Letter from Hattie to Father, July 1, 1879
Dublin Core
Title
Letter from Hattie to Father, July 1, 1879
Subject
Birthdays; Aging; Communion sermons
Description
Harriet writes to her father that she misses him and hopes that they will be reunited again before he passes. Henry has said he wants to be in China until he is seventy. Their church services are going well. It is her father's seventy-fifth birthday and church members have passed along their good wishes. She tells her father that Dr. & Mrs. Graves are very good people and friends. She is sending her father handkerchiefs with the letter.
Creator
Noyes, Harriet Newell
Source
The College of Wooster, Special Collections, Noyes Collection, Box #2
Publisher
Unpublished
Date
1879-07-01
Contributor
Council on Library and Information Resources Hidden Special Collections Grant
Rights
NO COPYRIGHT - UNITED STATES
Format
PDF
Language
eng (English)
Type
Text
Identifier
noyes_c_cor_198
Text Item Type Metadata
Text
Canton China
July 1st 1879.
My own dear Father,
It is in the evening
here now so I can think of
its being in the morning over
the seas in the dear [u]home[/u] on
the hill. How much I wish
I might spend the day with
you, but I can only send
you every good wish and warmest
love. I hope this may be a
happy year for you, and
that you may still have many
happy years before you. And I
hope too that we may be spared
to meet again in this life.
Nearly two years have already passed
since I left you and they
have seemed to go quickly.
Long ago I cut out of a paper
an extract from some
medical writer who said that
if a man passed his seventy
fifth birthday statistics showed
that there would be a strong
probability that he would
live to be ninety. I hope that
you may indeed stay with
us until you are ninety. Then
I should be [u]fifty[/u] and I think
fifteen more years in China
will make me quite ready to go
to a better land. Henry
however says he hopes to live
here until he is seventy and
says it seems to him as
though he should. I am
sure that any one who is in
China twenty years hence
will see a great change.
I hope Mattie has written to
you about our Communion
Season Sabbath before last.
It was a very happy day
in every way, one that we shall
long remember.
It is such a pleasure to us
always to feel that you are
so interested in the progress of the
work here. I am sure no missionaries
can be more blessed in their own
home circle that we are, and
I feel that it ought to make
us good missionaries. No words
can ever tell you how grateful
we are for all that you have
been to us, and what joy it
is to know that we shall never
be separated through all the
ages of eternity.
Our Chinese friends are all
much interested in knowing
that this is your seventy fifth
birthday and send their
"mun haus" {regard} to you and
Mother. They think we
are very fortunate [u]children[/u]
and we know that we
are. Dr + Mrs Graves
were here this evening and
they sent their regards. I hope
may see them sometime.
Dr Graves is "an Israelite in
whom is no guile" and
his wife is of like spirit They
are pure gold, and we
consider ourselves indeed happy
in being counted as we know that
we are among their nearest friends.
Henry came in for a minutes this
morning They were out buying peaches
and Belle & the baby staid in the
boat while he came in to bring a
parcel that had come to him from
Shanghai for me Chinese books. So we
three were together for a minute or two
& he said he was so glad we could be
because it was your birthday. We finally
concluded to invite them down here this eve,
but there was not much pleasure in it.
A call of two minutes [u]alone[/u] like that in
the morning is worth more than a hundred
evenings spent together with the inevitable
additional one.
[Note: Written vertically on the first page]
We send two
silk hdkfs the
plain one I have
chosen. I hope
you will like to
use them.
And now I
must say,
good bye.
With ever
so much
love & wishes
that you
may be well
& happy during
the coming year
& many many
succeeding ones
Ever your loving
daughter
[u]Hattie[/u].
中国广州，
1879 年 7 月 1 日。
我亲爱的父亲，
现在是晚上，
所以我可以想到它是在海上，
在山上亲爱的家中的早晨。
我多么希望我能和你一起度过这一天，
但我只能送你每一个美好的愿望和最温暖的爱。
我希望这对你来说可能是一个快乐的一年，
你可能还有很多快乐的岁月在你面前。
我也希望我们能幸免于难，
今生再相见。
我离开你已经快两年了，
他们似乎过得很快。
很久以前，
我从一篇论文中剪下一个医学作家的摘录，
他说如果一个人过了七十五岁生日，
统计数据显示他很有可能活到九十岁。
我希望你真的能和我们在一起直到你九十岁。
那么我应该五十岁了，
我想在中国再呆十五年会让我准备好去一个更好的国家。
然而，
亨利说他希望在这里住到七十岁，
并说在他看来他应该这样做。
我相信任何一个在中国生活了二十年的人都会看到巨大的变化。
我希望玛蒂在上次之前已经写信给你关于我们的圣餐季节安息日。
从各方面来说，
那都是非常快乐的一天，
我们将永远铭记这一天。
我们总是很高兴您对这里的工作进展如此感兴趣。
我相信没有传教士在他们自己的家庭圈子里比我们更受祝福，
我觉得这应该使我们成为优秀的传教士。
任何言语都无法告诉你，
我们对你对我们的一切感到多么感激，
知道我们永远不会在永恒的所有时代分开是多么高兴。
我们的中国朋友都很想知道今天是您的七十五岁生日，
并向您和母亲问好。
他们认为我们是非常幸运的孩子，
我们知道我们是。
格雷夫斯医生和夫人今晚在这里，
他们致以问候。
我希望有一天能见到他们。
格雷夫斯医生是“一个没有诡计的以色列人”，
他的妻子也有同样的精神。
他们是纯金，
我们认为自己确实很高兴被视为是他们最亲密的朋友之一。
亨利今天早上进来了一会儿，
他们出去买桃子，
贝儿和婴儿呆在船上，
而他进来拿了一个从上海寄给他的包裹，
要给我中文书籍。
所以我们三个人在一起一两分钟，
他说他很高兴我们能在一起，
因为这是你的生日。
我们终于决定在这个前夜邀请他们下来，
但并没有太多的乐趣。
像早上那样单独打两分钟的电话，
就值一百多个晚上加上不可避免的额外的一个晚上。
[注：第一页竖着写] 我们送了两条我选择的素色丝帕。
我希望你会喜欢使用它们。
现在我必须说，
再见。
怀着如此多的爱和希望，
你在来年可能会幸福快乐，
还有许多成功的人永远是你亲爱的女儿，
海蒂。
July 1st 1879.
My own dear Father,
It is in the evening
here now so I can think of
its being in the morning over
the seas in the dear [u]home[/u] on
the hill. How much I wish
I might spend the day with
you, but I can only send
you every good wish and warmest
love. I hope this may be a
happy year for you, and
that you may still have many
happy years before you. And I
hope too that we may be spared
to meet again in this life.
Nearly two years have already passed
since I left you and they
have seemed to go quickly.
Long ago I cut out of a paper
an extract from some
medical writer who said that
if a man passed his seventy
fifth birthday statistics showed
that there would be a strong
probability that he would
live to be ninety. I hope that
you may indeed stay with
us until you are ninety. Then
I should be [u]fifty[/u] and I think
fifteen more years in China
will make me quite ready to go
to a better land. Henry
however says he hopes to live
here until he is seventy and
says it seems to him as
though he should. I am
sure that any one who is in
China twenty years hence
will see a great change.
I hope Mattie has written to
you about our Communion
Season Sabbath before last.
It was a very happy day
in every way, one that we shall
long remember.
It is such a pleasure to us
always to feel that you are
so interested in the progress of the
work here. I am sure no missionaries
can be more blessed in their own
home circle that we are, and
I feel that it ought to make
us good missionaries. No words
can ever tell you how grateful
we are for all that you have
been to us, and what joy it
is to know that we shall never
be separated through all the
ages of eternity.
Our Chinese friends are all
much interested in knowing
that this is your seventy fifth
birthday and send their
"mun haus" {regard} to you and
Mother. They think we
are very fortunate [u]children[/u]
and we know that we
are. Dr + Mrs Graves
were here this evening and
they sent their regards. I hope
may see them sometime.
Dr Graves is "an Israelite in
whom is no guile" and
his wife is of like spirit They
are pure gold, and we
consider ourselves indeed happy
in being counted as we know that
we are among their nearest friends.
Henry came in for a minutes this
morning They were out buying peaches
and Belle & the baby staid in the
boat while he came in to bring a
parcel that had come to him from
Shanghai for me Chinese books. So we
three were together for a minute or two
& he said he was so glad we could be
because it was your birthday. We finally
concluded to invite them down here this eve,
but there was not much pleasure in it.
A call of two minutes [u]alone[/u] like that in
the morning is worth more than a hundred
evenings spent together with the inevitable
additional one.
[Note: Written vertically on the first page]
We send two
silk hdkfs the
plain one I have
chosen. I hope
you will like to
use them.
And now I
must say,
good bye.
With ever
so much
love & wishes
that you
may be well
& happy during
the coming year
& many many
succeeding ones
Ever your loving
daughter
[u]Hattie[/u].
中国广州，
1879 年 7 月 1 日。
我亲爱的父亲，
现在是晚上，
所以我可以想到它是在海上，
在山上亲爱的家中的早晨。
我多么希望我能和你一起度过这一天，
但我只能送你每一个美好的愿望和最温暖的爱。
我希望这对你来说可能是一个快乐的一年，
你可能还有很多快乐的岁月在你面前。
我也希望我们能幸免于难，
今生再相见。
我离开你已经快两年了，
他们似乎过得很快。
很久以前，
我从一篇论文中剪下一个医学作家的摘录，
他说如果一个人过了七十五岁生日，
统计数据显示他很有可能活到九十岁。
我希望你真的能和我们在一起直到你九十岁。
那么我应该五十岁了，
我想在中国再呆十五年会让我准备好去一个更好的国家。
然而，
亨利说他希望在这里住到七十岁，
并说在他看来他应该这样做。
我相信任何一个在中国生活了二十年的人都会看到巨大的变化。
我希望玛蒂在上次之前已经写信给你关于我们的圣餐季节安息日。
从各方面来说，
那都是非常快乐的一天，
我们将永远铭记这一天。
我们总是很高兴您对这里的工作进展如此感兴趣。
我相信没有传教士在他们自己的家庭圈子里比我们更受祝福，
我觉得这应该使我们成为优秀的传教士。
任何言语都无法告诉你，
我们对你对我们的一切感到多么感激，
知道我们永远不会在永恒的所有时代分开是多么高兴。
我们的中国朋友都很想知道今天是您的七十五岁生日，
并向您和母亲问好。
他们认为我们是非常幸运的孩子，
我们知道我们是。
格雷夫斯医生和夫人今晚在这里，
他们致以问候。
我希望有一天能见到他们。
格雷夫斯医生是“一个没有诡计的以色列人”，
他的妻子也有同样的精神。
他们是纯金，
我们认为自己确实很高兴被视为是他们最亲密的朋友之一。
亨利今天早上进来了一会儿，
他们出去买桃子，
贝儿和婴儿呆在船上，
而他进来拿了一个从上海寄给他的包裹，
要给我中文书籍。
所以我们三个人在一起一两分钟，
他说他很高兴我们能在一起，
因为这是你的生日。
我们终于决定在这个前夜邀请他们下来，
但并没有太多的乐趣。
像早上那样单独打两分钟的电话，
就值一百多个晚上加上不可避免的额外的一个晚上。
[注：第一页竖着写] 我们送了两条我选择的素色丝帕。
我希望你会喜欢使用它们。
现在我必须说，
再见。
怀着如此多的爱和希望，
你在来年可能会幸福快乐，
还有许多成功的人永远是你亲爱的女儿，
海蒂。
Original Format
Letter
Collection
Citation
Noyes, Harriet Newell, “Letter from Hattie to Father, July 1, 1879,” Letters from Harriet Noyes: Missionaries and Women's Education in Nineteenth Century China, accessed April 29, 2024, https://noyesletters.org/items/show/254.