part of the wall from one gate to another. _Apropos_ of this I once
made a Corean very angry by remarking that "really the safety of the city
could not be in dirtier hands."

CHAPTER IX

The Corean house--Doors and windows--Blinds--Rooms--The "Kan"--Roasting
alive--Furniture--Treasures--The kitchen--Dinner-set--Food--Intoxicants
--Gluttony--Capacity for food--Sleep--Modes of illumination--Autographs
--Streets--Drainage--Smell.

Let us now see what a Corean household is like. But, first, as to the
matter of house architecture. Here there is little difference to be
observed between the house of the noble and that of the peasant, except
that the former is generally cleaner-looking. The houses in Corea may be
divided into two classes--those with thatched roofs of barley-straw, and
those with roofs of tiles, stone and plaster. The latter are the best,
and are inhabited by the well-to-do classes. The outside walls are of mud
and stone, and the roof, when of tiles, is supported by a huge beam that
runs from one end of the house to the other. The corners of the roof are
usually curled up after the Chinese fashion. A stone slab runs along the
whole length of the roof, and is turned up at the two ends, over the
upper angle of the roof itself. The tiles are cemented at the two sides
of this slab, and likewise at the lower borders of the roof. The windows,
again, are rectangular and are placed directly under the roof, being in
consequence well protected from the rain.

Corean houses are never more than one storey high. The houses of
officials and rich people are enclosed by a wall of masonry, the gate of
which is surmounted by a small pagoda-like roof. In the case of the
houses of great swells, like generals and princes, it is customary to
have two and even three gates, which have to be passed through in
succession before the door of the house is reached. The outer wall
surrounding the _compound_ is seldom more than six or eight feet high,
and, curiously enough, all along the top of the wall runs a narrow roof,
the width of two tiles. This, besides being a sort of ornament, is of
practical use in protecting it from the damp.

One cannot call the Coreans great gardeners, for they seem to take
comparatively little interest in the native _flora_. The richer people
do, as a rule, have small gardens, which are nicely laid out with one or
two specimens of the flowers they esteem and care to cultivate; but
really ornamental g