, having had my shoes put on and laced by one of his pages, I finally
took my leave of him.

A very curious episode, the direct consequence of my having portrayed
these Princes, occurred some days afterwards. I was walking in the
grounds of Mr. Greathouse's residence, when I perceived a number of
coolies, headed by two soldiers and a sort of _Maggiordomo_, coming
towards the house. They were carrying several baskets, while the
_Maggiordomo_ himself gracefully held a note between two fingers. As soon
as they saw me, the _Maggiordomo_ made a grand bow, and, delivering the
letter into my hands, said that it came from Prince Min-Young-Huan, the
Commander-in-chief of the Corean army. What astonished me even more was
that he placed at my feet the different baskets and parcels, announcing
that they were now my property. The letter ran as follows:

"MY DEAR MR. LANDOR,--I send you some Corean hens, and some eggs,
and some persimmons, and some beef, and some pork, and some nuts,
and some screens, and a leopard skin. I hope that you will
receive them. I thank you very much for the beautiful picture you
have done of me, and I send you this as a remembrance of
me.--Your friend,

"MIN-YOUNG-HUAN."

Greathouse and all the household having been at once summoned, the gifts
were duly displayed and admired. The eggs numbered four hundred; then,
there were ten live native hens with lovely feathers, about forty pounds
of beef and pork, and two full bags, the one of nuts and the other of
persimmons. There was enough to last one a month. The part of the present
which pleased me most, however, was that containing the split bamboo
window screens, which are only manufactured for, and presented to the
King and royal princes by faithful subjects, and can scarcely be obtained
for love or money under ordinary circumstances. The leopard skin, also,
was a lovely one of its kind, with long fur and fat long tail,
beautifully marked, in short an excellent specimen of what is called, I
believe, a snow-leopard. Never before had I made so good a bargain for
any picture of mine, and I could not but wonder whether I should ever
again have another like it.

I am sorry to say that a large portion of the eggs were consumed in
making egg-noggs, an excellent American drink, at the concocting of which
Greathouse was a master, a sustaining "refresher" which helped us much in
passing away the long dull winter evenings. The hens, wh