New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1894-09-23

| No., ,,r..t,ea,ed the matter the Seoul garrison
| MO- diy,dod into three battalions and was armed
with rifles Of a great variety OF pattern. Doubt
,oss the numbers Of the Corean troops are
largely increased now that a war mas tah'''
place bu. II Is doubtful II there has been h"."
/ improyernent in their efficiency. MY Curzoh w
sor,ho, tho native officers as beneath contempt
and adds: "As for the purely nauVe regiments
,ho, arc not a standing army, but a standing
| ioke: while in Europe the cavalry would WIN
difficulty secure an engagement as supers IN the
nanto,,in1e of a second-rate provincial stage.
once every twenty or thirty years re'ie" "a
Tho ontro force OF the nation Is held on n paraoe
| ccound outside the city, the experiment being 50
coslv that il canrfot be frequently repea'cu'
AZ spectacle 1t Is more uniqu" even IMAM
| tho royal PROCESSION One such review was heid
| during The past summer. II was announced 10
begin AT 9 a. n but from that hour Till p M
were the 10000 spectators on the grou"u oo'''
PEELED to wait before the vanguard OF inc royal
cort6go appeared. This consisted OF 90 FEWER
than 10 600 persons. In the midst Of whom the
King and Crown Prince rode on horseback Inc
,roons 1000 10 5000 in number, then marched
mast the saluting point. saluting by oowins the"
bodies TO the ground so unsatisfactory no"
ever. was the display held to have been 'na'
| there was great nuttering In the military ooNe-
! sofe
deyraded from his post. Physically. however
the Corean. ought TO furnish good raw ina'er'a'
for soldiers. The men are stalwart, well-built'
| and hear themselves with a manly air, thongn'
as Mr.. Curzon remarks. OF docne and tim'd eH-
nreseion He found them uniformly tall, robust
| and pood-looking compared with those whom ne
! calls "the diminutive ugly nimble indomitaoie
japanese" -,
The women OF the upper classes are rarely Visi-
BILE 10 foreign eyes. but those OF humber station
NAV be seen by hundreds engaged In mannoi
labor in the houses. streets and fields. and the
author thought them hard-visaged. strong limoed
and maserfu What attracts attention AT once
IS the peculiar arrangement OF their dress ny
which n short white bodice that covers the shoni-
ders leaves the breasts entirely exposed, while
vouminous petticoats very full at the hips depend
| from waist just below the armpits and all but
conceal the coarse white or brown pantaioons
below" Whether singly or in groups, standing
| still or moving about, Coreans, both men ana
| women are picturesque sight. The nrst glimpse
| Of these wh!te-robed people whose ngures II s'a-
| tionary might be mistaken at distance for
| white mileposts or tombstones. II moving. FOR
colony Of swans acquaints the traveller with a
| national type and dress that are unique dirty
people who Insist upon dressing in white Is hrst
and In winter very rigorous latitude. VIII yet IN
| sst upon wearing cotton all the year round Is
| a second A people who always wear hats. and
! have q beadpiece accommodated TO every situa-
| ton and almost every incident in life. Is third
Mr. Curzon confesses his inability TO account for
the universal use Of white cotton for the gar
ments OF Corean men. but he shrewdly suspects
that the fashion is due 10 desire to keep the
women busy. Wherever he went about the
streets OF Seoul his ears were greeted with
| mysterious tapping sound from within the closed
| shutters OF the houses. This Is the housewife
| who is at work indoors with a wooden cylinder
with which she beats beats beats her husbands
white cotton clothes in order to give them the
| peculiar gloss which masculine fashion anects
| in Corea Over their white cotton drawers. when
| terminate in a kind OF padded stocking. the men
OF the middle classes an outer tunic or
| skirt Of similar material. which is split up at the
sides and looks very much Ike a nightshlrt
| Secretaries and persons In civil employ wear
over this a similar semi-transparent garment In
black The women Of the lower orders are also
as entirely clad in white as class OF Engi'sh
| girls going TO a confirmation service: but In the
| upper classes a gown OF green or crimson or pur-
| pie instead Of hanging from the shoulders Is
drawn up over the head. with the sleeves hang
Ing down In two long lappets behind, ana Is
held closely together in front. admitting only
fugitive glimpse Of black eyes behind"
While the people show little trace OF what may
| be called religious feeling. they are careful 10
propitate evil spirits resort frequently TO female
| sorceresses and soothsayers and carefully OBJ
serve the precautions Of a minute demonolo8y
Confucianism and Buddhism similar to that
OF China prevail among the upper classes The
reverence OF the people is reserved for the King
ic ohcn her
In fact however the hedge OF royal dignity has
been so broken down OF late years that the King
il now seen by foreigners at least. almost in the
same light as his subjects. Mr.. Curzon fourfi
| Ii Iisi the reignng king a man OF small stat
ure and salow complexion. with hair drawn
tightly up from the forehead beneath the Corean
skull cap very slight eyebrows small, vivacious
black eyes, teeth dscolored from chewing the
| betel and a scanty black mustache and tuft be-
low the chin Upon the royal brow a
double-tierced violet headpiece. His robe was OF
scarlet figured silk-the royal color-with panels
OF gold embroidery upon the shoulders and breast
and gold-studded projecting belt As the Kins
is In theory divine, his person Is sacred and In
violate The usual method of reforming the Gov
eminent in the past has been for the new party
to assassinate the old ministry and then force the
monarch to approve the act. In every case the
first object OF conspiracy is to secure the per-
son of the King. II Is not his life but his seal
and signature which are sought. The present
ruler. like his subjects. Is amiabe rather than
bold or determined. To his lack Of determination
is due perhaps not only the growth Of foreign in
nuence but the conflict Of which Corea is now the
| scene for 10 his weakness and ndecision as we'll
as to that Of China may be attributed the ex-
traordinary diplomatic victories Of Japan which
made the present war a possibility. For three
hundred years. that Is. ever since the invasion
of Corea by the japanese conqueror. Hideyoshi,
the feeling against the Japanese has been ex-
ceedingly bitter. On every occasion Of popular
tumult japanese residents were the first to sur
fer The submission to China was due as much