That summer the people of Seoul and of the country immediately to the south, were thrown into a panic by the antics of what they call ch‘ăk-ch‘ăk, a species of imp or demon which appeared nightly in various places and terrified the people. The Koreans are peculiarly subject to such hallucinations. They said they were the spirits of those who had died at the hands of the Manchus and the popular fears were not alleviated until the king had ordered a monstrous sacrifice in their behalf at two places near Nam-han, called Ma-heui-ch‘ŭn and Sang-nyŭng. The king despatched an envoy to China in the ninth moon to inform the Chinese emperor that he had been forced to surrender, but he assured his former suzerain that the act was by no means voluntary. To this the emperor replied in a tone of commiseration, attaching no blame to the king’s enforced allegiance to the Manchus. He himself was destined ere long to feel the full weight of the Manchu arm. We have at this point an account of the first general use of tobacco in Korea. It is stated that tobacco was first brought to Japan by the Nam-man or “southern barbarians” and from there was brought to Korea, thirty years before the date of which we are now writing. It was first used by a man named Chang Yu who was closely connected with the royal family, being the father of a Crown Princess. It was called _tam-p‘agwe_ which is the Korean pronunciation of certain Chinese characters which were used to translate into Chinese the Japanese words for tobacco, which is _ta-ba-ko_. It is commonly supposed that the Japanese took their word from the occidentals, but we here have the word embedded in Korean history back in the very first years of the seventeenth century before it had even yet firmly established itself in European countries. It seems almost incredible that the spread of its use should have been so rapid as to have arrived in Korea within ten years of the beginning of its common use in Europe, but it may have been so. Portugese traders came in large numbers to Japan and the fragrant weed was probably brought by them. At the time of which we are writing, namely the end of the Manchu invasion, its use had become common. It was supposed to possess valuable peptic qualities and was recommended especially to those who ate much meat. The Manchus had become much addicted to the habit, but so many conflagrations were the result that the Manchu emperor attempted to interdict its use. It is needless to say that he failed. When first introduced, it cost ten thousand cash for half a pound but merchants obtained seed and it soon became common.