The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-03-04

generally as seen from the narrow streets are dirty and uninviting. one wonders where. the men keep the long white coats of which. they seem so proud until he is informed that the wives wash and iron them. at plgnt while the lord of the household sleeps
 Speaking of the marriage, I muse, as a truthful, chronieler record that the young man whom we saw. married (they marry young in Korea and the marriages are arranged by the pHrents1 had a. pleasant face and That tho bride was modest and cBineIys Herwore a dark red, 1oose- fitting coat, wide belt and a black gauge hat of fndescriDaole shape. The girl wore a green SIX waist which just below the armpits joined a very full skirt Of red Her head was ornamented with two very large rolls of hair, which, according to custom, were borrowed for the occa- sion. We were informed that the we'd ding clothes are often rented and that even the goose which in the wedding ceremony the wife presents to the hus- band as d symbol of constancy is ob- tained in the same way. As In this case tho Christian ceremony was. used, the couple did not pledge themselves according to the native practice by saving: 'tBlack Is the hair that now crowns our heads; yet when it has be- come as white as the fibers Of the on-' ion root, we shall still' be found faithA fuI to each other" But as among the non Christian Koreans man Is allow ed to take a concubine into his nome whenever he Is able to support one the pledge would seem to be a mere Tor mality on his part.
 
 Seoul, the capital and largest city, is surrounded by a substantial wall ana entered by gates which until recently were shut at night, even though the city long ago outgrew the walls. Ihese gates remind one of the gates descrlp- ed in the Bible, and they are not lack- ing in the beggar who finds the gate n convenient place to make his plea to tba nasserby. Aside from two or three broad thoroughfares, the streets are narrow, crooked and filthy. The open sewers on either side are filled with refuse matter and reek with foul
 odors.
 There is no general educational sys-
 ten, in Korea, and the percentage of
 iuiteracy is naturally large. The mis-
 sionary schools are doing an excel Ient work and a few of the young men have been sent to China, Japan and America. During recent years there has been quite an awakening among | the young men, and they are showing | an increasing desire to learn about western civilization. So great Is this | interest that a newly organized branch of the Young Mems Christian Associa7 | tion at Seoul has a membership of | over 5O0 fOur-htths of whom are not 1 protesting Christians but are drawn to l the instltution because 1t gives them l a chance to study western problems l and methods. Mr. Wanamaker, the merchant prince of PhnadeIpnia, has just offered to supply the money nec- l essary for a permanent Y. M. c. A. l building in Seoul, and, having attended l a meeting m the present crowded guar 1 ters, I can testify that a new hall is l badly needed
 The Chinese characters are used in l writing, but the Koreans have a spok- l en language which is quite different. l There is no extensive literature that can be called Korean, although Dr. 1 Allen, for many years American min | ister at Seoul. has published in a vol