Page:The passing of Korea.djvu/335

 row. From the very centre of the boat there rises a stout mast which protrudes a foot or so above the load, and on a little platform on the tip-top of this mast sits the steersman, holding in his hand the end of an enormously long sweep which reaches into the water at the stern. The whole thing looks ludicrous enough even when the craft is loaded ; but when there is no load, the sight of two men rowing in the very prow, while the steersman sits perched upon the very top of the mast like Stylites on his pillar, with a twenty-foot tiller in his hand, is extremely grotesque.

The Koreans are great travellers within the confines of their own little country. I doubt if there are many lands where a higher estimate is placed upon the pleasure of travel. The Koreans do not rush from place to place ferreting out the notable objects of interest, but they wander about in a dreamy way, enjoying natural scenery in a wholly natural manner. Besides this there is the usual amount of travelling on official business and for commercial purposes. One wishes to know how the people get about in the absence of carriages or other vehicles.

Officials always travel by "chair." This consists of a little four-posted canopy about three feet square by four feet high, carried on two poles. The passenger sits on the floor of the " chair," and there are curtains to let down on all four sides so as to screen him entirely from view. Each of the two carriers has a pair of suspenders over his shoulders, and through the loops of these on either side of his body the ends of the poles pass. It is not an uncomfortable way to travel if one can sit crosslegged like a Turk for ten hours a day. There is very little jarring if the carriers break step as they should. There is no beast of burden whose footfall is so soft as that of a man. These " chairs " are of all degrees of elegance, just as our own carriages are. Those that are used by women are of course always closed, unless it chances to be a dancing girl. Women's chairs are distinguished by fan-shaped bangles hanging in rows on the sides. These chairs are on hire at regular stands throughout all the