226 THE GERMAN AECTIC EXPEDITION. 



noso with a tuft of hair. The couple now form chains 

 and circles. After a short rest the dance begins again. 

 Over the scene hangs a thick cloud of dust and smoke 

 from the oil lamp, which only allows one to see the 

 outlines of the native youths leaning against the walls. 

 For the amusement of the guests, they gave themselves 

 up to the pleasures of the dance. Our men disported 

 themselves bravely, and the Greenlanders showed them- 

 selves agile dancers. Pleasure shone in their eyes, and 

 one could plainly see that, on the other side of the 

 Arctic circle, the young folk dance as passionately as on 

 this. Many of the ladies had dressed for the occasion ; 

 but others, relying on their native charms, ventured 

 contentedly into the ball-room in their everyday dress. 

 The winding up of the festival consisted in a general 

 coffee- drinking in a neighbouring house. Such dancing 

 entertainments were of course repeated, and one was 

 so noisy as to disturb the governor of the colony, who 

 lived close by, from his slumbers. Driven from the 

 store, the company withdrew to the Harefjeld, where, 

 upon a somewhat swampy meadow, they kept it up 

 till early morning. 



This fondness for dancing is moreover peculiar to the 

 full-blooded Greenlander, but the strict customs of the 

 Moravian fraternity do not permit this amusement, 

 and the missionaries have, therefore, declaimed against 

 it. In the southern mission stations, where the inter- 

 course of the community of the Moravian mission is 

 less brisk, this is easily prevented. In the north, how- 

 ever, it is more difficult ; in Gotthaab, for instance, where 

 the inhabitants rejoice in unbridled dissoluteness. The 

 neighbouring relatives come, too, to join in the revels. 



