Letter from Hattie to Mother, 1870

noyes_c_cor_045.pdf

Dublin Core

Title

Letter from Hattie to Mother, 1870

Subject

Gifts; Hats; Missionary settlements; Young adults in missionary work; Scrofula

Description

In this letter, Harriet thanks her family for their letters and their gifts. The package they sent includes a variety of hats, canned fruit, and gloves. Harriet also updates her family on the new missionaries and describes many of them. She also shares Dr Happer's plan to build a house for the young ladies of the mission. Harriet also expresses her sadness on the death of some of their friends and wishes that her Mother's scrofula's sores have improved.

Creator

Noyes, Harriet Newell

Source

The College of Wooster, Special Collections, Noyes Collection, Box #1

Publisher

Unpublished

Date

1870

Contributor

Council on Library and Information Resources Hidden Special Collections Grant

Format

PDF

Language

eng (English)

Type

Text

Identifier

noyes_c_cor_045

Text Item Type Metadata

Text

Canton China.
My dear Mother [Note: written in pencil] 1870
When I want to write
to three or four of the home folks all at
once & dont know which one it should
be I always think, Well I'll write to
Father or Mother. Last month our full
allowance of home letters did not come so
this week we had a double portion &
"the box" into the bargain. The steamers
now leave San Francisco the 1st instead
of the 4th of every month. Well the box &
its contents came all right. I am highly
pleased with the hats they do look so home
like, & it seems so nice to think that
you made them. The friends here
admire them very much & marvel greatly
at my statement that they are of home
manufacture. I am afraid that I shall
have to part with at least one of them.
They all want them so bad that I fear
it would be very selfish for me to keep
them all four but I am afraid I shall
not give any up very cheerfully because
you made them & that makes them
so much more valuable to me. But now
that the meetings are here I do not need a
nice hat very often so I think if I can
decide which one to spare I will give one
to Miss Shaw & you may know that
is it covering a better head than mine.
Tell Sarah I took quite a fancy to the [u]speckled[/u]
one she sent. I like the shape very much, &
Em that the paper ^[one] is real pretty. I am
afraid I am getting too [u]yellow[/u] & [u]homely[/u] to
wear light blue. I firmly believe what

Starin said that "we are all growing
older every day." The straw one with a
braid is very nice & the rough & ready I
always liked. Thanks for the notes &
the bits of music that came. I expect our
musical brother will be getting out a book
some of these days. Canned fruit I
dont believe you had better take the
trouble to send as we can get it very well
here. The gloves came all right in the
newspapers & they are just the right thing
just the color precisely to match my
"Paris" walking dress. I wonder if you
could send paper cuffs in the same
way. I should not want ^[to use] them before
next winter. So much for such things.
I dont remember how much I told
you in my last about our missionary
arrivals. Well to begin with, Dr Happer
he is looking very well going home seems
to have had quite a rejuvenating effect upon
him his hair which used to be a [u]good gray[/u]
has [u]turned black[/u] & he has shaved off his
moustache which does'nt improve his looks
at all perhaps however it wouldnt turn black
with the rest. It seems good to have him
here he is a faithful missionary. Mrs Happer
is just real nice & I think ever so much
of her. I think she is a very superior
woman & just the right one for the
place. Miss Shaw is as good as possible
she is 37 years old and a [u]genuine[/u] old
maid. Sarah knows I dont use the
term disrespectfully. We have had some
good talks about US Christian Commission
She came about as near once coming to

"dear old Point of Rocks" where I was as I
did to going to Nashville where she
was. By the way that house that Dr
Happer proposes building for young
ladies (or old maids as Henry says) is
going to be built and tell the girls that
there will be room for any & all of them
that want to join the fraternity. I
imagine that they think perhaps they will
get me there to live & then Henry could board
somewhere, but they will never manage
that & perhaps they have never thought of it.
But to go on with my list. Lucy Happer
is very pretty & knows it as well as if she
could see herself. I dont mean that to be
uncharitable but only descriptive.
Lillie is just [u]lovely[/u] amiable kind & good.
Little Mary 12 years old is a universal
favorite combining Lucy's beauty & Lillie's
disposition. Johnnie & Verdie are nice
little children. Messrs Marcellus &
McChesney we all like. Mrs Marcellus
is rather smart & inclined to be funny
& Mrs McChesney is more quiet & just as
good & nice as she can be a little the
best of the four I guess unless it is Mr
Marcellus. The Marcellus' are at Dr
Kerr's now & the McChesneys will be
with us until the Prestons leave.
I think we will enjoy it very much
living together "just us young folks".
It does seems nice to have some
in our mission nearer our own
age. I am afraid the Prestons
will not be able to call on you on

their way home. I think Mr Preston
will see you while he is at home &
perhaps she may on the way back
so you must not look for them
and be disappointed if they dont
come. Possibly you may see Mr Baldwin
Editor of the Recorder but it is not
very probable. We liked them so
much she is talented & well educated
& he is just as smart & pleasant
good company as need be. We expect
next week a visit from Dr Talmadge
of Amoy.
I feel so sorry for Mrs McDowell. Do
give her my warmest sympathy & my
love to Maggie & Sallie. It is so
sad to hear of the death of Clark Crawford
& Clarence Ross & dying as they did.
I cant understand how Mrs Ross
& the boys could be so [u]heartless[/u] & [u]cruel[/u]
If his [u]Father[/u] had been alive how
different it would have been. It was
very sudden to us I cannot remember
that you ever told us that he was out
of health. You can never write too
particularly about anything.
I am [u]so glad[/u] to know that those
scrofula sores have gone you must tell
me if they come back again. I hope
[u]you[/u] & [u]Father[/u] and [u]all the rest[/u] will
take the best possible care of your
health, & dont work too hard. Please
tell me if Em is as strong & well & fat
as she used to be when she was [u]younger[/u]
You see I can write no more so good-bye Your aff dau
Hattie.

Original Format

Letter

Citation

Noyes, Harriet Newell, “Letter from Hattie to Mother, 1870,” Letters from Harriet Noyes: Missionaries and Women's Education in Nineteenth Century China, accessed March 29, 2024, https://noyesletters.org/items/show/66.

Output Formats