[Illustration:  KIM-KA-CHIM]

The subject of politics is entrusted entirely to the nobles.  It was my good fortune to get on the most friendly terms with the greatest politician in Corea, a man called Kim-Ka-Chim, of whom I give a picture, as he appeared in the horse-hair head-gear which he used to wear indoors.  He was a man of remarkable intelligence, quick-witted, and by far the best diplomatist I have ever met—­and I have met a good many.  To entrap him was impossible, however hard you might try.  For sharpness and readiness of reply, I never saw a smarter man.  He was at one time Corean Ambassador to the Mikado’s Court, and in a very short time mastered the Japanese language to perfection; while with Chinese he was as familiar as with his own tongue.  I myself noticed with what facility he picked up English words, and, having taken it into his head that he wished to learn the English language, he set about it, and was able to understand, read, and speak a little, in a very short time—­in fact, in a few days.  Not only is he talented, but also endowed with a wonderful courage and independence, which superiority over the narrow-minded officials and intriguers who, for the most part, surround the King, has often led him into scrapes with His Majesty of Cho-sen.  As he jocosely said to me, it was a marvel to him that his head was still on his shoulders.  It was too good, and some one else might wish to have it.  He was an ardent reformer and a great admirer of Western ways.  His great ambition was to visit England and America, of which he had heard a great deal.  Strangely, on the very morning which succeeded the afternoon on which I had this conversation with him I received an intimation to the effect that he had, by order of the King, and for some trivial breach of etiquette, been sent by way of punishment to one of the most distant provinces in the kingdom.

The most noteworthy point of the Corean Court etiquette is probably this, that the King is on no account allowed to touch any other metals than gold and silver; for which reason his drinking-cup is made of a solid block of gold, while other articles, again, are of silver.

The native name by which the King calls himself is Im-gun (king, sovereign).  He has a very valuable library of Chinese manuscripts and printed books in the palace compound, but those books are hardly ever opened or looked at nowadays, except by some rare student of noble rank.  Archery and falconry are occupations which are deemed far more worthy of attention by the nobility than that of worrying their heads with attempts to interpret the mysteries of antiquated Chinese characters.