, 1874-06-24
DENMARK'S MISSION TO GREEN
LAND.

IldlI, Says tuC DptCtut0I, 'sluCC 1IduS ISC-
de, the heroic Norwegian priest, left his cosy
parsonage in the Lofoden Islands, stirred
with a burning zeal for the love OF a peo-
pie whom Christianity had forgotten, and
whom Nature herself seemed to consider
unworthy of any but her poorest, thrlttlest
gifts. 1t was only after infinite toll and
trouble that the mission was set in motion
Egede's own means were limited to little
more than the necessaries of life, the pub
lie mind was surprised more than at
tracted by the unfamiliar notion of
sending out the Gospel to creatures
SO debased and so despised as the Green
landers; and if Frederik ", the then
reigning King of Denmark, had not come
forward in the matter with warm enthu-
siasm, the effort would have failed, the
light born in the heart Of that great man
have been quenched before it lit up the
hearts Of others. 1t is well known that
no brilliant success met the labours OF
Egede and his family that it was long be-
fore thew arrived at a due understanding OF
the singularly cramped and wizened intel
lect Of the people, whose emotions seemed
hardly capable Of development in the drea-
ny air, attacked by SO many distresses OF
hunger aud cold. Some highly economi-
cal gentlemen about Frederik's Court took
upon themselves at last to point out how
expensive the Greenland Mission was, and
how little it had effected, to which he
answered, with truly royal dignity, "Too
much will not have been spent if one soul
only can be saved - And soon the sue
cess of the undertaking began to be mani
fest Egede himself lived to see it, and to
be Bishop over a native Church,
The Danish Kings have always presery-
ed their interest in the spiritual enIighten-
ment Of the poor inhabitants OF their Iarg-
est and most d%eSolate possession. At the
present moment, missionaries are to be
found at each Of the eight little stations
that official irony calls towns - and be-
sides this, the Jealous Morayiau Brethren
have their stations, five in number
and here also the natives are taught IN
their own language so that now, from
Julianehaab, the largest and most south
ern settlement all along the western coast
of Greenland, as far as Upernayik, the
most northern spot on the worlds surface
inhabited by civilised men, the Gospel
sounds in the uncouth, unfamiliar tongue
of the natives. But it sounds from the
mouth of Europeans, and not from that OF
the GreenIanders themselves. AS early as
1887, the faithful friend of missions, Pastor
Fenger, pointed out how needful it was
for complete success that an effort should
be..made to create a native clergy. Green
landish is an excessively difficult language
for Europeans to master, aud many years
of a pastors life are always lost in over
coming the linguistic obstacles to the prac-
tice of his function. It was generally telt
in Denmark that this proposition was a
wise one, and in 1914 King Frederik VIII
instituted two seminaries, one at Godthaab
and the other at Jacobshavn, for the pur-
pose suggested. But the unfortunate
Greenlanders are so sadly deficient IN all
that constitutes the intellectual and emo
tional personality of a human being, that
years and years went by without one OF
these child-like converts displaying vigour
and intelligence enough to become a teach
er of others. Great, therefore, was the in
terest awakened throughout the Lutheran
Church, when a commission of 1871 an
nounced that at last a native pupil had