Letter from Hattie to Frank, March 11, 1872
Dublin Core
Title
Letter from Hattie to Frank, March 11, 1872
Subject
Letters; Mail receiving and forwarding services; Aging; Birthdays; Weather; China--Religion; Festivals
Description
In this letter to her brother Francis, Harriet says she looks forward to more frequent letters and asks that they write to her every fortnight. She says that between all the siblings, it shouldn't be too difficult. Even though she just turned twenty-eight, she doesn't feel as if she's aged much. She looks forward to being home in 1876. The weather in China is cooling off but Harriet is not looking forward to another winter like the last one. The Chinese celebrated a holiday the day before that Harriet feels is senseless idolatry.
Creator
Noyes, Harriet Newell
Source
The College of Wooster, Special Collections, Noyes Collection, Box #1
Publisher
Unpublished
Date
1872-3-11
Contributor
Council on Library and Information Resources Hidden Special Collections Grant
Rights
Format
PDF
Language
eng (English)
Type
Text
Identifier
noyes_c_cor_076
Text Item Type Metadata
Text
Canton China
March 11th '72
My dear Frank,
I am sure it
seems to me a long time since
I have written to you and
so for once I am going to
[u] commence [/u] writing for the mail
with a home letter quite an
unusual proceeding for I usually
put you off until the last.
Our mail is late again this
month but we are hoping it
will come to-day and then
we shall probably be obliged to
send the letters down to-morrow.
I look forward with much
delight to the time now so near
when we shall have a fortnightly
mail. You will some of you
write to us by [u] every one [/u] will you
not. Dont disappoint us but
write a few lines if you havent
time to write much. There
are so many of you you can
take turns or adopt any plan
you like so that we get letters every
two weeks. I know how busy you
are and no one in the world knows
better than I from my own experience
how easy it is to neglect letter
writing but if you dont make time
to write us a little I expect you
will find me the [u] most persistent
beggar [/u] you ever heard of/
I wonder if you thought of
me on the [?8?]th of March. I am
a year older now than when I
sent my last letters. Long ago
"when I was young" twenty eight
seemed quite a vulnerable age
but now that I have reached it
I do not think I [u] feel [/u] any older
than I did ten years ago.
Only think if we should go home in
'76 I might perhaps spend my
thirty second birthday "under
the homestead roof." Lillie Happer
+ I were talking last night as
we came home from meeting
about looking forward to see what
the future has in store for us. I
[u] never [/u] feel that I would wish to
If there are bright days before us
perhaps we shall enjoy them all the
more if they were in a measure
unexpected, and if the coming days
are sad they need not cast their
shadows over the present [?Whither?] says
"No longer forward nor behind
I look in hope and fear
But [u] grateful [/u] take the good I find
The best of now and here."
It is a lovely day to-day and we so
enjoy these delightful spring days
remembering how sure they will
give place to the hot days that
are coming. Still I used to say last
winter that I looked forward to
summer with great satisfaction in
the thought that then I would be
[u] plenty warm [/u] enough and I do
not dread the summer before us as
much as I should another winter
like the last. When we visited our
village schools last week we noticed
that the cypress trees had all dropped
their leaves something we have
never seen before the effect of
the frost last winter doubtless.
I have no doubt such cold weather
is very good for us but [--they--] it seems a
little like Doctor's medicines hard to
take. I suppose we feel them so much
on [u] account [/u] of the contrast with the hot
months. Yesterday was a great feast
day here worshipping the god of the
doorway or god of the house hold I
suppose. The Chinese say the
day has not been observed with
such ceremonies for many years.
When I came from my school
I found it quite impossible to
get through the streets that I
usually go in they were so
crowded with people. It often
seems as though the day when
this people will have given up
forever their senseless [?idolatry?] must
be far in the future it is really
oppressive to walk the street and
see the multitudes of people. In
this city along there is nearly three times
the population of all the sandwich
Islands when missionaries first went
there + in Falsha twelve miles distant
there are more than the whole number
of sandwich Islanders and the whole
country between is [u] crowded [/u] with villages.
[Notes: following written vertically on page 4]
I have not written much [u] but [/u] I do not feel that I can
write until I get the letters. Your own loving sister
Hattie
中国广州
1872 年 3 月 11 日
我亲爱的弗兰克，
我相信我已经很久没有给你写信了，
所以这一次我要开始写一封家信，
这是一个非常不寻常的程序，
因为我通常会说你关到最后。
这个月我们的邮件又迟到了，
但我们希望它今天会来，
然后我们可能不得不在明天把这些信寄下来。
我非常高兴地期待现在如此接近我们将收到每两周一次的邮件的时间。
你们中的一些人会通过每个人给我们写信，
你不会。
不要让我们失望，
但如果你没有时间写太多，
请写几行。
你们有很多人可以轮流或采用任何你喜欢的计划，
这样我们每两周就会收到一封信。
我知道你有多忙，
世界上没有人比我更清楚，
从我自己的经验来看，
忽略写信是多么容易，
但如果你不抽时间给我们写一点，
我希望你会发现我是你最执着的乞丐听说过/我想知道你是否在 3 月 8 日想起了我。
我现在比我上次寄信时大一岁。
很久以前，
“我年轻的时候”，
二十八岁似乎是一个相当脆弱的年龄，
但现在我已经到了这个年龄，
我不认为自己比十年前更老了。
想想如果我们应该在 1876 年回家，
我可能会在“宅基地的屋顶下”度过我的 30 岁生日。
昨晚，
我和莉莉·哈珀（Lillie Happer）开会回家时正在谈论期待看到未来为我们准备的东西。
“不再向前或向后看，
我满怀希望和恐惧但感激地接受我发现的最好的现在和这里。
”今天是美好的一天，
我们非常享受这些令人愉快的春日，
记住它们会多么肯定地让位给即将到来的炎热日子。
去年冬天我仍然说，
我非常满意地期待夏天，
因为我认为那时我会足够温暖，
我不会像过去那样害怕另一个冬天那样害怕我们面前的夏天。
当我们上周参观我们的乡村学校时，
我们注意到柏树都掉了叶子，
这是我们在去年冬天霜冻之前从未见过的情况。
我毫不怀疑这种寒冷的天气对我们来说非常好，
但它似乎有点像医生的药难以服用。
我想我们会因为与炎热月份的对比而感受到它们。
昨天是一个盛大的节日，
我想在这里祭拜门神或家神。
中国人说，
这一天已经很多年没有举行过这样的仪式了。
当我从学校回来时，
我发现根本不可能穿过我通常去的街道，
那里挤满了人。
似乎这些人将永远放弃他们毫无意义的偶像崇拜的那一天一定很遥远，
走在街上看到众多的人真的很压抑。
传教士第一次去那里时，
这个城市的人口几乎是所有三明治群岛的三倍，
在十二英里外的法尔沙，
有超过三明治岛人的总数，
整个国家都挤满了村庄。
[注意：在第 4 页垂直书写] 我写的不多，
但我觉得在收到信之前我不会写。
你的妹妹，
海蒂
March 11th '72
My dear Frank,
I am sure it
seems to me a long time since
I have written to you and
so for once I am going to
[u] commence [/u] writing for the mail
with a home letter quite an
unusual proceeding for I usually
put you off until the last.
Our mail is late again this
month but we are hoping it
will come to-day and then
we shall probably be obliged to
send the letters down to-morrow.
I look forward with much
delight to the time now so near
when we shall have a fortnightly
mail. You will some of you
write to us by [u] every one [/u] will you
not. Dont disappoint us but
write a few lines if you havent
time to write much. There
are so many of you you can
take turns or adopt any plan
you like so that we get letters every
two weeks. I know how busy you
are and no one in the world knows
better than I from my own experience
how easy it is to neglect letter
writing but if you dont make time
to write us a little I expect you
will find me the [u] most persistent
beggar [/u] you ever heard of/
I wonder if you thought of
me on the [?8?]th of March. I am
a year older now than when I
sent my last letters. Long ago
"when I was young" twenty eight
seemed quite a vulnerable age
but now that I have reached it
I do not think I [u] feel [/u] any older
than I did ten years ago.
Only think if we should go home in
'76 I might perhaps spend my
thirty second birthday "under
the homestead roof." Lillie Happer
+ I were talking last night as
we came home from meeting
about looking forward to see what
the future has in store for us. I
[u] never [/u] feel that I would wish to
If there are bright days before us
perhaps we shall enjoy them all the
more if they were in a measure
unexpected, and if the coming days
are sad they need not cast their
shadows over the present [?Whither?] says
"No longer forward nor behind
I look in hope and fear
But [u] grateful [/u] take the good I find
The best of now and here."
It is a lovely day to-day and we so
enjoy these delightful spring days
remembering how sure they will
give place to the hot days that
are coming. Still I used to say last
winter that I looked forward to
summer with great satisfaction in
the thought that then I would be
[u] plenty warm [/u] enough and I do
not dread the summer before us as
much as I should another winter
like the last. When we visited our
village schools last week we noticed
that the cypress trees had all dropped
their leaves something we have
never seen before the effect of
the frost last winter doubtless.
I have no doubt such cold weather
is very good for us but [--they--] it seems a
little like Doctor's medicines hard to
take. I suppose we feel them so much
on [u] account [/u] of the contrast with the hot
months. Yesterday was a great feast
day here worshipping the god of the
doorway or god of the house hold I
suppose. The Chinese say the
day has not been observed with
such ceremonies for many years.
When I came from my school
I found it quite impossible to
get through the streets that I
usually go in they were so
crowded with people. It often
seems as though the day when
this people will have given up
forever their senseless [?idolatry?] must
be far in the future it is really
oppressive to walk the street and
see the multitudes of people. In
this city along there is nearly three times
the population of all the sandwich
Islands when missionaries first went
there + in Falsha twelve miles distant
there are more than the whole number
of sandwich Islanders and the whole
country between is [u] crowded [/u] with villages.
[Notes: following written vertically on page 4]
I have not written much [u] but [/u] I do not feel that I can
write until I get the letters. Your own loving sister
Hattie
中国广州
1872 年 3 月 11 日
我亲爱的弗兰克，
我相信我已经很久没有给你写信了，
所以这一次我要开始写一封家信，
这是一个非常不寻常的程序，
因为我通常会说你关到最后。
这个月我们的邮件又迟到了，
但我们希望它今天会来，
然后我们可能不得不在明天把这些信寄下来。
我非常高兴地期待现在如此接近我们将收到每两周一次的邮件的时间。
你们中的一些人会通过每个人给我们写信，
你不会。
不要让我们失望，
但如果你没有时间写太多，
请写几行。
你们有很多人可以轮流或采用任何你喜欢的计划，
这样我们每两周就会收到一封信。
我知道你有多忙，
世界上没有人比我更清楚，
从我自己的经验来看，
忽略写信是多么容易，
但如果你不抽时间给我们写一点，
我希望你会发现我是你最执着的乞丐听说过/我想知道你是否在 3 月 8 日想起了我。
我现在比我上次寄信时大一岁。
很久以前，
“我年轻的时候”，
二十八岁似乎是一个相当脆弱的年龄，
但现在我已经到了这个年龄，
我不认为自己比十年前更老了。
想想如果我们应该在 1876 年回家，
我可能会在“宅基地的屋顶下”度过我的 30 岁生日。
昨晚，
我和莉莉·哈珀（Lillie Happer）开会回家时正在谈论期待看到未来为我们准备的东西。
“不再向前或向后看，
我满怀希望和恐惧但感激地接受我发现的最好的现在和这里。
”今天是美好的一天，
我们非常享受这些令人愉快的春日，
记住它们会多么肯定地让位给即将到来的炎热日子。
去年冬天我仍然说，
我非常满意地期待夏天，
因为我认为那时我会足够温暖，
我不会像过去那样害怕另一个冬天那样害怕我们面前的夏天。
当我们上周参观我们的乡村学校时，
我们注意到柏树都掉了叶子，
这是我们在去年冬天霜冻之前从未见过的情况。
我毫不怀疑这种寒冷的天气对我们来说非常好，
但它似乎有点像医生的药难以服用。
我想我们会因为与炎热月份的对比而感受到它们。
昨天是一个盛大的节日，
我想在这里祭拜门神或家神。
中国人说，
这一天已经很多年没有举行过这样的仪式了。
当我从学校回来时，
我发现根本不可能穿过我通常去的街道，
那里挤满了人。
似乎这些人将永远放弃他们毫无意义的偶像崇拜的那一天一定很遥远，
走在街上看到众多的人真的很压抑。
传教士第一次去那里时，
这个城市的人口几乎是所有三明治群岛的三倍，
在十二英里外的法尔沙，
有超过三明治岛人的总数，
整个国家都挤满了村庄。
[注意：在第 4 页垂直书写] 我写的不多，
但我觉得在收到信之前我不会写。
你的妹妹，
海蒂
Original Format
Letter
Collection
Citation
Noyes, Harriet Newell, “Letter from Hattie to Frank, March 11, 1872,” Letters from Harriet Noyes: Missionaries and Women's Education in Nineteenth Century China, accessed April 29, 2024, https://noyesletters.org/items/show/131.