The native town ceases abruptly about a mile from the settlement. Fields of vegetables border the road. The strip of beach upon which the town is placed, is black with patches of fish spread to the sun, littered with fishing nets, and encumbered with crazy fishing-boats and junks. After a little it disappears around cliffs, whose crests are fragrant with pine and fir trees. Tortuous valleys, giving glimpses of prosperous villages set in their midst against a background of majestic peaks and ridges of hills, well-timbered headlands and promontories upon which are set the houses of the missionaries, combine, with the broad waters of the bay and the vista of the open sea beyond, to form a series of picturesque and supremely attractive views. There are nearly three thousand Japanese in residence at Won-san, a few Chinese merchants, and a small foreign community, including the Commissioner of Customs and Mrs. Wakefield, and the Customs staff. The rest are evangelists of no great importance. The climate of Won-san is dry and healthy. The heat is tempered by sea breezes and the nights are cool. The mean temperature for the summer is seventy-three degrees, and for the winter twenty-nine degrees; the rainfall is forty-four inches, a little greater than that upon the west coast. Snow falls to a depth of four feet, covering the mountains from October until May. The port is, however, rather cooler than Chemulpo in summer and a little warmer in winter, the dryness of the atmosphere considerably modifying the cold. The splendour of an autumn sky continues throughout the winter, when the principal shooting is to be obtained. Much historical interest attaches to many of the more beautiful spots in the vicinity. From this neighbourhood sprang the kings of Ancient Ko-ryö; and again, it gave birth to the reigning house of Cho-syön, for, in the monastery of Sok-wan, twenty-two miles distant, A Tai-cho, the first king of the present dynasty, was educated and lived. The monastery itself, with its temples, was erected by the King to mark the spot where, 509 years ago, he received that supernatural summons to rule, in virtue of which his descendants now occupy the throne. In the seclusion of this beautiful spot, the early years of A Tai-cho were passed in meditation, study, and preparation for his future kingship. Many of the magnificent trees, which embower the temples and rise in stately dignity from the grand mountain clefts, in which the monastery is situated, are reputed to have been planted by his hands. In a building apart, into which no one is allowed to enter, save the monk in whose keeping the relics are placed, his regalia and robes of State are preserved to this day.