Letter from Mattie to her Mother, March 27, 1876

noyes_c_cor_495.pdf

Dublin Core

Title

Letter from Mattie to her Mother, March 27, 1876

Subject

Death; Grief; Family; Heaven; Future life; Home; Obituaries

Description

Mattie writes to her mother more about Frank's death and how she wishes she could grieve with her family. She is grateful he is not in pain anymore and anticipates seeing him again in Heaven. Harriet and Henry will be home soon and Mattie urges them to have a doctor see to Henry's throat.

Creator

Kerr, Martha Noyes

Source

The College of Wooster, Special Collections, Noyes Collection, Box #5

Publisher

Unpublished

Date

1876-03-27

Contributor

Council on Library and Information Resources Hidden Special Collections Grant

Format

PDF

Language

eng (English)

Type

Text

Identifier

noyes_c_cor_495

Text Item Type Metadata

Text

Canton China
March 27th /76
My dear Mother,
I have a few mo-
ments before tea and will
spend those talking through the
only medium with my precious
Mother. How I would love
to enter the precious home
and beguile if I could for a
little while the loneliness of
the loved ones there. Perhaps
when Henry and Hattie get
home they can comfort your
sorrowing hearts, but I know
the meeting will be mingled
with sadness. But dear
Mother if we can only think
of our sainted one in glory
clothed in the robes of the
redeemed to go no more out

forever will it not help us to
rejoice even while we weep
Last Sabbath eve while at
our missionary services I was
thinking of the brother now in
heaven and I felt as if I ought
to spend my whole life in the
service of Jesus for giving me
such an assurance that he
had received our darling
Frank to himself. Only think
if he had not been a Christian
what a crushing sorrow ours
would have been. And then
he was spared from the painful
continued suffering we would
all have feared would certainly
be his lot had we known the
state of his poor body. It will
some time be a glorious body
still our dear Frank. What a
cord we have to draw us heaven-
ward and it will not be very
long before we shall all be there

I dare not think of what may
be in the future of change and
death ere I can hope to see
my native land again may God
give strength to acquiece in his
will whatever it may be.
It is so nice that Henry and
Hattie will see so many still
in the "home on the hill"
I hope in another month you
will have them with you
Hattie seems so anxious to
reach America had letters last
week dated the 29th of Feb at
Ceylon. The papers containing
the Obituary notice of dear
Frank came the day after the
other mail and I feared they were
lost but by some accident were
sent to Mr Henry. The one
Emily and Clara wrote was so
nice. The quotation, "God's fin-
gers touched him and he slept"
have seemed present in my

mind all the time since I read
them. When I got the papers
it was Wednesday eve at 8 P.M.
just 14 weeks from the time
he entered into rest. We are
always in our mission prayer
meeting at that hour and I love
to think of my darling one
now far beyond pain and
sin, beyond the need of prayer
safe in the arms of Jesus.
Oh that the Saviour may com-
fort you all I know no words
of mine can avail. You can
not know how I have some-
times longed to lay my head in
your lap only for a little and
mingle my tears with yours.
Mrs Happer and Mrs Graves
have comforted [u] me [/u] but I can-
not speak of this grief before others
much and I never go out [u] alone [/u]
unless to Mrs Happers, but
it is well so far I do not want

[Continued vertically on the first page]
I was afraid they were spoiled but they seem all right now
I must say good night. Hattie wrote the 28 of Feb that she
hoped to be in Ohio in 8 weeks. How I wish I knew just
when you would
see them. Do have
Henry see a physician
about his throat.
They have not written
a word about it since
they left here. I think
so much about dear
Aunt Nancy how
very very lonely she
must be but the
sisters will not
long be divided
Good night dear
Mother May God
comfort you by
giving you himself
Your loving daughter
Mattie



中国广州
1876那年3月27日
亲爱的妈妈,
我在喝茶前有几分钟时间,
将通过唯一的媒介与我亲爱的妈妈交谈。
如果可以的话,
我多么想进入珍贵的家,
并在一段时间内迷惑那里亲人的孤独。
也许当亨利和海蒂回家时,
他们可以抚慰你悲伤的心,
但我知道会面会夹杂着悲伤。
但是亲爱的母亲,
如果我们只能想到我们的圣人穿着救赎者的长袍永远不再外出,
即使我们在最后一个安息日的前夜在我们的传教服务中哭泣时也不会帮助我们欢欣我在想现在在天堂的兄弟和我觉得我应该一生都在为耶稣服务,
因为他给了我这样一个保证,
他已经接受了我们亲爱的弗兰克。
想一想,
如果他不是基督徒,
我们的悲痛会是多么巨大。
然后,
如果我们知道他可怜的身体状况,
我们都会担心他肯定会遭受痛苦的持续痛苦。
有一段时间它仍然是我们亲爱的弗兰克的光荣身体。
一条绳索将我们拉向天堂,
用不了多久,
我们都将到达那里。
我不敢想象未来会发生什么变化和死亡,
在我希望再次见到我的祖国之前上帝赐力量默许他的旨意,
无论它是什么。
很高兴亨利和海蒂能在“山上的家”里看到这么多人,
我希望再过一个月你能把他们带在身边 海蒂似乎很想去美国,
上周收到了 2 月 29 日在锡兰的信.包含亲爱的弗兰克讣告通知的文件是在另一封邮件之后的第二天寄来的,
我担心它们丢失了,
但由于某种意外,
它们被寄给了亨利先生。
艾米丽和克拉拉写的那篇太好了。
“上帝的手指抚摸着他,
他就睡着了”这句话,
自从我读到它们之后,
似乎一直在我的脑海中浮现。
当我拿到文件时,
已经是星期三晚上 8 点。
距他进入休息时间仅 14 周。
我们总是在那个时候参加我们的宣教祷告会,
我喜欢想到我亲爱的人现在已经远远超越了痛苦和罪恶,
超越了在耶稣怀里安全地祈祷的需要。
哦,
救主会安慰你所有我知道我的话无济于事。
你不知道我有时多么渴望把头靠在你的腿上片刻,
把我的眼泪和你的眼泪混在一起。
哈珀夫人和格雷夫斯夫人安慰了我,
但我不能在别人面前过多地谈论这种悲伤,
我从不单独出去,
除非去哈珀斯夫人那里,
但到目前为止我不想[在第一页垂直续]我害怕他们被宠坏了,
但他们现在看起来很好,
我必须说晚安。
海蒂在 2 月 28 日写道,
她希望在 8 周内到达俄亥俄州。
我多么希望我知道你什么时候会看到他们。
让亨利就他的喉咙去看医生。
自从他们离开这里后,
他们一个字也没写过。
我很想亲爱的南希阿姨,
她一定是多么孤独,
但姐妹们不会分开太久,
亲爱的妈妈,
晚安,
愿上帝赐给你自己,
安慰你你慈爱的女儿玛蒂

Original Format

Letter

Citation

Kerr, Martha Noyes, “Letter from Mattie to her Mother, March 27, 1876,” Letters from Harriet Noyes: Missionaries and Women's Education in Nineteenth Century China, accessed March 28, 2024, https://noyesletters.org/items/show/550.

Output Formats