Kalli, the Esquimaux Christian | Page 5

in England

Captain Ommanney, soon after his arrival in England, brought young
Kallihirua to the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge. At that
time he could only speak a few words, such as "Ship," "Sea," "Very
sick;" "England, things very nice," "Captain very good". From his
language and gesture it was gathered, that he had suffered much from
sea-sickness on the voyage; that he had been treated with the utmost
care and kindness on board, and that he was highly pleased with
English fare, and with the reception which he had met with in this
country.
His manners were so gentle, and even polite, without any seeming
effort, as to excite astonishment in those who knew how short a time he
had enjoyed the advantages of education. It was clear that great pains
had been taken with him on board the "Assistance," where his great
study had been to adapt himself to the habits and manners of those
among whom his lot was so singularly cast. "In this," says Captain
Ommanney, "he succeeded; for people were surprised at his good
address, when he reached England."

His Fondness for Prints and Drawings
He was always much pleased with the company of young people, and
appeared quite at home with them. Some books and prints were placed
in the hands of the youth, and he expressed the greatest delight in
seeing views of ships in the ice, and the figure of an Esquimaux
watching for a seal. After gazing for a few moments at the latter, he
uttered a cry of pleasure, and said, "This one of my people!" It seemed
as if, for the time, he had been carried back to his own land, which,
however homely, was once his home. Had any proof been wanting of
the faithfulness of the representation, his hearty and joyous approval of
it would have afforded sufficient evidence of its accuracy.
The reader shall see the engraving of the lonely seal-hunter which so
much pleased poor Kalli.

Seal Hunter
[Illustration: Seal Hunter]
In this situation, we are told, a man will sit quietly for ten or twelve
hours together, at a temperature of thirty or forty degrees below zero,
watching for the opportunity of killing and taking the seal, which is
supposed to be at work making its hole beneath in the ice. The
Esquimaux, partly sheltered from the "winter's wind," and fast-falling
snow, by a snow-wall, has got his spear and lines ready, and he has tied
his knees together, to prevent his disturbing the seal by making the
slightest noise.

Sights in England
Kalli, whilst in London, on a visit to the author, was taken to the British
Museum. With some of the objects there he was much gratified. The
antiquities, sculpture, and specimens of art and science, had not such
charms in his sight as had the life-like forms of stuffed animals in that
great national collection. With the seals, reindeer, and a gigantic walrus,
with bright glass eyes, he was especially struck and amused, lingering
for some time in the attractive apartment which contained them.
He had now and then much to bear from rudeness and incivility on the
part of some thoughtless persons, who derided his personal appearance,
though they were not successful in putting him out of temper. The
author recollects an instance of this in a street in London. He was
walking with Kalli, when two young men, who ought to have known
better, stared at the youth in passing, and laughed in his face: then
presently turning round, they said, as they pointed at him, "There goes
a Chinese!" He merely looked up, smiling, as if at their ignorance, and
want of proper feeling.
It has been observed of the people of his nation, that they evince little
or no surprise or excitement at such things as occasion admiration in
others. When Kalli first came up the river Thames with Captain

Ommanney, and travelled from Woolwich by the railway, thence
proceeding through the wonderful thoroughfare from London Bridge to
the West End of the town, passing St. Paul's Cathedral, and Charing
Cross, he merely said, It was all very good.
"I took him with me," said the Captain, "to the Great Exhibition, the
Crystal Palace, in Hyde Park. He beheld all the treasures around him
with great coolness, and only expressed his wonder at the vast
multitude of people."

Great Exhibition of 1851
This is natural enough. Many of our readers may recall the feelings of
astonishment with which they viewed that large assemblage. On one of
the shilling days, in October, 1851, ninety-two thousand human beings
were collected together in the Crystal Palace at one time[5]. The force
of contrast could perhaps go no further than in this instance. A young
stranger who, in his own country,