Then, too, there are soldiers in town, lots, of them; and they should not be overlooked in a write-up of the capital. They are a strange mixture of the old and the new, the Occident and the Orient combined and thrown out on the world in the shape of a soldier whose greatest ambition is to get his three bowls of rice each day and draw his little salary of one dollar and a quarter a month. He is, on the whole, rather an amiable fellow and not in the least dangerous, unless one should happen to come too near where he stands on the street corner with his rifle, bayonet fixed, hanging over his shoulder and practicing the swing of a circuit from right to left.
In short, Seoul, as compared with the great cities of the Western world, reminds one of a great city which has knocked off work and is taking a holiday. There are thousands of people here who have no work nor business of any sort but to play the gentleman, walk the streets, smoke their long-stemmed pipes, and talk about the depths and profoundness of the wisdom of the ancients. These are the yang-bans, or gentlemen of the higher class. It is true that they have spent some years in the study of the Chinese characters, and would gladly accept some office if only his Royal Majesty would condescend to bestow such favor upon such unworthy worms of the dust.
