the shop and all the furnishings. The vessels are cast and then finished on a lathe which is operated by the feet of the workman, who sits while performing his task. The motion of the lathe is forward and backward, the tool cutting only half the time. The ware when finished is very beautiful, and is much admired by nearly all visitors to Korea.
As in the days of Jeremiah, so to-day in Korea the potter's house is to be found; and it is an interesting sight to see him fashion a vessel upon the wheel. It is a matter of history that the Koreans developed the art of pottery-making many centuries ago, and were the most proficient people in this line of work to be found in the East. The Japanese learned this art from the Koreans. One time they invaded the country and carried away all the most skilled artisans in this line; so they have developed the art to a very high degree, while the Koreans have not been able to hold their own. However, our village potmaker is able to supply the needs of his countrymen. In the potter's house the wheel is to be seen, just as it was in the days of Jeremiah. I doubt that it has been changed in the least from that day to this. It is made of a piece of a log the end of which is smoothed so that it has a surface of about eighteen inches in diameter at both ends. The middle is cut away, so that when finished it has very much the appearance of a large spool from which the thread has been taken. This is placed in a hole in the ground so that it will easily revolve on a pivot in the lower end; at the same time the upper end comes a little above the ground which forms the shop floor.
