TIE entrance 20 residences.
They are very rude. and II the bottom q
zach - cut . hole for Tie dog such
doors ss are cpea give no insight 70 tie
homes o. the People. and 1 Vas u seoul
Tor same tine before / knew that these
doors facing tie street were merely the
eStTznce gates 70 large compounds q
buildings. | fhoaghf that tie nob.ss
lived n these tnsEche1 huss- They are
IN reality only the quarters OF che ssFE-
ants. and tie homes OF the better classes
contain many rooms and ars N some
cases almost a. vel fitted for comfort "A.
those 81 our own. These houses along the
streets have 10 windows 10 speak o.
There are under the root little openings
about a foot soasre. These are flled With
lattice sud backed with paper They per
NIT ene light 20 come IN, but you cannot
zee through them Here and there noted
little sye-hoAe Of glass; As big around IS
red cent, pasted onto the paper. and as l
90 ibrongn the streets end now and then
hq1id black ball surrounded By the
creatn-colored battonhole which forms
the eyelids Of = Korean maiden, looking
out
an human enough 10 want 70 study
the women Of every country l visit.
found this very hard in Seoul. The girls
on the streets wear shawls wrapped around
their heads. and only an ere peeps out
through the folds. In India aud Egypt the
women are secluded. bat when they so on
f@@tr -
think they are modest enough.
he fair girls of Cairo care not that their
dresses are open a. the neck II the black
veil hang. Ger their cheeks. and the
maidens of Hlndoostan trot along with
bare legs while they pull thin white coSton
gowns around their eyes. priding them
selves upon their bracelet-covsred arms
and the anklets. which reach half way 10
their knees. These Korean girls are mere
bundles Of clothes. Their feet ia their
wadded stockings look as fat - those OF
an elephant, and their skirts and their
drawers hang IN great folds. Ilhappened
TO rub against one as | passed her on the
streets Of the city. She looked angrily AT
me out Of the tai Of her eye and led ike
deer.
As she ran noted gorgeous man clad
Ia 4 red dress and = little hat Of white
straw. which sat on the top Of his head.
y y
and he giowered iiercely upon lie. l asked
Gen. Pax who he was, and he told me be
was q servant OF the palace, and that he
did not know bat that he was related TO
the girl whom ! had insulied by touching
her. We looked st each other for some
time, and be jsbbered at Pax in Korean.
lie was dressed more gorgeously than Sol
omon In his glory. He looked rs though
he came out Of a bandbox- he was, how
ever. only one of thousand strange
characters that you may see any day on
the streets of Seoul. There are no stranger
people on the face of the globe. A
masquerade Of the nations could not fur
nssh more strange costumes, and in going
through Seoul you rub your eyes again
and again TO lind whether you are dream
ing or waking. The kingdom Of Korea IS
made up Of many classes OF people, and
each has its costume. There are hundreds
of officials connected with the palace. each
Of whom wears = different dress.
The mobiles strut about In all sorts of
gowns, with their retainers in all sorts of
liyeries, and you are all the while appar-
emily looking into q great kaleidoscope of
Acknowledged humanity which changes in
colors and costumes ut every turn of the
barrel. There are different costumes for
all positions in life and every man wears
a dozen different kinds Of dress during a
year. If he goes to a wedding he has his
own OutUtr anu II ne goes 70 ms TcAatiFe
funeral he must put on the GARD of the
mourner. Death gives more work TO the
tailors than weddings. and the mourners
OF Korea wear long yellow gowns. with
hats a. big as umbrellas above them.
You can tell something about the
position Of a man by the size of his sleeve
and there is no place where 8 hat means
so much as in Korea. For q long
time l Toasted my eyes upon what | con-
sidsred the pretty little girls Of the
country. They were dressed in bright
gowns. They parted their hair in the
middle, and they tied the long braid
which hung down their backs with neat
little ribbons. Once or twice | smirked
and ! smiled, but could get no smiles In
return. and | know now that these little
girls were no girls at all, but merely young
boys. who, not being married. have to
wear their hair down their backs After
they are welded they will put on hats and
wrap their hair up on the tops OF their
heads in a waterfall. All the men OF
Korea wear waterfalls or topknots These
are just about as big as the list OF baby.
and they rest on the crown of the head
They wear gorgeous hats, and they are, |
believe, the best dressed men in the
world. Their customs are as queer as
their dress, and they both tit 40 closely
together that | will write of the two in
the future.
n