The city of Han-Yang, or Seoul, is situated on the north side of the river, about thirty-five miles from its mouth, measuring by a straight line, or fifty miles if reckoned by the channel of the river. It lies in 37° 30′ north latitude, and 127° 4′ longitude, east from Greenwich. The name Han-yang, means “the fortress on the Han River.” The common term applied to the royal city is Seoul, which means “the capital,” just as the Japanese called the capital of their country Miako, or Kiō, instead of saying Kiōto. Seoul is properly a common noun, but by popular use has become a proper name, which, in English, may be correctly written with a capital initial. According to the locality whence they come, the natives pronounce the name Say´-ool, Shay´-ool, or Say´-oor. The city is often spoken of as “the king’s residence,” and on foreign maps is marked “King-ki Taö,” which is the name of the province. The city proper lies distant nearly a league from the river bank, but has suburbs, extending down to the sand-flats. A pamphlet lately published in the city gives it 30,723 houses, which, allowing five in a house, would give a population of over 150,000 souls. The natural advantages of Seoul are excellent. On the north a high range of the Ho Mountain rises like a wall, to the east towers the Ridge of Barriers, the mighty flood of the Han rolls to the south, a bight of which washes the western suburb. The scenery from the capital is magnificent, and those walking along the city walls, as they rise over the hill-crests and bend into the valleys, can feast their eyes on the luxuriant verdure and glorious mountain views for which this country is noted. The walls of the city are of crenellated masonry of varying height, averaging about twenty feet, with arched stone bridges spanning the watercourses, as seen in the reproduced photograph on page 79. The streets are narrow and tortuous. The king’s castle is in the northern part. The high roads to the eight points of the compass start from the palace, through the city gates. Within sight from the river are the O-pong san, and the Sam-kak san or three-peaked mountain, which the French have named Cock’s Comb. North of the city is Chō-kei, or tide-valley, in which is a waterfall forty feet high. This spot is a great resort for tourists and picnic parties in the spring and summer. From almost any one of the hills near the city charming views of the island-dotted river may be obtained, and the sight of the spring floods, or of the winter ice breaking up and shooting the enormous blocks of ice with terrific force down the current, that piles them up into fantastic shapes or strews the shores, is much enjoyed by the people. Inundations are frequent and terrible in this province, but usually the water subsides quickly. Not much harm is done, and the floods enrich the soil, except where they deposit sand only. There are few large bridges over the rivers, but in the cities