Letter from Hattie to Em, January 19, 1875
Dublin Core
Title
Letter from Hattie to Em, January 19, 1875
Subject
Fires; Arson; Missionaries; Gifts
Description
In this letter to her sister Emily, Harriet writes that she is very upset by the school building burning down and the material loss. She hopes they can rebuild the school before they go back home, which she is very excited about. They have talked about stopping by Jerusalem on the way. Her younger sisters are at Wooster and she hopes they are taking care of themselves. Many missionaries and local people have been coming with donations and offering to help.
Creator
Noyes, Harriet Newell
Source
The College of Wooster, Special Collections, Noyes Collection, Box #2
Publisher
Unpublished
Date
1875-01-19
Contributor
Council on Library and Information Resources Hidden Special Collections Grant
Rights
Format
PDF
Language
eng (English)
Type
Text
Identifier
noyes_c_cor_136
Text Item Type Metadata
Text
Canton China
Jany 19th '75
My own dear Em,
I have [u]nineteen[/u]
unanswered letters lying on
the table before me and as it is
only an hour before the mail goes
I cannot write more than one
or two so from them all I
select yours as the one that shall
be answered first. I feel so lost
and insulted since the school
building was burned that I do
not feel like setting myself at
anything and my time has
been pretty well filled up with
trying to comfort the women
who lost their clothing +c by
the fire, and making arrangements
for their comfort. WE have given
away Every bit of old clothing
we can find about the house.
Our losses by the fire I suppose
count up to fifty or sixty dollars.
I grieved more over the beautiful
napkin ring that Sarah gave
me than I have over any
thing for some time. That
with the motto "God Bless our Home."
and the picture of the Angel of
Death that Frank and Clara
sent we miss more than
the other things we lost. Lucy
lost her black and white
shawl and her parasol.
But we feel thankful that we
did not lose any more. The
Chinese feel a sort of liberty
to take anything they can
lay hands on at a fire.
If it had not been for
the help of the foreign community
and the men from the "Yantic"
it seems as though our house
must have gone too. WE are
so anxious to get the work of
rebuilding commenced , so that
our work may not be long
interrupted and we shall want
to see the school in good
running order again before
we leave for America. I hope
nothing will occur to prevent
our starting home in the
[u]beginning[/u] of 1876 [u]next year[/u].
I have been counting the days for
[u]years[/u], and it begins to seem
now that we are in the last
year that we are coming
near. Mattie I presume has
told you that we are thinking
about and talking of going
home by way of [u]Jerusalem[/u].
If we can manage it I shall
be [u]so delighted[/u] WE would probably
be a little longer on the way
as we would visit England
also. Your letters seem very
life like and bring back the
old home life and seems very
vividly Sometimes it comes over
me with such a thrill the thought
of being with you all once
more. I hope the girls are
enjoying themselves at Wooster.
They must take good care of
themselves and not study
too hard and Eat too little
I am afraid that Sarah
does not get sleep enough It
does not work well to go to
bed late and get up Early.
Our rainy season seems to
have fairly commenced
more than a week ago. It
is unusually Early this year.
WE close our day schools for the
New Year holidays day after tomorrow.
There is the door-bell again this
is the sixth set of callers {Chinese}
that we have had within the
two past hours. Just now a note
came in from Mr Cunningham
Enclosing $ 25. 00 to be given
to the women in the school
who lost all their clothing. It is
very kind of him. He is one of
the merchants here and a very
pleasant man always attends
our Sabbath service. He worked
for us very hard the day of the fire.
WE are all invited to spend
this evening there. Lieut Clark
of the Yantic and his wife
are staying at the Cunningham's
while the Yantic. There is the
bell again and this time it
is three or four Chinese men.
WEll they must wait a minute until
we get our letters put up for it is almost
four-o-clock. Lucy has just bought her
letters. Henry is finishing a letter to
[Note: Letters concludes sideways on page one]
Brainerd. Mattie is finishing one to Miss Shaw and I am
finishing one to [u]Em[/u] good-bye Your own loving
[u]Hattie[/u]
Jany 19th '75
My own dear Em,
I have [u]nineteen[/u]
unanswered letters lying on
the table before me and as it is
only an hour before the mail goes
I cannot write more than one
or two so from them all I
select yours as the one that shall
be answered first. I feel so lost
and insulted since the school
building was burned that I do
not feel like setting myself at
anything and my time has
been pretty well filled up with
trying to comfort the women
who lost their clothing +c by
the fire, and making arrangements
for their comfort. WE have given
away Every bit of old clothing
we can find about the house.
Our losses by the fire I suppose
count up to fifty or sixty dollars.
I grieved more over the beautiful
napkin ring that Sarah gave
me than I have over any
thing for some time. That
with the motto "God Bless our Home."
and the picture of the Angel of
Death that Frank and Clara
sent we miss more than
the other things we lost. Lucy
lost her black and white
shawl and her parasol.
But we feel thankful that we
did not lose any more. The
Chinese feel a sort of liberty
to take anything they can
lay hands on at a fire.
If it had not been for
the help of the foreign community
and the men from the "Yantic"
it seems as though our house
must have gone too. WE are
so anxious to get the work of
rebuilding commenced , so that
our work may not be long
interrupted and we shall want
to see the school in good
running order again before
we leave for America. I hope
nothing will occur to prevent
our starting home in the
[u]beginning[/u] of 1876 [u]next year[/u].
I have been counting the days for
[u]years[/u], and it begins to seem
now that we are in the last
year that we are coming
near. Mattie I presume has
told you that we are thinking
about and talking of going
home by way of [u]Jerusalem[/u].
If we can manage it I shall
be [u]so delighted[/u] WE would probably
be a little longer on the way
as we would visit England
also. Your letters seem very
life like and bring back the
old home life and seems very
vividly Sometimes it comes over
me with such a thrill the thought
of being with you all once
more. I hope the girls are
enjoying themselves at Wooster.
They must take good care of
themselves and not study
too hard and Eat too little
I am afraid that Sarah
does not get sleep enough It
does not work well to go to
bed late and get up Early.
Our rainy season seems to
have fairly commenced
more than a week ago. It
is unusually Early this year.
WE close our day schools for the
New Year holidays day after tomorrow.
There is the door-bell again this
is the sixth set of callers {Chinese}
that we have had within the
two past hours. Just now a note
came in from Mr Cunningham
Enclosing $ 25. 00 to be given
to the women in the school
who lost all their clothing. It is
very kind of him. He is one of
the merchants here and a very
pleasant man always attends
our Sabbath service. He worked
for us very hard the day of the fire.
WE are all invited to spend
this evening there. Lieut Clark
of the Yantic and his wife
are staying at the Cunningham's
while the Yantic. There is the
bell again and this time it
is three or four Chinese men.
WEll they must wait a minute until
we get our letters put up for it is almost
four-o-clock. Lucy has just bought her
letters. Henry is finishing a letter to
[Note: Letters concludes sideways on page one]
Brainerd. Mattie is finishing one to Miss Shaw and I am
finishing one to [u]Em[/u] good-bye Your own loving
[u]Hattie[/u]
中国广东
1875年1月19日
我亲爱的Em，
我有19封没有回复的信在我面前
而且因为只有一个小时我就要去寄信了
所以我只能选一到两封信来写
我选了你的作为第一封回复的信。
我感到迷失和屈辱
因为学校楼被烧了
我不能让自己做任何事
我现在的时间都花在了
安慰在火海中失去衣服的女人们
我们把我们能找到的旧衣服都给出去了。
我认为在火海中失去的东西总共50-60美元。
我对失去Sarah给我的纸巾还很伤心
甚至超过自己失去任何东西的伤心程度。
纸圈上写着座右铭：神保佑我们全家。
而且Frank和Clara寄给我们死亡天使图
我们想的东西比我们丢的东西多。
Lucy丢了她黑白披肩和太阳伞。
但是我们很感激没有丢更多。
中国人还算自由的从火海中
带走任何能拿走的东西。
如果没有外国社区和来自Yantic炮艇上的人们帮忙
我们可能也会失去房子。
我们非常希望开始重建的工作，
以至于我们的工作不会耽误很久
我们想在会美国前看到学校有序的经营。
我希望没有什么可以阻止我们明年——1876年年初回家。
我开始数日子，
到了我们在这里的最后一年，
我们回家的日子越来越近了。
我认为Mattie告诉过你
我们在想、在讨论回家
顺便去耶路撒冷。
如果我能做到，我会很高兴，
我们很可能在路上耽误多一点时间
因为我们也会去英国。
你的信看起来很就像记录了你的生活，
并且生动的描写了之前的家庭生活。
有时候我感觉很震撼
想到又一次和你在一起。
我希望姑娘们可以享受在Wooster的时光。
她们一点要照顾好自己
并且不要学习太苦，吃得还少。
我担心Sarah睡不够。
睡觉很晚，起床很早对她来说不太好。
我们这边的雨季一周前就开始了。
今年很不寻常的提前了。
我们后天关闭学校，
因为新年到了。
又一次门铃响了
这是两个小时之内第六次响。
就在刚刚，
Cunningham先生的留言进来。
25美元给了学校了丢了衣服的女人们。
他是个很好的人。
他是这里的商人之一
而且很和善
经常做安息日的礼拜。
着火的时候他帮了我们很多。
今晚，我们被邀请来这里。
Yantic炮艇上的少尉和他的妻子
待在Cunningham的Yantic的地方。
铃又响了
这一次事三四个中国男人。
好吧，他们肯定至少等了一分钟
直到我们收起我们的信都快四点了。
Lucy刚刚带来了她的信。
Henry正在收尾写给Brainerd的信。
【信件结尾边缘书写】
Mattie正在收尾给Shaw小姐的一封信
我正在收尾给Em写的一封信，爱你的
Hattie
Original Format
Letter
Collection
Citation
Noyes, Harriet Newell, “Letter from Hattie to Em, January 19, 1875,” Letters from Harriet Noyes: Missionaries and Women's Education in Nineteenth Century China, accessed April 29, 2024, https://noyesletters.org/items/show/192.