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padded coats, and had on their heads shaggy 
conical caps of fur. These specimens of the rural 
population, I also observed, were stalwart-looking 
fellows, several of them being of more than usually 
large proportions. 
We did not encourage the visits of these people, 
who, if not restrained, would have come on board 
at all hours, and quite overrun the ship. They 
were by no means welcome or agreeable visitors, for 
the plain fact must be stated that they were some- 
what unsavoury and not over clean. They were like 
those Tartars mentioned in an old book of travels 
by William de Eubruquis — “ They never wash any 
cloaths — nay, they beat such as wash, and take 
their garments from them ! ” IMoreover, they pilfer 
when they can. A sort of grandee was regaling 
himself in our ward-room with a cheery glass, when 
the steward, ever watchful in his pantry, spied 
one of his attendant pages adroitly pocketing a 
spoon. Kleptomaniacs, thought I, in this country 
should be more ’ careful, for I read in Hamel that 
“ punishment for theft in the Korea is to be 
