Letter from Hattie to Mary, November 9, 1868
Dublin Core
Title
Letter from Hattie to Mary, November 9, 1868
Subject
Children; Babysitting; Picnics; Chinese language--Study and teaching
Description
In this letter to her little sister, Mary, Harriet Noyes writes of Mary growing up and her schooling. Harriet then discusses Alfie and Agnes Turner, two children she had to watch. She also writes of a picnic and studying Chinese. Harriet chooses not to write on the fourth page of the paper because the 'paper blots through so badly,' thereby cutting the letter short.
Creator
Noyes, Harriet Newell
Source
The College of Wooster, Special Collections, Noyes Collection, Box #1
Publisher
Unpublished
Date
1868-11-09
Contributor
Council on Library and Information Resources Hidden Special Collections Grant
Rights
Format
PDF
Language
eng (English)
Type
Text
Identifier
noyes_c_cor_017
Text Item Type Metadata
Text
Canton China
Nov 9th /68 --
My [u]dear little Mary,[/u]
I have just finished
a letter to Mattie and although it is getting
a little late I will turn my thoughts for
a bit towards my youngest sister. Perhaps
by this time you will object to the adjEctive
little before your name if so I trust you
will feel [u]perfectly free[/u] to express your
mind. J M Reid tells us that you
have grown since he had seen you
before and perhaps by this time you
are [u]taller[/u] than I. Out here they all
consider me very tall indeed
I suppose by this time you are at school
again + perhaps when you write
you had better tell us if they study
any at that school you go to. I know
that Henry would feel interested in
knowing although he is not here now
to say so. Little Alfie Turner who
staid with us so long last spring has
come back again and (like the story
of his [?dogs?] in the First Reader) has brought
another child with him. However in
this case as in many others two is better
than one as they are company for each
other and so do not interrupt me
so much. This remark applies to the
day time only for at night there are
just twice as many to pick up off the floor.
The first night they came knowing that
Alfie indulged in the pleasant habit of
tumbling out of bed occasionaly when
I put them to bed I took the precaution
of putting something under the mattress to
raise it a little but an hour or two
after I heard a great thump and he
began to scream + running in I found
him stretched on the floor. I had just got
him fairly in bed when Agnes began to
roll towards the other side and I flew
around there but only in time to pick
her up from the floor. Then I went +
got all the spare pillows I could find
+ built up quite a breast-work on each
side but before morning I was again
aroused by screams from the "nursery"
+ found to my dismay that Agnes had
managed to climb over Alfie and
"scale the breastworks" and tumble
out on the other side of the bed. Alfie
always persists in calling me "Mamma"
Here I laid down my pen and now
it is the before mail day +
I must finish. It has been nearly a
week since and I have managed
to keep the children in bed every
night. We expected they would go
away to-morrow but I presume they
are going to stay another week. I
have thought of ever so many things
that I wanted to say to Mary but
I am afraid that it is all "out of mind." One thing I do
remember and that is I do want to know where poor
Old Fan "laid down and could'nt get up" and where
they buried her. Perhaps you have forgotten before
this but if not dont forget to tell me. A few days ago
we went on a picnic excursion a few miles into the
country or rather up the river in a large boat the
way we do all our travelling here. It would seem
strange to you to go to a picnic in November dressed
in white and carrying a fan and parasol but "that
is the way I did it." Mr & Mrs Turner Alfie & Agnes Mr & Mrs
Anderson Mr Rogers & Mr David Henry & I composed the
party and we spent a very pleasant day getting back
to Canton about dark. I did not much like to lose a
day from study but tried to make up for it by studying
the harder the next day and succeeded in reading 74
pages of Chinese besides taking care of the children and
preparing for company to tea in the evening. And now
I must close for this paper blots through so badly I will not
write on the last page Good-night [u]dear[/u] sister from your loving Hattie -
Nov 9th /68 --
My [u]dear little Mary,[/u]
I have just finished
a letter to Mattie and although it is getting
a little late I will turn my thoughts for
a bit towards my youngest sister. Perhaps
by this time you will object to the adjEctive
little before your name if so I trust you
will feel [u]perfectly free[/u] to express your
mind. J M Reid tells us that you
have grown since he had seen you
before and perhaps by this time you
are [u]taller[/u] than I. Out here they all
consider me very tall indeed
I suppose by this time you are at school
again + perhaps when you write
you had better tell us if they study
any at that school you go to. I know
that Henry would feel interested in
knowing although he is not here now
to say so. Little Alfie Turner who
staid with us so long last spring has
come back again and (like the story
of his [?dogs?] in the First Reader) has brought
another child with him. However in
this case as in many others two is better
than one as they are company for each
other and so do not interrupt me
so much. This remark applies to the
day time only for at night there are
just twice as many to pick up off the floor.
The first night they came knowing that
Alfie indulged in the pleasant habit of
tumbling out of bed occasionaly when
I put them to bed I took the precaution
of putting something under the mattress to
raise it a little but an hour or two
after I heard a great thump and he
began to scream + running in I found
him stretched on the floor. I had just got
him fairly in bed when Agnes began to
roll towards the other side and I flew
around there but only in time to pick
her up from the floor. Then I went +
got all the spare pillows I could find
+ built up quite a breast-work on each
side but before morning I was again
aroused by screams from the "nursery"
+ found to my dismay that Agnes had
managed to climb over Alfie and
"scale the breastworks" and tumble
out on the other side of the bed. Alfie
always persists in calling me "Mamma"
Here I laid down my pen and now
it is the before mail day +
I must finish. It has been nearly a
week since and I have managed
to keep the children in bed every
night. We expected they would go
away to-morrow but I presume they
are going to stay another week. I
have thought of ever so many things
that I wanted to say to Mary but
I am afraid that it is all "out of mind." One thing I do
remember and that is I do want to know where poor
Old Fan "laid down and could'nt get up" and where
they buried her. Perhaps you have forgotten before
this but if not dont forget to tell me. A few days ago
we went on a picnic excursion a few miles into the
country or rather up the river in a large boat the
way we do all our travelling here. It would seem
strange to you to go to a picnic in November dressed
in white and carrying a fan and parasol but "that
is the way I did it." Mr & Mrs Turner Alfie & Agnes Mr & Mrs
Anderson Mr Rogers & Mr David Henry & I composed the
party and we spent a very pleasant day getting back
to Canton about dark. I did not much like to lose a
day from study but tried to make up for it by studying
the harder the next day and succeeded in reading 74
pages of Chinese besides taking care of the children and
preparing for company to tea in the evening. And now
I must close for this paper blots through so badly I will not
write on the last page Good-night [u]dear[/u] sister from your loving Hattie -
中国广东
1868年11月9日
亲爱的小Mary，
我刚刚完成了
写给Mattie的信
即使有一点晚了，
我也要把想法转移到最年轻的妹妹身上。
也许这个时候你会不由自主地
在你的名字前加上小，如果是我相信
你会感觉非常自由的表达你的想法。
J M Reid告诉我们
你比他看到你之前长大了
也许这个时候
你长得比我还高了。
在这里他们认为我确实很高
我猜测这个时候你还在学校
而且也许当你写
你最好告诉我们
他们在你的学校是否学到了什么。
我知道Henry会很感兴趣了解
即使他没有在这说出来。
去年春天
紧紧跟着我们回来的小Alfie Turner
而且（像之前故事里说的他的「狗」和他一起）
带来了另一个小孩。
但是这种情况因为两个人比一个人好
他们可以彼此陪伴
因此不要过多的打扰我。
这个意见只是适用于白天
在晚上只有差不多两次
离开地面。
第一个晚上他们听说
Alfie沉迷于让他快乐的习惯
偶尔从床上摔下来
当我把他们放回去的时候都会有一些预防措施
我在床垫下面放一些东西
把床垫抬起来一些，但是一两小时以后
我听见很大的撞击声
而且他开始叫，当我跑到他房间时
发现他在地板上伸展。我只是把他抱回床上
当Agnes开始滚向另一边时
我朝那边跑过去
但是也只是能够及时把她从地板上捡起来。
之后我去拿来
所有我能找到的不用的枕头
之后在两边设阻拦
但是在天亮之前
a我还是被从“幼儿园”的叫喊声吵醒
我发现对于Agnes成功爬到Alfie一边
我有点多虑了
而且也会从我枕头搭的堡垒上面
从床的另一边掉下来。
Alfie一直坚持叫我“妈妈”
到这里我放下我的笔
而且现在是我寄信的前一天，
我必须完成。
我成功熬过每天晚上把他们放在床上睡觉
的日子将近一周了。
我们希望他们可以明天走
但是我想他们还有待在这一星期。
/
我想了很多想告诉Mary的事
但是
我担心我吧它们忘了。有一件事我肯定记得
而且这事我肯定想知道
那个可怜的Old Fan去世了
然后她埋在哪里了。也许你忘了之前的这个事
但是如果没有，不要忘记告诉我。几天前，
我们去几英里左右的村子短途旅行野餐
或者去河边的大船上去旅行。
回看起来很奇怪
11月你穿白色去野餐
然后带上一把扇子还有一把遮阳伞
但是我就是这么做的。我和Alfie一家和Agnes、Anderson夫妇、
Rogers先生和DavidHenry先生
组织了一个聚会，而且我花了很快乐的一天回广东，
到广东的时候天已经黑了。我不喜欢失去一天的学习时间
但是通过笔前一天更努力地学习补上
并且成功读了74页中文书，
照顾孩子们，
还准备公司的晚茶。
现在我必须很伤心地停止写信
我不会在最后一页写下晚安。 你亲爱的姐姐 Hattie
Original Format
Letter
Collection
Citation
Noyes, Harriet Newell, “Letter from Hattie to Mary, November 9, 1868,” Letters from Harriet Noyes: Missionaries and Women's Education in Nineteenth Century China, accessed April 19, 2024, https://noyesletters.org/items/show/17.