eafening
to one unused to it. You would think the poor teacher would be driven
crazy, but he seems as calm as a daisy in a June breeze.

[Illustration: "ALL THE BOYS SIT UPON THE FLOOR"]

The Korean boys have to have "tests" and examinations just as you do.
When a lad has a good lesson, the teacher makes a big red mark on his
paper, and he carries it home with the greatest pride,--just as you do
when you take home a school paper marked "100."

But Yung Pak was not allowed to share the pleasures and the trials of
the boys in the public school.

One day, soon after he was six years old, his father sent for him to
come to his private room,--perhaps you would call it a study or library.
With Yung Pak's father was a strange gentleman, a young man with a
pleasant face and an air of good breeding.

"This," said Ki Pak to his son as he entered the room, "is Wang Ken. I
have engaged him to be your teacher, or tutor. The time has come for you
to begin to learn to read and to cipher and to study the history and
geography of our country."

Yung Pak made a very low bow, for all Korean boys are early taught to be
courteous, especially to parents, teachers, and officials.

In this case he was very glad to show respect to his new tutor, for he
liked his appearance and felt sure that they would get on famously
together. More than that, though he liked to play as well as any boy, he
was not sorry that he was going to begin to learn something. Even at his
age he had ambitions, and expected that sometime he would, like his
father, serve the king in some office.

Wang Ken was equally well pleased with the looks of the bright boy who
was to be his pupil, and told Yung Pak's father that he believed there
need be no fear but what they would get on well together, and that the
boy would prove a bright scholar.

To Wang Ken and his pupil were assigned a room near Ki Pak's library,
where Yung Pak would spend several hours each day trying his best to
learn the Korean A B C's.

The first book he had to study was called "The Thousand Character
Classic." This was the first book that all Korean boys had to study, and
was said to have been written by a very wise man hundreds of years ago.
A strange thing about it was that it was composed during one night, and
so great was the wise man's struggle that his hair and beard turned
white during that night. When Yung Pak was told this fact he was not a
bit surprised. He thought it was hard enough t