The river was full of ominous-looking blocks of ice, and the tug looked sadly unequal to making its way through it: in fact it had missed running on that account more than one day the same week, so we thought ourselves fortunate in getting across the river at once. There is often considerable delay, both at the time of the freezing and of the thawing of the river, and unfortunately there is no bridge of any kind. The permanent line will necessitate the building of a bridge, but it is not expected to be ready within the next two years, though the Japanese are straining every nerve to complete the line. The tug was wretchedly small and crowded, but performed its journey valiantly, crunching through the ice, and landing us in about a quarter of an hour on the Korean bank of the Yalu, where a well-appointed train awaited us. Never was a first-class carriage more welcome to weary travellers, never was an excellently cooked lunch which was served in due course more highly appreciated, and the attendant gave the finishing touch to our contentment by administering a much-needed brush down before our arrival at Pyöng Yang. Everything was a strange contrast from what we had left; the cold colouring of Manchuria was replaced by a warm red soil, through which the first tokens of spring green were beginning to appear. Instead of the blue clothing to which we had been accustomed, every one here was clad in white, both in town and country. Rice fields greet the eye at every turn, for this is the main cereal grown. The only things that were the same were the Japanese line and the Japanese official, no more conspicuous here than in Manchuria, and apparently firmly rooted in both. Korea is somewhat larger in extent than Great Britain, about 80,000 square miles in size, and the population is estimated at about twelve to thirteen millions. Owing to the mountainous character of Korea, a large part of it, especially in the north, is uninhabitable; in fact some people estimate that only one quarter is occupied. No census of the population was taken till that made by the Japanese in 1904. As the people feared that this was preliminary to a tax, they made every effort to prevent correct numbers being ascertained, and consequently the returns were less than nine and a half millions. Another census is now being taken, which, in all probability, will be much more accurate.