conferences, and other businesses filled up the remaining days of the
week during which the "Harmony" lay at anchor near the station.
Meanwhile the disembarking and embarking of her outward and homeward
cargoes went on, and when she was ready to sail we were ready to go
northward with her. In the intervals of daily duty I enjoyed pleasant
walks and talks with one or another member of the mission band in the
extensive plantation behind the station, the growth of more than a
hundred years of careful cultivations, Not till Saturday did we find
time for more distant expeditions, when grand views rewarded our
ascent of two hills to the north and south of the Nain Bay. They are
about 700 or 800 feet in height.
Most of the week the majority of the natives were away fishing, but
several of the men and boys were earning daily wages by assistance
with the cargo. For those at the station evening services were held in
the church. These varied in character, one was a singing meeting,
another a liturgy, a third a Bible reading, when the two last chapters
of II. Corinthians were the portion of Holy Scripture taken in course.
When there was no Eskimo service, the mission family and their guests
met in their dining-room for mutual edification with the German Bible
and hymn-book. As to the latter, by the way, the book itself was
seldom needed, for most of the company knew the hymns by heart. So the
week sped away, bringing the Sabbath again.
_Sunday, August 26th._--The Church Litany, and not the so-called
"Catechism Litany," was used at the 9 o'clock service. At 10 A.M. Mr.
Dam preached with fervour on the text for the day, John X. 16, of
course in Eskimo. The sermon was followed by the baptism of little
Esther, the infant daughter of Joash and Wilhelmina. After the service
the parents passed me on their way home. But where is the baby?
Nowhere visible, but the hood on the mother's back is bulky and moves.
At three o'clock I conducted the usual English service on the deck of
the "Harmony." A good many natives were present, rather out of
curiosity than as able to understand, though it is astonishing to find
how many have managed to pick up a little English, especially at the
southern stations.
At five we again gathered in the church for a short Eskimo liturgy of
praise to the Triune God, when our vessel and her passengers were
commended to the renewed care of the faithful Creator. Our evening
meal, the last in this hospitable miss
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