191 In Seoul 



in charge of the service. I also addressed a gathering 

 of Japanese officials and army officers on the subject 

 of international conciliation. 



The chief social event of our stay in Korea was an Ty 

 elaborate dinner given by Vice-Governor and Ma- ^'""^^^^^ 

 dame Yamagata, Governor Terauchi being tem- '^'"""' 

 porarily absent. We were also invited to luncheon at 

 the delightful home of George H. Scidmore, then 

 American Consul-general at Seoul, where his brilliant 

 mother presided over his establishment. Eliza R. 

 Scidmore, his sister, the well-known writer and 

 traveler, we did not have the pleasure of m.eeting, 

 as she was not in Seoul. Many of my readers will 

 recall that Miss Scidmore proved to be the author 

 of "As the Hague Ordains," a strong story published 

 anonymously and dealing with certain phases of the 

 Russo-Japanese War. 



Iijima arranged an interesting supper in Korean Supper in 

 style at the "Meigetsuro," the best and cleanest of ^"f" 

 the native restaurants. The food was well cooked and "^^^ 

 unusually varied, but the remarkable feature of the 

 meal was the arrangement of the table with a 

 central revolving disk about three feet in diameter. 

 This was provided with several metallic divisions in 

 which the viands were placed, while underneath each 

 compartment a little fire of charcoal kept the food 

 warm. At the time of our visit the persimmon, the 

 chief fruit of Korea, was especially excellent, and 

 always acceptable though appearing at nearly every 

 meal. 



One of our pleasant new acquaintances in Seoul Katharine 

 was Miss Katharine Wambold, a missionary whose ^^"""^^"^^ 

 devoted and practical service to women and children 

 often took her on long and difficult excursions into 



n 389 1 



