Note 63 — INLEIDING.

“The only relics of these unfortunate captives so far discovered have been two Dutch vases unearthed in Seoul in 1886. The natives knew nothing of their origin, beyond a vague belief that they were of foreign manufacture. The figures on them, however, told their own tale of Dutch farm-life, and the worn rings of the handles bore marks of the constant usage of years. We may well fancy them to be the last of the household gods of the shipwrecked Wetteree, who, like Will Adams of Japanese history, lived and died a captive exile though the honoured guest and adviser of the king and government. The presence of these captive Dutchmen in Corea may perhaps explain what must always seem an anomaly among Asiatic races, namely blue eyes and fair hair. These peculiarities have been frequently observed by travellers in various parts of the peninsula, exciting comment and conjecture without, hitherto, any definite explanation” (J. Scott, Stray notes on Corean history etc., Journal China Branch R.A.S., New Ser. XXVIII, 1893–94, bl. 215).