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 announced that the case would be considered, but that meanwhile the officials must disperse. There were further memorials, resignations en masse, passionate recriminations, until at last two or three officials who had held their peace saw that the game was up, and, in order to curry favour themselves, offered a counter memorial charging Yi Yong-ik's accusers with indirection. This was listened to, and the Prime Minister was deprived of his official rank. This made possible a compromise whereby both Yi Yong-ik and the Prime Minister were restored to all their former honours, and all went " merry as a marriage bell." But it was thought best to let Yi Yong-ik travel for his own and his country's good, so he was made Commissioner to buy Annam rice, which was itself a pretty piece of diplomacy, since it recalled prominently to the people the one phase of the injured man's career which they could unhesitatingly applaud. He was taken off in a Russian cruiser to Port Arthur to buy Annam rice!

When he returned to Seoul a few weeks later, the Japanese lodged a strong protest against his return to political power, but the Russian authorities made a counter-proposition urgingthat he was the only man capable of handling the finances of the country. Under existing circumstances the very protest of the Japanese was an argument in his favour, and he came back into power on the flood tide, backed, as he had never been before, by the full favour of the Russian party. They naturally; expected substantial payment for having saved him, and so far as he was able he liquidated the debt.

Meanwhile another man, Yi Keun-tak, had risen to power through servile adherence to Russian interests. The somewhat enigmatical character of Yi Yong-ik made him to a certain extent an unknown quantity. Not even the Japanese considered him wholly given over to Russia; but this new man was definitely committed to Russian interests, and with his rise to important position it became evident for the first time that the Korean government had decided to rely upon Russia and to reject the