88 THE LIFE OF E. J. PECK 



who hear the Gospel can never be measured by the 

 number of those who come into direct contact with 

 the missionary. By reason of the migratory and 

 trading habits of the people, his influence spreads 

 far and wide beyond the limits of the sea-girt 

 portion of the continent in which he lives. Far 

 over the frozen waters the traveller drives his 

 sledge, so that from Little Whale River or any part 

 of Labrador the tidings of salvation may sound forth 

 to Baffin Land, and thence to Melville Peninsula, 

 and so on down the west side of Hudson's Bay or 

 elsewhere. The Word of God is not bound, and 

 there is no limit to its free course. In northern 

 regions we might put a new word into the mouth 

 of the old prophet, and say. " The knowledge of the 

 Lord shall cover the earth as the ice covers the sea," 



Each man who has heard and valued the message 

 for himself passes it on. Thus, as the widening 

 ripples on the surface of the smooth waters show 

 that there must have been a stone cast into the lake, 

 so conversely the missionary finds evidence that, 

 though hidden from vast numbers of those living 

 in the regions beyond, the smooth surface of their 

 careless lives has been disturbed by the vibrations 

 of his teaching. 



Mr. Peck has found this in his own life. He has 

 had the satisfaction and joy of discovering Eskimos, 

 whom he has never met before, able to read as a 

 result of his own teaching. He has instructed some 



