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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (March 13, 1904)
Yi Hiung, Emperor of Corea IJy Archer Butler Hulbert, Formerly Editor of the Corean Independent : T,Tr'--' : i 1 t --M -v. rs dnytlrno. to Klorp BTKl'S IF.ADINQ UP TO TUB UMTIIANCB l'AIACN. fCopyrlRht, Wi, hy Archrr TV IIull)ort.) 1 18TOHY tells of a Corean general I J-f I who liad lo many enemies that ha 11 was afraid to Bleep like other Ieoln at nlht, and was uIho ufrald to nleep naturally in tha Arrordlngly, he trained hlmnelf bolt upright at a table with his eyes wide open and n wnrd In each hand. Tlio pro, nt emperor of Corea, Yi lllung. doeH not Hleep with hlti eyes opn, xittlnic upright at a table, but he comes pretty near It. Since hid accession to tho Corean throne. In 1;4. lie ban had many desperata ' enemies. Indeed, after tho murder of his queen In 1MI5, ho did turn day into night by sleeping then and holding bis cabinet meetings at night. For some weeks, whea rumors of assassination were ripe nt a cer tain time a few years ago, all the fisxt which passed his majesty's lips was prc pared by an American missionary and sent eecntly to the palace. Thus, taking tho years through, the old Corean gcnenil aslof-p nt bis table, with his straining eyes taring straight ahead, is a very fair plc two of the slate of mind In which the Corean emperor has lived these manjr years. One night, seven years ago. It was ru mored In Seoul that a mob Was to attnc It thn palace on n certain night. I.nckln all roiitldiiice In the staving qualities of Ms soldiers and guards, the emperor sent post hiiitte for three Americans to stay with Mm during the night. lie and tlio crown prince remained In their Bleeping rooms, while, the "three musketeers" played chcs in the ante-room. The moving shadows, cast cm the paper walls which divided the rooms, told the guards that Ms majesty nnd son were anything but restful. The night wore on until nt last, with a promptness that would have done credit to a South American revolution, the noise of the rmeute without the palace walls could bo he.ird. Instantly the Americans entered the royal bedroom and surrounded the emperor and prince, and the numter of six-shooters In evidence in their hands and their bells would have excited the envy of a Mexican cowboy. The uprising was ipielled, because the authorities had Wn warne.l and prepared, but as the tumult rebounded in the streets and along tho walls and gates, the Intensest excite ment reigned in the palace. The em peror and prince posted themselves be tween the Americans, and In their agony Belted their guardians' hands. Their ter ror and their attitude brought home to the foreigners. In nn ocean wave of pity, a closer appreciation of the continual strain under which the emperor lives, nnd tils ever present fear of nn untimely end. Figuratively speaking, the poor man is like that general who never slept except with Ids eyes open wide. At the pnsent crisis this impotent po tentate attracts the attention of the world, and to give any fair picture of Mm, It is Just to hint at the start of the haunted life which he hns led, in order to show what his mental altitude bas been to all around Mm. If bis greatest fear has teen that of the assassin, the return of exiled Cortan noblemen in Japan has been the second greatest, and in a wuy the two are one In substance, for the return of pretenders to the fortun throne wculd mean assassination. Thus, he has feared that friends about him were traitors in disguise and would make away with him; and he has feared that traitors, known to te disperate men. who have been exiled, would return and kill Mm. And friends and enemies have played these fears off ene agnlnst the other on his majesty through many years to gain many ends. The government of Corea Is an unlimited monarchy; the present dynasty has existed Ince the foundlug of Seoul In It U HALL OK THW KY1UQ-PAK. A CHARMING COTIXKP OF TF1R EMPEROR'S OLD PAT-ACE-FIRKD ON AND PARTL.Y LrfXJTliD J3Y TIIK CHINCH IN 1S84. ; o;,;y ; ; ; J I NKOT.KCTFn CORNRn OF TIIR DKSKRTED PAT-ACB PCIT.T FOR TITK PRFS KNT KMPKROU HY HIS FATI Ifcill-THK WU1SKN WAS M L'HDERKD IN Tlil3 l'ALAC'i'j OCTOHKK 5, 1N95. an interesting fact In Corea that each new dynasty founds a new Seoul, which means "capital." The kings have been despots, nnd tho present emperor has ordered the beheading uf many men, even unto recent days, though It Is not legal to do so today, With Corea, the raising of the tlnances hits been a dlflh ult task, and the dispensing of money the root of vast evil. Kvery thing has been for sale in Core l, .even the good will of royalty; unices, such us gov ernorships, are purchased, the incumbents being competed lirst to get back their out lay and then a salary. The taxation laws are extremely heavy on the poor, the rich often escaping. Owning two bulls is con sidered a misfortune among the common people, since the owner will be judged to have, accumulated money, and as likely as not will be asked to loan money or his second bull to tho governor. The ou 'torn oltlce brings in considerable income. What proportion of Corea'H ussets gets Into the Imperial treasury It Is difficult to say. From all sources the total receipt is small, und foreign Intriguers with money to their bund have, In the past, had an Influence with the Corean emperor. It has been ru mored that the recent Russian concession in the timber lands of the Yalu and Teumcn was obtained by means of a liberal bribe. And so, next to t he emperor's fear of his personal enemies, come his financial wor ries, which are perennial and at times of most serious character. The government hus been argued into spending considera ble sums for useful purposes, such as in ternal improvements and education. A number of schools, Knglish, French Japa nese, and a normal college, are maintained, professors and students, by the govern ment. The emperor Is personally pleasant to meet, anil we have It under I he hand of our American minister that be is a clever, sensible man, desirous of helping his land. Mrs. Isabella Utrd liishop, In recounting her Interview with the emperor, noted his attention to and consideration for his son, the crown prince. I have seen his majesty on two occasions. Once he appeared at one o'f (the side gates of th new palace when n game of tennis was In progress on the courts of the Seoul union, the foreigners' club. When he ap peared the players blopped the game a moment, but proceeded when they learned that the object of his visit was to "see th game." For some time he watched tha play, scon beginning to understand itB leading features und applauding good plays by smiling. When again I saw Mm It was under mar velously ultereil conditions. It was on tho occasion of the burial of his murdered limpress Min in November, 1S93. The mar velous funeral pageant, which no pen could describe, had occurred in the early morn ing, before sunrise; the glittering isarcopba gus had been borne three miles out of Seoul, where, ut 3 o'clock the next morn ing, the interment was to take place. Ten thousand dollars had been spent by the emperor In erecting buildings in which to house for one night the foreigners who were to be present at the burial. In the evening preceding tho ceremony banquets were spread for the official and the unofficial guests, ufter which nil retired to rooms in the temporary buildings. These were overcrowded, but as we were all to bo aroused at 2:S0 a. m. those of us who found no cots lay down patiently on the floors In blankets. Having some sweep on a wide floor myself I rol'ed around until I was comfortably lodged fairly against what I found out later was a door to an adjoining room, which was occupied by the Russian minister. All this was made plain to me when the ceremony was announced and his excellency fell over me in the attempt to get out. The sarcopliagus was raised to the sum mit of the high mound, which contained the mausoleum, on an inclined plane. lUylde this plane stood the royal marquee, .and in tho doorway, as the car moved slowly up ward, stood the king and crown prince watching Its progress. The darkness of the night, the vast crowds and flaming torches, tho !ong lines of soldiers und a squad of Russian Copsarks, tho corps diplomatique in their full dress, the crowds of Corean noblemen, all united to make the occasion one of the most singular that an Occidental could ever witness In the east. Utile la known of th family life of tho eni-ror of Corea and his wives. In the days of the F.inpress Miu the empress was a political factor of great loiujuenoe. Tills is not true today. Nor is the marve lously ridiculous story, which had large cir cuUUjn la tho norUtwatt recently, to tbe x i A THE EMPEROR OF COREA. effect that a Wisconsin girl is empress of Corea, Tho story affirmed that a Miss lirown, a missionary, had been married to the Corean emperor. There was never a missionary by the name of Miss Brown In Corea and no American woman has mar ried Emperor Yi Hiung. A little piece of Seoul gossip a hort time ago was to the effect that the king had purchased a for eigners' home In Seoul in which to house one of his quarrelsome wives; the house was of two stories, the lirst of stone and tho second of brick; the wife began her career by having the second story pulled down, as It made the house "so high." Corean houses are all of one story only. The subject of the Corean emperor's re lation to the wider affairs of his little em pire is a tangled problem which r.o matt can fathom. Corea haa been a seething cauldron of iKilitlcs and Us emperor has been besieged in the past devade by various emissaries from various courts, seme of them with arguments that no Oriental could withstand. After the Japan-China war he found himself in the midst of a pro-Japanesw cabinet and soon bolted to tho Russian legation. After a year, during which Russia secured the ascendancy in Corea, he returned to his palace. The sit uation at the present moment is most in teresting. Japan is again occupying Core and Is slowly securing political influence commensurate with its commercial inter ests. It is the only real political friend Corea ever had, though when In control of Corea In lsi It hurt Its influence by ad ministering too great doBrs of reform. It once more has the ear of the emperor; its experience has taught it many lessons. The foreigners (Americans and English) feel that the present war will bring bright day9 for Corea If Japanese influence n mains paramount In Seoul, and they are certain that his majesty would follow out Japaru-Bj plans for the development of Corea if ha was made Bure he would have protection against physical harm from Russian in triguers, the claimants to the Corean throne now exiled to Japan and certaia (Coutinued on "Tage Sixteen.)