Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-08-11


about thirty-tive cents; If it is filled inside
with flowers 1t may run up to forty cents
and for that price 1t will be delivered in
your room, wherever you may be living
while the messengers who bring 1t will stand
around in open-mouthed admiration, staring
at the millionaire who can afford % spend
such fabulous sum in simple luxury. But
there Is an unfortunate side to this "fete
des heurs," the charming products of lavish
nature are rich and gorgeous in color, but
are as odOrles5 as their paper counte, parts
Not grain of perfume can be coaxed from
their velvety petals, and not a change in
the air Of the closest room is made by the
presence of a carload of these Corean
MOVERS. 1t is a genuine disappointment to
ma re- sc. so fragrant with us here, to be
tnere as though Of wax, and to wander
ing ign t Sorean neids without once enjoy
ing the fresh country smell of new grass
ana thousand flowers that greet US upon
every side in America.
On Nothing n Year.
The fruit Is Of the same deceptive nature
luscious appearing. temptingly rounded
pear, into which ones teeth sink with an
ticfpation Of unlimited satisfaction and
one closes his eyes that he may better en-
joy his feast, tastes like a mass of dough
and has no more savory temperament than
Is possessed by pound of GLACIERS putty
The fruit Is watery, and that comes from
the continued rainy season during the sum
mer but why its taste is washed out and
1t should preserve so enticing an exterior
is difficult to understand. Labor is so cheap
in Corea that the natives may be said to
nave solved the problem of how to live on
nothing year. For example, in a jewell
er's shop the proprietor will weigh an elab-
orately chased bracelet, or flagree bouquet
holder or jewel box, and will sell it for 90
cents over and above the actual value of the
metal from which it Is made, the 50 cents
representing the cost of expert labor in
making the article, and also the profit of
the dealer in seliirg it. A worker in gold
or silver finds 1t possible to support him
self and possibly his family on wages of 5
cents per day. Superintendents of the or
binary workman often draw as much as
10 cents daily, and are correspondngly
dignified and extravaganza.
Alter this statement the reader will be
prepared for the annount ement that the
pawnbrokering trade is hourishing one,
and the tough young man who assemblies
at the street corners is quite fortunate IL
he can steal or borrow handful of ''kash,"
equivalent in value to one cent, each day
and give rein to his unholy passion for
genseng, their substitute for whisky, and
which tonic is much more powerful
than Peruvian bark.
The silk merchants have a large stock of
attractive goods that would be tempta-
ton to any woman. The SofteSt, gauZieSt.
material of the queerest patterns patterns
never met in these commonplace civilized
nations of ours, sells for 70 cents per yard: ;
XIII gloves reaching 10 the elDON LOT OU
cents. Dressmakers and tailors charge so
little over the cost of the material that
conscientious customer feels quams about
accepting the sacrifice. for it certainly APP
pears to be a sacrifice. And yet despite
this marvellous cheapness there are numer-
Gus secondhand clothing stores where an
entire OUTFIT may be almost walked away
with free OF charge. SO low priced is it,
-f Cook and Candy shops.
Cook shops are mingled in with those of
fering less gross merchandise, and there is
d method employed for displaying the wares
that differs somewhat from ours. No meat
or made-up dishes are placed upon the
tables or hung from the walls but rows of
hC oks On the ceiling SUPPORT all there is to
be had in the place Strings of sausa ses
are festoOned, sucking piss hang by the
nose, fowl of various kinds, second joints
OF dogs, and a great selection of eatables
unknoNa TO us are thus en- evidence. The
customer inspects the outfit qnd points out
that which he thinks best suited TO mis-
taste, and then 1t is removed from hook
by means of 4 long pole. This plan has the
advantage of preventing the free handling
of joints that is not an unfamiliar sight in
New York markets. There are candy stores
very much like our own, where every vari-
ETY. of sweet morsels in that line are dis
pensed, and where the Corean children con-
gfegate TO yearft or purchase. according TO
their means On the side streets are opium
dens frequented by the great majority of
native residents of the city, and at any
hour day or night, consumptive-look in z
victims of this terrible habit can be seen
lOunging about the doors of these places
waiting for an invitation TO smoke.
\ curious feature Of Seoul life is the letter
writer, who may be seen sitting in a small
nook or hole in the wall awaiting his
clients. AS there is practically educa-
ton in the country there are only a very
few of the people able to read or write and
SO recourse to these public scribes is ne
cessity. 1t would seem from this that the
profession must be a profitable one, but It
is not. because the amount charged for the
service is so exceedingly small: the cost of
a letter that may mean marriage or heart
ache, or large prospective order in gen.
seng, is only half a cent.
Then They Gamble.
1t does not appear reasonable, with the
low ebb of financial matters in this annex
to the flowery kingdom, that gambling
should have got its grim grip upon the
more or less. happy residents But such is
the case, nevertheless, and gambling is uni
versal; the children gamble, so do the
women. and of course the men. To such an
extent is this practice carried that 1t Is not
an unusual Incident when n customer OBJ
jects to the price of an article he wishes to
purchase for the merchant to propose that
they throw dice for 1t, and il he wins he
gets his first figure, whereas if the GUS
toner wins he secures the article for moth
iLG.
The tea gardens or tea houses are ex-
quisite little places, often dropped in among
uninviting surroundings, but embelllshed
with a delicacy of architectural beauty that
IL simply enhancing. Slender columns,
with all sorts of grotesque characters upon
them, curiousy shaped tables, and the
frailest sort of chairs, china so thin as to be
almost transparent, and tea that has all
the aroma the flowers lack, and all the
palate-uckling attributes generally accred-
tied to the nectar of the gods. These tea
houses constitute the only form of amuse-
n.ent granted the most exalted class of
CCrean natives Their they cougregate, Cos
sip and drink tea, but always in the pres
ence of n chaperone, for no Corean lady
thinks of venturing upon the street unat-
tended.
And finally, the name of the city is not
Seoul Seoul is the equivalent of the En-
giish word meaning metropolis, and signifies
the principal city. In reality the name of
this collection of houses is Har-lang.
A Mistake All Around.
From Life.
~,