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88 move out. When he refused to accept such an intimation, force was threatened, but averted by the intervention of the British chargé d'affaires. In the end, Mr. McLeavy Brown's compound was entered by a few hangers-on of the palace,

BRITISH LEGATION, SEOUL

who were easily ejected by the orders of the Chief Commissioner of the Customs. These creatures then tore their clothes and ran crying to the Palace that they had been beaten and otherwise shamefully ill-used. As a result, the dismissal of the Chief Commissioner was demanded. Mr. Gubbins took the matter up with great promptness, and agreed that, upon certain conditions, which included a proper notice to quit and the choice of new sites, the Emperor might acquire both the British Legation and the Customs buildings, which were apparently necessary to the completion of the new Palace. As it happens, the British Legation, which directly overlooks the half-finished Palace, is far more necessary to the Emperor's peace of mind than the Customs buildings, which are upon a lower level. It is