AN ARCTIC HONEYMOON 



catch. My little maid was a pretty, neat, little girl of about 

 ten years of age, with fair hair and skin, and one eye cast 

 heavenwards. She did exactly as she was told, and though 

 many chances were offered, never took a thing which was 

 not given her. She was called Elizabeth, as all the Eskimo 

 here have assumed English names. We grew to be very 

 fond of her. 



We often had invitations to " afternoon coffee " from 

 the natives, and although our first acceptance was given 

 rather doubtfully, I soon learned to like their black coffee 

 from Denmark; but as to their manner of preparing it or 

 the cleanliness of their dishes, I just schooled myself to 

 think of something else. In the evenings there were dances, 

 and these were enjoyed very much. Every one of the 

 people could dance, and Daniel and some others did very 

 well in a dance much like the so-called " Buck and Wing." 

 The children from three years up participated in this, and 

 were all more or less proficient in it. Even our little friend 

 of the fish, whose length and breadth were almost equal, 

 strove fiercely to keep up with the others. 



The house to which we went oftenest was Daniel's. He 

 was a jolly, short, dark man, who had been so much on 

 whaling ships that he could speak better English than any 

 of the others. His wife was the best looking woman on 

 the island. Their house, a fair sample of all, was divided 

 into two parts, with separate entrances, which were so low 

 that I never failed to bump my head on entering. Each 

 part consisted of one large or fair-sized room, across one 

 end of which was a platform about two feet from the floor 

 and five feet broad. On this platform' were several big 

 bags of feathers used for beds. During the day, these 

 beds were placed flat against the walls, looking like enor- 

 mous sofa pillows, and the platform served for seats. 

 Around the other sides at intervals were benches, under 

 one of which always stood a keg of ice water. The walls 

 were often ornamented with colored pictures or prints, and 

 in nearly every house hung a small three-shelved rack, on 

 which was displayed the entire stock of dishes, consisting 

 of a few cups and saucers. In the middle of the room 

 stood a stove, a plain round-bodied affair, with one cover at 

 the top. Their fuel was some dried mossy stuff. The floor 



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