Traveller.

Alexandra Herald and Central Otago Gazette, Issue 448, 17 November 1904, Page 7

Traveller.

8A COREAff ROYAL RECEPTION. ; CHOSON, tho Land of the Morning Calm, has been for ages a closed book to European travellers and merchants, till within tho last ten years, during which tho hatred of the people to all foreigners has to some extent been overcome, and the country been opened up to Western civilisation. Treaty ports have been established, and the upper classes, at least, are fast learning foreign ways. The king himself is an enlightened man, and does all he can to introduce foreign customs and appliances info the country. Unlike his Chinese suzerain, he is only too glad to see the foreign representatives, and often invites them to Court festivities. A short account of ono of these, held in honour of the king's birthday, may not be uninteresting tc English readers. It was a cold afternoon in December that wo started off in our official sedan-chairs, carried by oight bearers, for the palace. My chief was resplendent in silver-laced uniform and cocked-hat; for myself, not yet being the proud possessor of a uniform, I wore evening dress—rather an airy costume under the circumstances! After about half an hour's ride, wo reached the outer gates of the palace, where a throng of people, in white robes and black highcrowned hats, lounged about, gazing at the foreign visitors. On all sides were official. chairs, supported on long poles or covered with leopard's skin, the Corean emblem of rank. Preceded by our ' koso,' or flagbearer, we passed through the gates, and walked through several largo . courtyards rilled with soldiers, servants, andmusiciaus, the last being dressed in scarlet. At some of tho gates tho sentries presented arms in a casual sort of way; at others, they took no notice of us at all; the discipline of the Corean army being decidedly lax, so much so that tho guard at one of the inner gates was fast asleep, weighed down probably by the ponderous suit of chain-armour which he woro. At last we reached the antechamber, where we were to wait till the king was ready to receivo us, the representatives of each nation going into the audience chamber separately. Here were gathered some of the highest officials and nobles of the country —Presidents of Boards, Generals, and such-like ' great men ' — dressed in dark green robes, high hats, and belts of wood inlaid with rhinoceros' horn —the Chinese dress of the Ming dynasty. They bowed, smiled, and shook hauds most affably, setting chairs for us in an inner room, whero a concourse of brilliant uniforms denoted the presence of the foreign representatives. The Japanese were especially noticeable for a superabundance of gold laco cocked-hats out of all proportion to the size of the we.irer.J , After a while, a Court interpreter came bustling in to say that our turn had come and the king would see us; so, doffing our overcoats, we followed him out into the open air, across a courtyard and up some steps into a pavilion, the floor of which was covered with matting. On this our guide prostrated himself, and we bowed, although I as yet saw nothing to bow at. Crossing the pavilion, we went up into a dimly lighted hall, where I could just make out a personage—evidently the king—dressed in red robes, sitting cross-legged before a table, surrounded by a few courtiers. We advanced, and went through the necessary bowings and scrapings, standing quite close up to the table, which was covered by a' foreign cloth of brilliant pattern. Our interpreter, bending forward, translated the king's words to us in a subdued tone of voice. His Majesty asked after our King's health, where he had been staying lately, and other questions of a like nature. Suitable answers were returned; and after I had been presented and inspected by the king, the interview ended, and we backed out of the hall as gracefully as possible on a floor covered with uneven matting. The king struck mo as an. intelligent-looking man, with pale face and a pleasant expression, especially when he smiled , We were no.v conducted to a smaller pavilion, where the Crown Prince stood to receive us. Mentors stood on each side, to prompt him, and he.seemed to be a very nervous youth. lie was dressed in a brown robe, and.bpre no resemblance to the king, bis father.. ?After a few minutes, we with-' drew and went back to the anteroom,.there to wait till all the audiences were over. ■ In about half an hour's time we put on hats and coats and marched off in a body to an inner building in the palace, past the Examination grounds and a foreign-built clock-tower. Dinner was laid in a long room, outside which a tent of matting, raised about eight feet from the ground, had been erected. The wooden floor was covered with matting, and here the dancing was to take place after dinner. We had to wait some time till all tho preparations for dinner were completed, pacing up and down to keep ourselves warm, for it was bitterly cold outside, and the wind blew through the matting most persistently. The arrangements did not seem quite complete ; officials were in consultation; the menu—on a large roll of paper—was boing drawn up by the head-cook, a stout, com-fortable-looking person, dressed in green: servants were rushing about in all directions, placing knives and forks on the table, only to take them up next moment and run away with them. The electric light, too, was refractory, and evinced a desire to flare up suddenly and then go out, leaving the assembly in total darkness. It needed the combined efforts of two or three Presidents of Boards and the head-cook to set it going satisfactorily. Then a difficulty arose as to how wo were to bo seated, some of the foreign representatives being very particular on this point. At last all was settled, and we took our seats, Corcans and foreigners alternately, the President of the Foreign ■ Office at one end of tho table, aud the President of the Home Office at the other. The dinner was sorved in foreign style, and was good, although the quantity rather exceeded the quality of the dishes. There was a succession of pigeon, duck, chicken, pheasant, bustard, not to mention roast beef, mutton, and other joints. Puddings we had of many kinds, and fruit in abundance. .The dinner must have lasted an hour and a half, when the President rose and proposed the health of the Sovereigns of Foreign Powers, which was duly responded to by the toast of the health of the king of Corea. Cigars were then handed round, and we adjourned to the afore-mentioned tent, where a bevy of dancing girls, who had previously been flattening their noses against the windows of the dining-room, awaited us, arrayed in all tho colours of the rainbow. The wore baggy silk trousers", gathered in at the ankles; and I red, blue, and yellow, reaching to below, the knee, with long sleeves, which they waved about when dancing. Their waists were : placed immediately below the armpits, and there was no attempt at tight lacing. All had glossy black hair, drawn back from the, forehead, with huge headdresses of artificial hair and flowers—not unbecoming. They numbered about eighty in all, of ages ranging, apparently, from ten to thirty. At a given signal, the musicians, who were seated cross-legged on the floor at tho other end of the hall, struck

■up a weird, barbaric chari.t; and a band o l girls with arms outstretched advanced at a slow, measured pace,'swaying the body to the time of the music and placing their little slippered feet with a-swing on tho ground, while they chanted a monotonous •dirge, every now and then changing suddenly to a higher key. The effect was curious, and rathor pleasing. The dance consisted in moving backwards and forwards, in and out, now almost touching the ground with a graceful sweep of their long sleeves, now pirouetting on their heels. Just as this rhythmic movement was beginning to grow monotonous, tho castanets rattled, and the music and dancing ceased abruptly. By this time the clock was striking eleven, and we hurried off to our chaire, aftor having said good-bye to the President and .other officials. A slight stoppage occurred at one of the inner gates, owing co its being locked and the key having been carried off into safe-keeping for the night. The king's permission was needed to open it, as well as to obtain the key, which was at last brought, and proved to be quite a tjiant of its kind, being at least a foot long, made of solid iron. It took several men to turn it in the lock and push opon the great gates, through which wo yassed escorted by a guard' of soldiers, who volunteered their services to conduct us home, in the hope of receiving some presant next day. At last the outer gates were reached, where our chairs awaited us. Wo hurried through tho deserted streets homo to bed, well pleased.'