DOMESTIC ECONOMY. 93 



enjoyment of what is sometimes called " gadding 

 about." At any rate she generally staid at home, and 

 was a hard-working, bustling, tidy soul as one would 

 desire to see, a little shrewish perhaps, scolding some- 

 what occasionally, but then those men were so 

 careless ! and gave so much trouble ! her asperity 

 must not be wondered at. And really the place was 

 very neat, the walrus hides on the ground were bright 

 and clear, not a speck to be seen upon them ; not a 

 stray hair, which come out of the reindeer skins in 

 plenty, was ever permitted to remain after the night- 

 coverings were removed ; the wooden vessels were 

 bright as dairy pails, and the oil in the lamps was 

 always carefully purified, and the weet-o-weet [moss] 

 wicks arranged with scrupulous regularity. By the 

 by, there is considerable skill required in the manage- 

 ment of these lamps : the moss, which has been care- 

 fnlly cleansed, dried, and picked, is put into the dish 

 by hand, but after that it is only touched with a small 

 flat stick, used in the most dexterous manner — a touch 

 here and a flick there — to replace any stray morsel ; 

 then a rapid pass from one end of the ridge to the 

 other, which knocks off the snuffy portions and clears 

 the whole line of flame ; and lo ! the lamp burnsbrightly 

 again. The women are very jealous of these ; no man 

 ever thinks of touching them, and it was the greatest 



