f the oven. On that occasion it was "made so hot" for me, that I
began to think I had made a mistake, and that I had entered a crematory
oven instead of a sleeping-room. Putting my fist through one of the paper
windows to get a little air only made matters ten times worse, for half
my body continued to undergo the roasting process, while the other half
was getting unpleasantly frozen. To this day, it has always been a marvel
to me, and an unexplainable fact that, those who use the "Kan" do not
"wake up--dead" in the morning!

The furniture of a Corean house, as I have hinted above, is neither over
plentiful nor too luxurious. In fact, at the first glance, one is almost
inclined to say that there is, so to speak, no furniture at all there.
Possibly, a tiger or a leopard-skin may be found spread on the ground in
the reception room; there may even be a rough minuscule chest of drawers
in a corner, and a small, low writing-table near it, upon which probably
rests a little jar with a flower or two in it; but rarely will you find
much more. The bedrooms usually contain chests, in which the clothing is
kept, but there is also a custom by which these are hung on pegs in a
recess in the wall. The chests are covered with white parchment studded
all over with brass nails, and further adorned with a brass lock and two
handles of the same metal. When voyaging, the Coreans use these as
trunks. Besides the rooms I have mentioned, the richer Corean has a
special room, generally kept locked up, in which the treasures of the
family are jealously safeguarded. The latter are in the shape of ancient
native pictures, rolled up like the _Kakemonos_ of Japan, painted screens
and vases of the Satsuma ware, the art of making which was taught to the
Japanese by the Coreans, although now those who were formerly masters in
the art cannot produce it. Some Coreans also possess valuable specimens
of lacquer work, both of Chinese and Japanese origin, as well as a
rougher kind of native production. None of these heirlooms are, however,
ever brought to light, and it is only on rare and very grand occasions,
such as marriages, deaths, or national rejoicings, that one or two
articles are brought into the reception-room for the day, to be again
carefully packed up and stored away at night. The idea, which prevails in
Japan, is also current here, namely, that it is bad form to make a great
show of what one possesses, and that the wealthier a man is, the less