services, on the other hand, display much unnecessary pomp; and the white, full-skirted cassock with rough hempen girdle, which they wear in public and private, emphasises their ritualistic tendencies, and is, to my mind, somewhat of an affectation. Nevertheless, in their daily practice, those associated with the Church of England Mission in Korea set before themselves that standard of idealism in missionary enterprise which is represented by the unnecessary sacrifices, the sublime heroism, and fortitude distinguishing the priests of the Roman Catholic Church, a standard, I am compelled to admit, that other missions in the Far East—American, English, Scotch, and Irish—appear incapable of realising.
The American missionary in the Far East is a curious creature. He represents a union of devices which have made him a factor of considerable commercial importance. American missionaries in Korea were formerly closely associated with the more important export houses in the leading industrial centres of America. Owing to diplomatic representation this practical demonstration of Western superiority is no longer openly indulged. In Seoul, however, an American missionary inconsiderately receives paying guests, causing a manifest loss of business to the Station Hotel; in Won-san, another exploits his orchard. As a class they are necessarily newspaper correspondents and professional photographers; upon rare occasions—and here I refer especially to a small coterie of American missionaries in Seoul—they are the scholarly students of the history, manners, customs and language of the country in which they happen to be placed.
The American missionary has a salary which frequently exceeds £200 a year, and is invariably pleasantly supplemented
