had deserted from the army. It required several days' work by friends, using the influence of the United States Minister, before this man was released. A man walked about twenty-five miles to see if I could in any way assist him in getting his mother released from prison. I never understood clearly the nature of the charges that had been made against the man who came to see me, but it was for charges against himself that his old mother had been carried away and locked up in jail. Of course there was nothing that I could do to assist in such a case, and he had to return and wait for the time when he could in some way redeem his mother.
Another case of which I happened to know the facts will give some light on the village lawsuit. An American citizen had some difficulty in collecting some money due him by a Korean. After waiting a long time, with no good results, he called on the magistrate and stated his case. The official agreed to call the man and see that matters were made right. A day was agreed upon when the gentleman would be passing that way again, and the official promised to have the Korean present and settle the affair. The day appointed came around and the American, according to agreement, appeared on the scene, only to learn that the offending party had not been brought to trial, but that his wife was there a prisoner in his stead. The American was thoroughly disgusted, and told the official in no uncertain tones that they had done very badly, and ordered them to release the woman at once and allow her to return to her home. To the best of
