The morning call., 1895-02-17

l have Just received letters from Seoul
stating that the japanese have inaugurated
their reforms, and that the Korean Gov
eminent is rapidly changing. Lines OF
railroad have been planned and the greedy
and barbarous officials are being deprived
of their offices. Salaries are to be fixed by
law and rank is, to a certain extent, TO be
done away with. The Queens family,
which embraces the worst of the nobility,
is being driven into the background and
the King is taking all matters into his own
hands. 1t is an open secret in Seoul that
for years the King has been a henpecked
husband, and l heard many stories of the
Queens Jealous disposition. His Majesty
had number of beautiful dancinggirls
who were now and then, as is the custom,
called in to dance before the court. The
King, who is rather lively man of about
40 odd, has now and then singled out one
of these. and paid her special attention,
much to the disgust of the Queen. He has
also carried on some intrigues of this kind
unknown to her Majesty, and the quarrels
between the two on this account have been
frequent. Just before l left Seoul one OF
the high officials connected with the court
was caught by the Queen carrying notes
from the King to one of his favorites, and
she at once sent him on a long mission to
Southern Korea. He. was connected with
important public works, and all of these
had TO stop on this account.
The latest news is that the King has cut
entirely loose from his wife's apron strings
and that he is now going to establish
harem in the palace, as was the custom in
Korea in the past and is the custom still in
nearly all Eastern countries. The Emperor
of China has hundreds of beautiful women
and he has the right to any of the noble
Tartar girls over Y years of age. He takes
the pick of the country between the ages
of 12,and Is, and he replenishes his stock
every three years. The King of Siam has
the most wives, perhaps, of any Asiatic
monarch, though the queen is his own
half-sister He also has the right to any
and all of the girls OF the kingdom, though
the laws provide that he cannot marry his
mother or his mother-in-law. The Empe-
ror of Japan has a number of noble ladies
inside of his palace grounds, and he has a
sort of a harem, though the japanese try
to keep the matter secret, and no gossip
concerning it ever gets into the news
papers.
The Kings intended reforms include a
number OF new laws regarding marriage,
and this in the favor of the women. One
provision is that men shall not be married
under 20 and girls under 16 Heretofore
boys could be married at IA, and | saw
boys who were under this wearing the hats
which are the badges of matrimony Girls
are now married at -, and are often en-
gagged at seven. The custom of the coun-
try is such that widows cannot marry
again. The new laws which are now pro-
posed will take away this restriction, and
all marriages, whether of maids or widows,
are to be left to the volition of the parties
concerned. They also provide that there
shall be no more buying and selling of
human beings, and fathers will not be able
to sell their daughters. The customs of
mourning are to be modified. and other
changes which tend to the leveling of the
classes are to be enacted. In the mean
time there is a decided opposition to all
reform, and a great many of the people
think the country is going straight to ruin
There is woful lack of confidence in the
japanese, and the pro-Chinese feeling is
strong.
want to tell you something about the
east coast OF Korea. This is but little
known, and most travellers have confined
their visits to the ports nearest China.
The peninsula is in the neighborhood of 200
miles wide. and in crossing it | travelled
northwest through the mountains and
came out in Broughton Bay, or the harbor
of Gensan. This is a magnificent harbor,
and it is much coveted by the Russians,
because it is open all the year round. Their
harbor on the Pacific Coast is that of Vladi-
vostok, on the lower edge of Siberia,
which | visited after leaving Korea, and of
which [ will write in my next letter. Vladi-
vostok is frozen up for about six months
in the year, and the Russians want a win
ter outlet to the sea. They are watching
Gensan, and the trans-Siberian railroad
will probably have branch running down
TO it. The Russian trading-houses have
agents at Gensan, and both the Russian
and the japanese ships stop there en- route
to Siberia. There is already thrifty Japa-
nese city there, of several thous and people,
and these are engaged in shipping and
trading. Their houses are of wood, with
heavy tiled roofs, and their town is clean
and well kept The Korean town is per-
maps IN lOS as ldlSSs UuG ~ ID d uIIJy SctIle-
ment, made up Of little one-story matched
huts. The people are poor and shiftless,
and queer, and they are like their kind all
over Korea.
The old Korea will probably soon pass
away, and the curious things of which [
have written may become a matter of his
tory. The whole of the country is so
strange that 1 have only been able to par
tally describe it. On this trip across the
country | saw all sorts of queer customs
. Our eggs, L remember, we bought by the
stick, and in Korea eggs are stacked up
. like cordwood, or, rather, kindling wood
Ten eggs are laid end to end, and they are
then wrapped about with straw, so that
they stand out straight and stiff, and look
more like club than eggs. In the stores
these sticks of eggs are piled up crosswise,
and the price is about three cents stick,
or about three-tenths of cent per egg.
Chickens are peddled about in crates or
baskets made of string and wood, and fish
are often eaten raw. l saw many black
hogs on the trip, and these were usually
tied hXr~ StrinOc ar of eli of