Corea or Cho-sen: The Land of the Morning CalmLandor, Arnold Henry Savage
History
Corea or Cho-sen: The Land of the Morning Calm
Landor, Arnold Henry Savage
Korea -- Description and travel
"You have killed my husband, too, you scoundrel!" she cried, while the
defeated warrior was struggling hard, though in vain, to escape.
As she was about to administer him a blow on the head that would have
been enough to kill a bull, she fortunately slipped on the ice and went
sprawling over her victim. The soldier, more dead than alive, had raised
himself on his knees, when that demon in female attire rose again and
embracing him most tenderly, bit his cheek so hard as to draw a regular
stream of blood. I could stand it no longer, and proceeded on to the
slippery ice to try to separate them, but hardly was I within reach than
I was presented with a sound blow on my left knee from the mallet which
she was still manipulating with alarming dexterity, by which I was at
once placed _hors de combat_ before I had time even to offer my services
as a peace-maker. Not only that, but besides the numberless "stars" which
she made me see, the pain which she caused me was so intense that,
hopping along as best I could on to the street again, I deemed it prudent
to let them fight out their own quarrel and go about my own business.
"Never again as long as I live," I swore, when I was well out of sight,
as I rubbed my poor knee, swollen up to the size of an egg, "never shall
I interfere in other people's quarrels. Who would have foreseen this? and
from a woman, too!"
It is, indeed, easy to be a philosopher after the event, but it is
strange how very often one gets into fearful rows and trouble without
having had the slightest intention either to offend or to annoy the
natives. Here is another little anecdote which I narrated some months ago
in the _Fortnightly Review_, and which is a further proof of the violent
temper of the women-folk, of the lower classes in Cho-sen. The Coreans in
general, and the women in particular, are at times extremely
superstitious, which partly accounts for the violent scene in question,
which arose out of a mere nothing, and nearly resulted in a most serious
case of wilful infanticide. This is how things stood.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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