Letter from Hattie to Edward, November 21, 1889
Dublin Core
Title
Letter from Hattie to Edward, November 21, 1889
Subject
Eye--Infections; Blindness; Fire; Fire extinction
Description
Harriet writes to her brother Edward about his eye, which she hopes he will be able to use again if he takes care of himself. For most of the letter, she tells him of a very serious fire that almost pushed them out of their home. They packed up personal belongings, just in case, but were lucky enough to escape any damage to their home or persons.
Creator
Noyes, Harriet Newell
Source
The College of Wooster, Special Collections, Noyes Collection, Box #4
Publisher
Unpublished
Date
1889-11-21
Contributor
Council on Library and Information Resources Hidden Special Collections Grant
Rights
Format
PDF
Language
eng (English)
Type
Text
Identifier
noyes_c_cor_445
Coverage
Text Item Type Metadata
Text
[Note: +c is altered to etc in this transcript]
Canton China
Nov 21st 1889
My dear Edward
I hope that long before
this you are perfectly well and
that your invalid eye will
open as wide as the other.
Dr Kerr says he does not
think there can be any
danger that it will not in
time . Miss Butler says you
must be sure and take that
medicine and it will certainly
cure you so that you will
never be troubled again .
Em too I hope will prove
its merits . We have just
had a bad fire here . the
first that amounted to much
since I came back .It
was Sabbath evening while
we were at tea we heard
the servants [u]running[/u] up stairs.
This always indicates [u]fire[/u]
for nothing less can start a
Chinaman out of his ordinary
gait . We went up on the roof
and found that there were
two large fires one across the
river in Honam and one North
West from us. and near enough
to cause considerable anxiety .We
did not go over to the evening
service as we feared the girls
might get frightened . as indeed
some of the little ones did and
begun to cry. Some of them
felt worried lest there houses
would be burned even if the fire
did not reach here . After the
service was over quite a company
came over and gathered on
the roof and watched the
fire for some time .We did
not really think it would
reach here but still though
it wise to make some slight
preparations for flight in case
it did .I packed my account
books [u]three[/u] Bibles my gold pen
and the inkstand Sarah gave
me .in a satchel put my watch
in my pocket with the little
money I had on hand .
I took alsto the Morning by morning
Father gave me . If we had been
obliged to move out I presume
we could have take our trunks
but they are all up in the
garret and rather difficult
to get down .I should want
to get my Albums. We watched
for a long time [--a large time--]
a large building which has been
used as a restaurant where they
claim to have meals in foreign
style silver forks etc I believe .
The gentlemen said if that
went it would look serious for
us as it would show that the
fire had cross the canal
a very narrow one .The firemen
tried hard to save the building
pouring streams of water over it
but in vain .It burned most
brilliantly as there was a great
deal of light wood work about
it. The flames did not however
as we had feared spread much
in this direction and about
midnight it seemed to be under
control so that we dismissed
anxiety and went to bed.
It burned on until morning.
and the next afternoon the
[?fire?] was still playing upon
the piles of smoking bricks.
At one time the fire was within
800 feet of us. and Mr Henry
called a number of boats to be
on hand to take us away if
it should become necessary.
[Note: Letter concludes sideways on page one]
But we
were very
thankful
that we
were not
obliged
to move.
I thought
if all
[u]things[/u]
burned
up
would never
get so
many
again.
With love
[u]Hattie[/u] .
[注：在这份成绩单中，+c 改为 etc]
中国广州 1889 年 11 月 21 日
我亲爱的爱德华，
我希望在此之前很久，
你会完全康复，
并且你的病眼会睁得和另一只一样大。
克尔博士说，
他认为不会有任何不及时的危险。
巴特勒小姐说你一定吃那个药，
它 一定会治愈你，
这样你就不会再被困扰了。
我也希望能证明它的优点。
我们这里刚刚发生了一场大火。
自从我回来以来，
第一次发生了很多事情。
那是安息日晚上，
我们正在喝茶，
我们听到仆人跑上楼梯。
这总是表明着火无异于让一个中国人与众不同。
我们上了屋顶，
发现有两处大火，
一处在湖南的河对岸，
一处在我们的西北。
并且足够近，
足以引起相当大的焦虑。
我们没有去参加晚间礼拜，
因为我们担心女孩们会受到惊吓。
确实有一些小家伙这样做并开始哭泣。
他们中的一些人担心，
即使大火没有到达这里，
那里的房屋也会被烧毁。
服务结束后，
相当多的公司过来，
聚集在屋顶上，
看着火了一段时间。
我们真的不认为它会到达这里，
但仍然明智地为飞行做一些轻微的准备，
以防万一。
我把我的账簿收拾好三本圣经 ，
我的金笔和莎拉给我的墨水瓶。
在一个书包里，
把我的手表放在口袋里，
带着我手头的一点点钱。
父亲给我的早晨，
我也服用了。
如果我们不得不搬出去，
我想我们可以拿走我们的行李箱，
但它们都在阁楼里，
很难下来。
我应该想拿我的专辑。
我们看了很长时间一栋被用作餐厅的大型建筑，
他们声称用外国风格的银叉等方式用餐，
我相信。
先生们说，
如果那样的话，
对我们来说会很严重，
因为这表明大火已经穿过了一条非常狭窄的运河。
消防员努力挽救建筑物，
将水流浇在上面，
但徒劳无功。
它燃烧得最为灿烂因为有很多关于它的轻木制品。
然而，
火焰并没有像我们担心的那样向这个方向蔓延，
大约午夜时分，
它似乎得到了控制，
所以我们消除了焦虑并上床睡觉。
一直烧到早上。
第二天下午，
一堆堆冒烟的砖块上，
火还在燃烧。
有一次，
大火距离我们不到 800 英尺。
如果有必要的话，
亨利先生叫了几艘船在手边把我们带走。
[注：信件在第一页横向结束]但我们非常感谢我们没有被迫搬家。
我想，
如果所有的东西都烧毁了，
就再也不会有这么多东西了。
带着爱，
海蒂。
Canton China
Nov 21st 1889
My dear Edward
I hope that long before
this you are perfectly well and
that your invalid eye will
open as wide as the other.
Dr Kerr says he does not
think there can be any
danger that it will not in
time . Miss Butler says you
must be sure and take that
medicine and it will certainly
cure you so that you will
never be troubled again .
Em too I hope will prove
its merits . We have just
had a bad fire here . the
first that amounted to much
since I came back .It
was Sabbath evening while
we were at tea we heard
the servants [u]running[/u] up stairs.
This always indicates [u]fire[/u]
for nothing less can start a
Chinaman out of his ordinary
gait . We went up on the roof
and found that there were
two large fires one across the
river in Honam and one North
West from us. and near enough
to cause considerable anxiety .We
did not go over to the evening
service as we feared the girls
might get frightened . as indeed
some of the little ones did and
begun to cry. Some of them
felt worried lest there houses
would be burned even if the fire
did not reach here . After the
service was over quite a company
came over and gathered on
the roof and watched the
fire for some time .We did
not really think it would
reach here but still though
it wise to make some slight
preparations for flight in case
it did .I packed my account
books [u]three[/u] Bibles my gold pen
and the inkstand Sarah gave
me .in a satchel put my watch
in my pocket with the little
money I had on hand .
I took alsto the Morning by morning
Father gave me . If we had been
obliged to move out I presume
we could have take our trunks
but they are all up in the
garret and rather difficult
to get down .I should want
to get my Albums. We watched
for a long time [--a large time--]
a large building which has been
used as a restaurant where they
claim to have meals in foreign
style silver forks etc I believe .
The gentlemen said if that
went it would look serious for
us as it would show that the
fire had cross the canal
a very narrow one .The firemen
tried hard to save the building
pouring streams of water over it
but in vain .It burned most
brilliantly as there was a great
deal of light wood work about
it. The flames did not however
as we had feared spread much
in this direction and about
midnight it seemed to be under
control so that we dismissed
anxiety and went to bed.
It burned on until morning.
and the next afternoon the
[?fire?] was still playing upon
the piles of smoking bricks.
At one time the fire was within
800 feet of us. and Mr Henry
called a number of boats to be
on hand to take us away if
it should become necessary.
[Note: Letter concludes sideways on page one]
But we
were very
thankful
that we
were not
obliged
to move.
I thought
if all
[u]things[/u]
burned
up
would never
get so
many
again.
With love
[u]Hattie[/u] .
[注：在这份成绩单中，+c 改为 etc]
中国广州 1889 年 11 月 21 日
我亲爱的爱德华，
我希望在此之前很久，
你会完全康复，
并且你的病眼会睁得和另一只一样大。
克尔博士说，
他认为不会有任何不及时的危险。
巴特勒小姐说你一定吃那个药，
它 一定会治愈你，
这样你就不会再被困扰了。
我也希望能证明它的优点。
我们这里刚刚发生了一场大火。
自从我回来以来，
第一次发生了很多事情。
那是安息日晚上，
我们正在喝茶，
我们听到仆人跑上楼梯。
这总是表明着火无异于让一个中国人与众不同。
我们上了屋顶，
发现有两处大火，
一处在湖南的河对岸，
一处在我们的西北。
并且足够近，
足以引起相当大的焦虑。
我们没有去参加晚间礼拜，
因为我们担心女孩们会受到惊吓。
确实有一些小家伙这样做并开始哭泣。
他们中的一些人担心，
即使大火没有到达这里，
那里的房屋也会被烧毁。
服务结束后，
相当多的公司过来，
聚集在屋顶上，
看着火了一段时间。
我们真的不认为它会到达这里，
但仍然明智地为飞行做一些轻微的准备，
以防万一。
我把我的账簿收拾好三本圣经 ，
我的金笔和莎拉给我的墨水瓶。
在一个书包里，
把我的手表放在口袋里，
带着我手头的一点点钱。
父亲给我的早晨，
我也服用了。
如果我们不得不搬出去，
我想我们可以拿走我们的行李箱，
但它们都在阁楼里，
很难下来。
我应该想拿我的专辑。
我们看了很长时间一栋被用作餐厅的大型建筑，
他们声称用外国风格的银叉等方式用餐，
我相信。
先生们说，
如果那样的话，
对我们来说会很严重，
因为这表明大火已经穿过了一条非常狭窄的运河。
消防员努力挽救建筑物，
将水流浇在上面，
但徒劳无功。
它燃烧得最为灿烂因为有很多关于它的轻木制品。
然而，
火焰并没有像我们担心的那样向这个方向蔓延，
大约午夜时分，
它似乎得到了控制，
所以我们消除了焦虑并上床睡觉。
一直烧到早上。
第二天下午，
一堆堆冒烟的砖块上，
火还在燃烧。
有一次，
大火距离我们不到 800 英尺。
如果有必要的话，
亨利先生叫了几艘船在手边把我们带走。
[注：信件在第一页横向结束]但我们非常感谢我们没有被迫搬家。
我想，
如果所有的东西都烧毁了，
就再也不会有这么多东西了。
带着爱，
海蒂。
Original Format
Letter
Collection
Citation
Noyes, Harriet Newell, “Letter from Hattie to Edward, November 21, 1889,” Letters from Harriet Noyes: Missionaries and Women's Education in Nineteenth Century China, accessed April 27, 2024, https://noyesletters.org/items/show/502.