Page:Village life in Korea (1911).djvu/68

58 is believed by the Koreans to be the largest bell in the world. The story tells us that when it was cast and taken out of the molds it was found to be cracked. It was cast a second time, with the same result. At this time one of the priests came forward and said that it would be impossible to cast the bell without its breaking unless some mother would give her baby to be thrown into the molten mass. It was declared that such an offering to the spirits of the fire would cause the bell not to break, and give to the nation the greatest bell in all the world. A woman was soon found who was willing to give her babe for this purpose, and the dastardly deed was done. The bell was again cast, and came out in perfect condition; and from the very first the people have said that the tones are like the cry of a helpless babe calling "A-ma-ne! A-ma-ne! A-ma-ne!" A-ma-ne is the word for mother, and so the cry of the child calling its mother can easily be imagined in the tones of the bell.

But here we are nearly to the top of Nam San, and from this place we may have a fine view of the capital of Chosen. See the great wall yonder just under the North Mountain, in the northern part of the city. That is the North Palace, the one in which so many tragedies have been enacted, the last great one being the murder of the queen by the Japanese and their allies on the night of October 8, 1895. That tall building with its pagoda-shaped roof, which appears as if it might be floating in the air, standing in the center of the grounds is the great audience hall in which the kings of Chosen for centuries past have received their