1844.] THE 'BEAUFORT' OF THE ISLAND. 93 



his maps and sketches were of great use. ' Shang Hai', 

 surnamed the ' Beaufort ', on account of the interest he 

 invariably took in our surveying operations, was a man 

 about forty, with a fine, good-humoured, expressive coun- 

 tenance, and an exceedingly bright and anxious eye. 

 Of an eager and somewhat sanguine temperament, he 

 wanted the self-control and placid demeanour of his 

 brother magnates. Impetuous in his motions, he per- 

 formed his multifarious functions with energy, giving his 

 orders and seeing them obeyed in person; punishing, 

 with his own arm, any infringement of civility, or any 

 neglect of the comforts of the pale-skinned foreigners, 

 and acting as a willing guide in every excursion. Inqui- 

 sitive and fond of our society, he passed much time in 

 our company, acquired many words of our language, and 

 proved himself a very useful and important sort of per- 

 sonage. In process of time he adopted also some of our 

 vices, loved sweet wine, begged for sugar, and did not 

 altogether eschew rum. Through his means, batatas, 

 onions, fowls, radishes, and turnips were always forth- 

 coming edibles in our encampment; our horses were 

 good, and our coolies obliging and civil. 



" The better classes are great writers, composing many 

 long letters, and filling large scrolls of their Chinese 

 paper with singular hieroglyphic, Japanese characters, a 

 dialect of Japanese being the vernacular tongue of the 

 islands. It is a highly interesting sight to witness a 

 solemn conclave of these decent and respectable people, 

 seated in a semi-circle on their mats, assembled together 

 in anxious conference with grave and earnest faces, intent 

 looks, and placid demeanour, with their small metal 



