The week spent at Nain may serve as a specimen of my stay at each
station in turn. We arrived here on Sunday, August 19th, in the
evening. Monday and part of Tuesday were taken up by conferences on
the spiritual prosperity and temporal regulations of the. Labrador
Mission. Tuesday afternoon proved the most convenient time for my
special meeting with the congregation, when, as at every station, I
gave the assembled men and women the greeting and message sent them by
the mission authorities at home. Opportunity being afforded them to
reply, some of the native helpers and others expressed their pleasure
that a visitor had come from Europe, and their gratitude that
Christians on the other side of the ocean had sent missionaries to
their forefathers, and still maintained teachers among them. They
also asked questions and gave their opinions on very various topics. I
promised to convey their salutations to "their angayokaks in London
and Herrnhut." This meeting lasted about two hours, and was, as
elsewhere, an arduous time for the missionary who acted as my
interpreter. It seemed easier to him to render into Eskimo my own
address given in English, than to interpret all the speeches made by
the natives in reply.
Inspection of the premises, stores, archives, &c., continued
conferences, and other businesses filled up the remaining days of the
week during which the "Harmony" lay at anchor near the station.
Meanwhile the disembarking and embarking of her outward and homeward
cargoes went on, and when she was ready to sail we were ready to go
northward with her. In the intervals of daily duty I enjoyed pleasant
walks and talks with one or another member of the mission band in the
extensive plantation behind the station, the growth of more than a
hundred years of careful cultivations, Not till Saturday did we find
time for more distant expeditions, when grand views rewarded our
ascent of two hills to the north and south of the Nain Bay. They are
about 700 or 800 feet in height.
Most of the week the majority of the natives were away fishing, but
several of the men and boys were earning daily wages by assistance
with the cargo. For those at the station evening services were held in
the church. These varied in character, one was a singing meeting,
another a liturgy, a third a Bible reading, when the two last chapters
of II. Corinthians were the portion of Holy Scripture taken in course.
When there was no Eskimo service, the mission family and their guests
met in their dining-room for mutual edification with the German Bible
and hymn-book. As to the latter, by the way, the book itself was
seldom needed, for most of the company knew the hymns by heart. So the
week sped away, bringing the Sabbath again.
_Sunday, August 26th._--The Church Litany, and not the so-called
"Catechism Litany," was used at the 9 o'clock service. At 10 A.M. Mr.
Dam preached with fervour on the text for the day, John X. 16, of
course in Eskimo. The sermon was followed by the baptism of little
Esther, the infant daughter of Joash and Wilhelmina. After the service
the parents passed me on their way home. But where is the baby?
Nowhere visible, but the hood on the mother's back is bulky and moves.
At three o'clock I conducted the usual English service on the deck of
the "Harmony." A good many natives were present, rather out of
curiosity than as able to understand, though it is astonishing to find
how many have managed to pick up a little English, especially at the
southern stations.
At five we again gathered in the church for a short Eskimo liturgy of
praise to the Triune God, when our vessel and her passengers were
commended to the renewed care of the faithful Creator. Our evening
meal, the last in this hospitable mission-house, was followed by
farewell words and some commendatory hymns in German. Then we "parting
guests" went on board the "Harmony," accompanied by most of our hosts,
who lingered long with us. As we got into the boat, the Eskimoes bade
us an affectionate good-bye, "Aksunai, aksuse." (Aksunai, Be thou
strong, or its plural, Aksuse, Be ye strong, are used both for "How do
you do?" and "Good-bye.")