Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-09-15

SOIQlerS put OOWn tNe Cnd1rS, ana, accom-
panied by our pOmpous Corean Interpreters,
We walked toward the gate. Midway on
the platform we were met by one of the
high officials of the king, clad in a gorgeous
green gown, with stork of white silk en-
broidered on background of gold foot
square upon his breast. He had a similar
square of embroidery upon his back, and
as / looked at him 1t struck me that with
these embroidered birds at the same time
He had about his waist a hoop of what
seemed to be shell or horn, studded with
precious stones, and he was accompanied
by servants. who held up his arms and
sort of lifted him along the way. This was
not because he could not walk. but 1t bet
ter showed his rank and style. He bowed
low. We bowed, and after a short interval
of diplomatic taffy giving he led the way
up to the central gate of the palace and
motioned the minister to walk through the
main entrance. He then went through one
Of the side gates. and our interpreters fol-
lowed him. Dr. Allen and myself were
walking with the minister. Said the doc
tor. He seems to intend that / shall go
through the main gate too" We'll, doc
tor" said /, Il think 1 will stick to the
party and though 1 have no official rank,
I'll see how 1t feels to walk the path that
has only been trodden by the feet of kings"
l had not forgotten that 1 was an Ameri-
can prince. And SO we three representa-
tives Of the royalty of the United States
marched through this temple-like entrance.
The act In itself seems little In America,
but 1t was great thing in Corea, and
everywhere I went after that II was men,
toned in connection with my introductions
to other Coreans
The Gorgeous Prime Minister.
In our march through the city of the king
this gorgeous prime minister stalked along
In front of Us, leading us through great
courts till We came to another gate. through
the center arch of which we passed. Then
we went on through other courts walled
with palaces. rast servants clad in brown
and red, and by officials wearing all sorts
of hats and gowns. There were soldiers
everywhere, and Calling guns stood near
some OF the entrances. We passed through
street after street, walled with the buildings
In which live this king and his servants
until We came to great gate, the side door
or winch alone was open. The central door
was closed. The secretary of the home Of
nee stepped through the side gate and ex-
pected us to follow. We had gotten used
however, to the arch of honor, and we
stopped and waited for the main gate to be
opened. The secretary thereupon changed
MS mind He came back and was prac-
tlcaliy lifted by his servants to the top Of a
hill where there was a new gate, and he led
Us through this. This brought us into the
vestibule built for the foreigners. 1t was
magnificent corridor. 50 long that you could
rot see the end as you stood at the top and
looked down 1t. 1t was lighted at the top
and on both sides by beautiful Iattices of
white paper. The woodw ork was papers6
as smooth as ivory and as strong as leather.
The floor was covered with mating as fine
as the web OF a Panama hat, and so thick
that our feet sunk as softly into Ii as they
would have done had 1t been Brussels car
pet. This corridor had many landings We
descended from one to another by easy
steps, and after a walk of perhaps quar-
ter or mile, we came out of 1t into an open
nail which looked out upon the gardens of
the king. and gave a view of the new palace
in the distance.
The Audience Chamber
This room was furnished in foreign style,
and the highest officials of the king and a
number OF great mobiles of the court were
gathered within it. Each noble had his ser
want with him. Tall, broad-shouldered men.
clad in brown gowns and gorgeous hats,
stood about guards
These are known as the brown coated
kescs. They are the bodyguard of the
king. and like the famed soldiers of Peter
the Great, have been picked out for their
height and strength. Nearly every one of
them is over six feet and their long gowns
make them look like giants. In addition to
these there were servants in red caps. serv-
ar is in caps Of purple and servants with
gorgeous headdressings of blue The Off
Gals were clad in their court dresses, and
the head of each showed a top-knot shining
through its fine Corean cap of horse hair
which, with its great wings tapping out at
the sides, torms the official headdress. These
wings are oval in shape and they stand out
Ike ears, denoting that their owners are
ever listening for the commands of the
King. The gowns of these officials We're of
the finest silk, made very full. They fell
from their necks to their feet and nearly
covered the great official cloth boots which
made each man look as though he had the
gout and was nursing his feet for the &C.
casion. The gowns were of dark green en-
broidered with gold on the breast and back
and containing white storks or TIGERS ac-
COrGiDg as the nan belonged to the civil or
the military rank. Each man had a stiff
foop-like belt about him, which was fas-
tened i'll some way to his dress and sur
rounded his body just below the armrfts
These hoops were so large that they stood
about six inches out from the dress They
are emblems of rank. and you can tell the
position Of the man by the character of the
gold. jewels or precious stones with which
these hoops are decorated. Some of them
were made of a great number of small
squares fastened together by joints, and not
a few of these squares were of the purest
gold. Others were of silver. and others
were of green jade. amber and other pre-
cious stones. Each Of these officials wore a
ribbon of woven horse hair about four
inches wide about his head, and this ribbon