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66 the first lady in the land no longer possesses those charms of face and figure, which should explain her position. There is no doubt that the Lady Om is a clever woman. She is most remarkably astute in her management of the Emperor, whose profound attachment to her is a curious paradox. Lady Om is mature, fat, and feebly, if freely, frolicsome. Her face is pitted with small-pox; her teeth are uneven; her skin is of a saffron tint. There is some suggestion of a squint in her dark eyes, a possible reminder of the pest which afflicts all Koreans. She paints very little and she eschews garlic. Her domination of the Emperor is wonderful. Except at rare intervals, and then only when the assent of Lady Om to the visit of a new beauty has been given, he has no eye for any other woman. Nevertheless, the Lady Om has not always been a Palace beauty; she was not always the shining light of the Imperial harem. Her amours have made Korean history; only two of her five children belong to the Emperor; yet one of these may become the future occupant of his father's throne.

In her maiden days, she became the mistress of a Chinaman; tiring of him she passed into the grace and favour of a Cabinet Minister. He introduced her to the service of the late Queen, whose acquaintance she made at the house of her father, a Palace attendant of low degree, with quarters within the walls. By the time that she became a woman in the service of her Majesty, the Lady Om had presented a child to each of her respective partners. As the virtue of the women in attendance upon the Queen had of necessity to be assured, her previous admirers kept their counsel for the safety of their own heads. The Lady Om boasted abilities which distinguished her among the other maids in attendance. She sang to perfection, danced with