148 GREENLAND. 



got on board and changed our clothes, we felt quite 

 ready for dinner. 



Our conversation was at first limited to an interchange 

 of looks and gestures, as only one of our party under- 

 stood Danish thoroughly. Dr. Kink, however, speaking 

 English fluently, by the additional aid of French and 

 German, we contrived after a time to be quite a voluble 

 party. It was amusing to hear the disjointed sentences 

 at one end of the table commenced in German and eked 

 out with French at the other, the patois consisting of an 

 alternation of English and Danish. 



After coffee we went on shore, where we found our men 

 had preceded us, and were showing their gallantry to tho 

 Eskimo young ladies. The sound of the fiddle attracted . 

 us to a very small ball-room, twenty-five feet square, 

 where from sixty to eighty people had managed to crowd 

 themselves, and were dancing to their hearts' content. 

 The drapery of the ladies not requiring much extra space, 

 it was marvellous to see the ease with which they glided 

 in and out of this close-packed assemblage, always keep- 

 ing time to the music, which consisted of two violins, a 

 flute, and a tub-end covered over with seal-skin, serving 

 as drum for the nonce. 



One of the sailors had elected himself master of the 

 ceremonies, and, seated in the window, endeavoured to 

 keep proper order, greatly to the detriment of the room, 

 it must be admitted. This had evidently not been 

 cleaned since the last stock of blabber-casks and seal- 

 skins had left it ; and filled with thia crowd of not very 



