Page:The passing of Korea.djvu/544

 pings of the horse reach almost to the ground, and the robes of the rider are of the most gorgeous description. He is a general of the highest rank. He bears in his hand the wand of authority, and for the time being holds the power of life and death. There are two catafalques exactly alike, and no one is supposed to know in which one the body lies. A description of one will suffice for both. It rests upon a heavy framework that is carried on the shoulders of one hundred and eight bearers. Thick transverse poles have heavy padded ropes run fore and aft between them, so that the shoulders of the bearers may not be galled. On the high framework is a structure like a little house, ten feet long, six feet high and five feet broad. The roof and sides of this pavilion are painted and draped with the gaudiest colours. All the tints of the rainbow and several others compete for the supremacy. One man stands on the framework immediately in front of the pavilion, and another stands behind it, facing back. The one in front holds a bell in his hand, and he keeps time so that the men may step together. Ropes a hundred feet long extend forward from the catafalque and also back, and a long line of men hold these, and are supposed to pull forward or back, as it may be necessary to ease the unwieldy thing down a hill or draw it up one.

By far the most interesting and novel feature of the whole procession follows this catafalque. It is six enormous paper horses made of paper stuck over a framework of wood. They are about ten feet high, and are mounted upon great carts so that they loom full fourteen feet from the ground. The anatomy of these monsters is wonderful and fearful, and their size makes one think of his boyhood days when he read of the siege of ancient Troy. These are to be burned at the tomb, and will furnish a means of locomotion for the deceased in the world beyond. It is very plain that Confucianism is not the only religion of these people, nor Buddhism either, for the most distinctive things about this great ceremony are neither the one nor the other, but relics of the aboriginal nature worship of the