The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1894-09-23

lar TO wash after her meals, and, con-
trary to the general belief, the better GLASS
of the Coreans are clearly. In washing the
teeth a great deal Of salt is used. The
mouth is filed with salt, and with the
finger or brush The teeth are rubbed until
they are perfectly pure and clean. She
washes her neck and face every morning,
and in summer she takes a bath every
afternoon or evening. Her bath tub Is a
big jar, made of burnt clay, and in the
summer her bath Is cold. A Corean lady
seldom takes a nap in the daytime. These
Corean mobiles do nothing. They are the
greatest professional loafers on the globe.
but they think it would be a lazy man who
would take a nap when the sun is up.
The winter clothes of a Corean lady are
often made Of fur and of quilted silk. A
fur gown may cost as high as a hundred
dollars, and a quilted silk gown is some
times worth SIS. If she wears cotton, she
can be dressed for s.. and a lady can get
a good summer outfit for $50. The clothes
are made SO that they have to be ripped
apart before they are washed, and this is
so with many of the Garments of the men.
Corean washing is, in fact, about the big
gest industry that Is carried on In the
country, and 1 shall speak further of it in
another place. The Corean lady seldom
does any washing herself. This is given
over to the slaves. If she is blue -blooded,
poor Inc proud, she may do SOM ironing
behind the doors of her apartments. but
she cannot be a lady and go out to wash.
The business of a Corean woman of high
rank is to keep the %ccounts to boss the
servants and to now and then pay a social
call upon her friends. Some of the women
are educated. That is, they are taught to
read and write Corean. AS a rule, how
ever, they are very ignorant.
DIFFERENT CLASSES.
There is a great difference in conditions
as regards the classes of women. A mid
dle-class woman when she meets the wife
OF a noble has TO address her in reveren-
tial tones. and the lower classes bow down
to the middle classes. The middle-ciass
women never go out Of their houses ex-
cept in chairs. and among them may be
classed the wives Of scholars or interpre-
tiers and those of doctors and of the
traders which go to Picking. 1t is the lower
classes that you see upon the street with
these green shawls upon their heads. They
do all kinds of work in the house, and,
If they are rich, they live perhaps as well
as the wives of the mobiles. The mobiles
seldom marry them, though they some
times take them as concubines. Most of
the rich men have concubines, and some
sport harenIs which might be compared
with those Of Turkey. These extra wives
are not kept in the woman's quarters,
but they have an establishment of their
own in another part of the grounds. The
only duty of the concubine is to keep clean
and good looking and to- please her mas
ter. Her daughters usually marry the
sons of concubines. and her sons get a
portion of the fathers property, though
they nave not as many rights as his legiti-
mate children. The women in Corea are
not much respected in the laws of the
country as regards inheritance. The son
gets all the property and the daughters
inherit nothing. Daughters are by no
means so welcome as sons. and a woman
who bears many girls Is considered a dis
grace to the clan.
Corean girls get most of their fun in
their childhood. They trot around with the
boys and play as they will until they are
seven years old. They wear Clothes like
their mothers. or, If they are poor, prac-
tically no clothes at all, and they can do
about as they please. After the age of
seven they are not allowed to play out
side of the walls which surround the house.
They are never seen on the streets, and
as they grow older their life becomes more
and more a secluded one. At eight or nine
they are taught the Corean characters and
how to sew, to embroider and to keep
house. They are often engaged at ten, and
are married at thirteen and fourteen. 1t is
a curious thing that they practically lose
their names after they are eleven. The
custom is just the reverse of ours. We
often call a girl baby when she is little.
The Coreans call their girls by fixed names
until they get to be eleven, after which
they are called Aga" or baby" In fact,
all the girls OF Corea over eleven are
nicknamed baby" and this name sticks
to them until they are married. Thus, an
old maid of sixty will Still be knocked
about with the title of baby" After a
woman is married she takes her husbands
name and loses her own. She is known as
her husbands wife, and she is universally
addressed and spoken OF as such. except
by her own father and family. who may
still call her baby" After she has chill
dren she is known as the mother of the
boys. For instance. Mary Jones. upon
marrying John Smith. would be called
John Smiths wife, and If she happened
to have a boy named Jim, every one in the
village or town would speak of her as lit
tie Jimmie Smiths mother.
DOMESTIC LIFE.
A woman never sees her husband before
she marries him, nor has she any part in
making the engagement. The matter is
carried on, as in China, through match
makers, and 1t Is customary for the groom
to furnish the money for the brides ward
robe. The swan is the emblem of marital
fidelity, and after the engagement has been
made the bridegroom goes in state to the
house Of the father of the bride, carrying a
white swan in his arms. There is usually a
tent with a spread table i'll it waiting for
him, and about this stand the matchmakers
and the brides father. AS he comes in. he
places the swan on the table, and bows TO
it four times and a half. He then goes to
the other side of the yard, where the bride
sits in a hall. She rises as he comes up,
and she usually has a slave on each side of
her, holding her hand, SO that her long
sleeves, as the hands meet in front Of her
lace, completely hide the face from the
groom. Then the two go through numerous
den, and the bridegroom finally goes down
on his knees and Dumping his head against
the floor in front of the bride. After this
is over the bride and groom are offered
cakes and wine. They drink out of the
same glass, and It is this drinking that
constitutes the ceremony of marriage.
There is also a marriage certificate about
as big as a small tablecloth, which is sent
RI the brides father in a ceremonial box.