The Atlanta constitution. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1885-19??, 1894-09-24
PRICE FIVE CENTS

first night that the couple begin their life
together it is the groom's duty to undress
the bride, and it is etiquette that she re-
sist in every way possible. After marriage
the bride goes to the house of her hus-
bands father TO live. She no longer has
any place in her own home. and she is
bnssed by her mother-in-law. She is car
RED to her new home in a closed chair
and she changes from the prison of her
girlhood to the prison of her married life.
Hereafter she is practically the slave Of
her husband, who can treat her as he viii
ard who can divorce her with little trouble
Divorces among the higher classes are not
common, and the women are, among these
classes, fairly well treated. far as the
use OF the whip is concerned II is only
the slaves and the wives Of the tower
classes who are much punished, but If a
woman is unfaithfUl no matter what her
class. she can be taken by her husband TO
the magistrate and be punished with a
paddle.
This punishment with the paddle or the
whip is / am told, sometimes melted out to
woman servants or slaves by their mas
tiers. 1t is against the law to punish w9-
men as men; hat is. in a nude condition.
They are required, however, to take of
their clothes and put on single cotton
garment which entirely covers their body.
This is then wet 50 that il cIings 10 the
ward on the ground and whipped upon the
back of the things. / do not mean TO say
that such punishment is general. but [
was told it is according to law, and where
a master or a magistrate is cruelty inclined
you can see what a terrible weapon this
might be in his hands. The slavery Of
Corea IS by no means as bad as certain
kinds of slavery in other parts Of the
globe, and the sons of slaves are free.
The daughters of slaves are still the prop
erty Of their master. bur the law provides
that they can pay the amount which was
paid for them, and thus secure their free
dom. Slaves here bring different prices,
according TO age. muscle and beauty.
Young Girls of from fourteen to eighteen
are worth, according to their good looks.
from $50 to $61 apiece and you can get a
good hardy woman of thirty or forty for
one-third of this sum. The number II
slaves diminishes from year to year, but
fathers can sell their children, and persons
can sell themselves. The slavery which ex-
lists is a sort Of s,'rfdom, and many of the
slaves belong to the old families of the
past The worst form of slavery is thai
which is meted out 10 the families Of rebels.
by which the females are taken into the
employ of the officials and condemned 10
work for their husbands. sons or fathers
crimes. Such slaves are treated little bet
ter than beasts, and they become the con
cu5ines or drudges OF the officials, accord
ING to the whim Of the latter
Speaking Of the secIusion of Corean Ia
dies, ! saw lady 80 forth to make a call
one afternoon during my stay ia Seoul; at
least ] suppose she YVES going t. max. 70
Gait I also suppose / saw her 20 forth
As far as getting an actual glimpse Of
her, | old nothing Of the kind. The house
in which she lived was surrounded by 4
wall Of small houses devoted TO servants
quarters. These We're ranged on each side
of the gate. or stahle-like door. which
formed the entrance to the yard. and there
was another gate inside Of this. SO tnat
there was no chance to see Into the yard
She went forth in chair of about the
size and shape of small dry goods box.
swung between two long poles. The men
who bore these poles upon their shoulders
took the chair and poked il into the gate,
which it entirely filed. %he front of the
chair was then inside the yard The men
stayed outside. The woman cra!vled in and
pulled down the curtain The men then
dragged out the chair and carried her away.
l have looked into one or two Of these
chairs when they Were not in use. They
are just big enough Tor a woman weighing
about 100 pounds TO sit cross-legSad within,
and there Is TO support for the back nor
Wei Tor the feet. 81 Is in sucl boxes that
all Corean ladies 90 out calling. and an
that they ever see of the big Corean
capital is through the cracks iu the chair
CT the little glass peep holes as big around
as a red cent. which they are now introduce
ing into the closed paper windows Of their
houses. II Is only IN this way that they see
men other than their husbands ana the
man who would dare to enter another Co.
rean house without an invitation could be
severely puhlSaed, ana "a man Of the lower
classes who dares 10 look over the wall OF
q genu"manS house ta take g peep at has
wife can be- caught aud whipped bv the
man or sent To prison Ii he breaks IS
and takes hold of the women he tan IS.
paniShed. AMI if he commits a worse
crime than this of a similar nature he cam
be- killed.
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