Early in the fall of 1889 I was invited to another audience at the palace, with some of the foreign state officials and their wives. After the audience a dinner was served, and later, a performance by dancing girls was given. And right here I must say, that although on several occasions at the palace I have seen dancing girls in these entertainments, I have never beheld anything at such times in their actions that was improper or even undignified. Their motions are graceful, usually slow, circling around hand in hand or in various combinations of pretty figures. They wear high-necked and long-sleeved jackets or coats, and long skirts, the figure quite concealed by the fashion of the dress. And yet, thus to appear in public, allowing their faces to be seen by strangers, is the gravest breach of propriety in the eyes of all Koreans, and these girls are, alas! as depraved as women can be. Like those of their class in all countries, they are the most pitiable and hopeless of women, but unlike those who have thrown themselves away, they deserve small blame mixed with the compassion one feels for them, for these poor girls have been sold by their parents into their awful lives, and were given no choice of their destiny. Many a poor little Korean child is sold into slavery for a few bags of rice, to be trained as a dancing girl, used as a common drudge, or married to a man she has never seen, while she is hardly larger than our little ones playing with their dolls in the nursery. But to return to our palace entertainment, from which I have made a rather long digression. The guests were seated on the veranda, or “maru,” in front of the dining hall, and in the grounds before us appeared a pretty boat with wide spread sails, in which were seated some gaily dressed girls. Others now appeared, dancing to slow native music, a stately figure, almost in minuet fashion, with waving of flowing sleeves and banners. They were evidently the spirits of the wind, and the boat was waiting the favoring breeze. The music grew quicker, while faster and faster stepped the dancers, more and more swiftly fanning the sails with sleeves, skirts and scarfs, till at last the boat slowly moved forward, and with its attendants moved out of sight. When the boat had been thus gracefully fanned away, a couple of mammoth lotus plants were brought out, with great closed blossoms seen among the leaves.