Yi Hiung, Emperor of Corea
IJy Archer Butler Hulbert, Formerly Editor of the Corean Independent
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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.)
