names for the landmarks of their country. The peculiarities of their land afford great scope for such a practice, and it is to be admitted that they give ample vent to this peculiar trait in their imagination.
Korea is now an independent Empire. From very early times until 1895 the King of Korea was a vassal of China, but the complete renunciation of the authority of the Emperor of China was proclaimed in January 1895, by an Imperial decree. This was the fruit of the Chino-Japanese war, and it was ratified by China under the seal of the treaty of peace signed at Shimonosaki in May of the same year. The monarchy is hereditary, and the present dynasty has occupied the throne of Korea in continuous entail since 1392. Inhabited by a people whose traditions and history extend over a period of five thousand years, and subjected to kaleidoscopic changes whereby smaller tribes were absorbed by larger, and weaker governments overthrown by stronger, Korea has gradually evolved one kingdom, which, embracing all units under her own protection, has presented to the world through centuries a more or less composite and stable authority. There can be no doubt that the whilom vassal of China, in respect of which China and Japan made war, has taken much greater strides upon the path of progress than her ancient neighbour and liege lord. There is no question of the superiority of the conditions under which the Koreans in Seoul live and those prevailing in Pekin, when each city is regarded as the capital of its country—the representative centre in which all that is best and brightest congregates.
It was in 1876 that Korea made her first modern treaty. It was not until three years later that any exchange of envoys took place between the contracting party and
