94 THE LIFE OF E. J. PECK 



or even for a clean cottage where a meeting is to be 

 held. Mr. Beck forsakes his own room night after 

 night through the long winter to go forth into the 

 piercing cold, to crawl on hands and knees through 

 the low tunnel or porch of snow that leads to the 

 circular and domed dwelling chamber. Inside the 

 atmosphere is hot, the stench is intolerable, for there 

 is no ventilation, and the European visitor almost 

 feels that he must turn back or be suffocated or 

 be sick. The place is dirty and gory, and raw 

 seals' blubber is lying about, the remnants of the 

 family's dinner, or that which is to be to-morrow's 

 meal. The scene is not appetising. But the 

 missionary, constrained by the love of Christ, forgets 

 these surroundings as he describes a gathering in 

 one of these iglos : 



" Books in hand we bend low, and by the light 

 of the Eskimo lamp sing praises to God, read portions 

 of His Word, and commend ourselves with loved 

 ones, far away, to the care of our God. Times of 

 spiritual joy and blessing, of real refreshing from 

 the Lord have we experienced on the icy waste." 



After the brief summer of 1877, we find Mr. Peck 

 once more at Moose for the winter. There were two 

 or three important matters on account of which 

 his presence was required there. 



The foremost of these was the desire of the 

 Bishop to ordain him. He had already learned to 

 appreciate him, and to understand that he was just 



