Letter from Hattie to Mother, May 23, 1868
Dublin Core
Title
Letter from Hattie to Mother, May 23, 1868
Subject
Clothing and dress; Parcel post; Food
Description
This letter from Harriet to her mother details the receiving of a box from Aspinwall. Harriet evaluates the viability of its various contents-apples, maple syrup, jam-and reminisces about Cynthia and Hannah. She also requests items from home, such as butter and a hat, to be sent to China.
Creator
Noyes, Harriet Newell
Source
The College of Wooster, Special Collections, Noyes Collection, Box #1
Publisher
Unpublished
Date
1868-05-23
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_008
Text Item Type Metadata
Text
Canton China
May 23d /68
My [u]own dear[/u] Mother
I intended
to write you by the last mail but
we had so little time after the steamer
came in that it was impossible.
I hope you are keeping well this
summer. How well I remember
last year how anxious we felt
about your neck. Does it even
trouble you now at all.
And now I must tell you what
came to us a day or two ago. It was
the box that I sent back from
Aspinwall and after its long journey
has at last reached its destination
We found as we expected that [u]apples[/u]
cannot make a journey of [u]seven[/u]
months and come out all right at
the end. However we found the remains
of what with the aid of my memory I
felt ready to testify had once been
nice hard round apples. The moisture
from their freezing and decaying
dampened the saw dust and
then when they shrank up it left
vacant room in the box so we did
not find everything all right. Here
I left off to receive a call from the
ladies of a Chinese family near here
who dress in foreign style + speak
English very well. They lived in
New York for a while and seem
quite different from most of the
Chinese. It used to seem to me
as if it would be very nice for
[—-an-—]other nations to adopt one
style of dress, but I dont believe
it would be any better if as good
for the Chinese. Their dress certainly
is loose + cool and not nearly
as expensive as ours which is
quite an item with the Chinese.
But to return to the box. The
ginger snaps were not [u]quite[/u] as nice
as those I enjoyed in the Golden
City but we knew that last fall they
were good at any rate. The beans
were partly mildewed but some
were good and it will be very nice
to have some beans that grew on
our own place. The cheese is
very good and the canned fruit
also although some of the cans
were badly jammed. I could not
keep the tears from falling as I
thought whose hands prepared
that fruit our [u]darling Hannah[/u]
I always feel sad when I think how
much you must miss her at home
her presence was [u]always[/u] like a sunbeam.
I am sorry to tell Em that the maple
sugar she took so much trouble to
make was spoiled I thought at first
the box must have stood in water
some of the way but I presume it was
only the moisture of the apples.
Dr Kerr has some maple sugar that
was put up in tin cans which is
the best way. We get a sort of syrup
here which I think is quite as nice
as the maple. Most of the missionaries
here send home for butter and I
think we had perhaps better get you
to ask Mr Fife if he will put up a
dozen cans when it comes a good
season of the year for us. The best
way is to put it up in tin cans soldered
tight just like fruit, the quart cans.
If the butter is good and carefully put
up it keeps very nicely. We can get
almost any kind of fruit here
except apples and you must not
feel that there is any [u]necessity[/u] for
you to send us anything in that
line. But if you are sending a box
of butter and want to put in any
thing more. I do not think of any
thing that would be nicer than canned
apple sauce & apple butter & stewed
pie plant for pies. Henry says that
Cynthia used to think she would
write home to have them make
some little maple sugar cakes
for the little Prestons so that they
would come out to them as ^[being] sent
to them, from those who had heard
of them on the other side of the world.
There is usually no difficulty at all
in sending boxes of cans. And I
think that I will send home for my
hats if you would like to have me.
I would like to wear a hat that
was made at home and then you
would know just how it looked, but
I shall not need any very soon-
If it is not [u]convenient[/u] you must not
feel that it is [u]necessary[/u] to send us
anything for we can get all we
need here [u]all but letters[/u]. We are
glad to hear such good news from
Medway I wonder how Mr Sanfords
health is now You must [--th--] not
think that when a [illegible] write
you write the same thing over for
you hardly ever do and the
last letter is [u]always[/u] just as
interesting as the first. When you
write to Medway remember us to
then I want to write to some of
them when I get time. And
now I must say good-bye. Try +
take good care of yourself and dont
work too hard if the girls are away
teaching. And that God’s richest blessing
may rest upon you all is the earnest prayer of
Your loving daughter Hattie.
May 23d /68
My [u]own dear[/u] Mother
I intended
to write you by the last mail but
we had so little time after the steamer
came in that it was impossible.
I hope you are keeping well this
summer. How well I remember
last year how anxious we felt
about your neck. Does it even
trouble you now at all.
And now I must tell you what
came to us a day or two ago. It was
the box that I sent back from
Aspinwall and after its long journey
has at last reached its destination
We found as we expected that [u]apples[/u]
cannot make a journey of [u]seven[/u]
months and come out all right at
the end. However we found the remains
of what with the aid of my memory I
felt ready to testify had once been
nice hard round apples. The moisture
from their freezing and decaying
dampened the saw dust and
then when they shrank up it left
vacant room in the box so we did
not find everything all right. Here
I left off to receive a call from the
ladies of a Chinese family near here
who dress in foreign style + speak
English very well. They lived in
New York for a while and seem
quite different from most of the
Chinese. It used to seem to me
as if it would be very nice for
[—-an-—]other nations to adopt one
style of dress, but I dont believe
it would be any better if as good
for the Chinese. Their dress certainly
is loose + cool and not nearly
as expensive as ours which is
quite an item with the Chinese.
But to return to the box. The
ginger snaps were not [u]quite[/u] as nice
as those I enjoyed in the Golden
City but we knew that last fall they
were good at any rate. The beans
were partly mildewed but some
were good and it will be very nice
to have some beans that grew on
our own place. The cheese is
very good and the canned fruit
also although some of the cans
were badly jammed. I could not
keep the tears from falling as I
thought whose hands prepared
that fruit our [u]darling Hannah[/u]
I always feel sad when I think how
much you must miss her at home
her presence was [u]always[/u] like a sunbeam.
I am sorry to tell Em that the maple
sugar she took so much trouble to
make was spoiled I thought at first
the box must have stood in water
some of the way but I presume it was
only the moisture of the apples.
Dr Kerr has some maple sugar that
was put up in tin cans which is
the best way. We get a sort of syrup
here which I think is quite as nice
as the maple. Most of the missionaries
here send home for butter and I
think we had perhaps better get you
to ask Mr Fife if he will put up a
dozen cans when it comes a good
season of the year for us. The best
way is to put it up in tin cans soldered
tight just like fruit, the quart cans.
If the butter is good and carefully put
up it keeps very nicely. We can get
almost any kind of fruit here
except apples and you must not
feel that there is any [u]necessity[/u] for
you to send us anything in that
line. But if you are sending a box
of butter and want to put in any
thing more. I do not think of any
thing that would be nicer than canned
apple sauce & apple butter & stewed
pie plant for pies. Henry says that
Cynthia used to think she would
write home to have them make
some little maple sugar cakes
for the little Prestons so that they
would come out to them as ^[being] sent
to them, from those who had heard
of them on the other side of the world.
There is usually no difficulty at all
in sending boxes of cans. And I
think that I will send home for my
hats if you would like to have me.
I would like to wear a hat that
was made at home and then you
would know just how it looked, but
I shall not need any very soon-
If it is not [u]convenient[/u] you must not
feel that it is [u]necessary[/u] to send us
anything for we can get all we
need here [u]all but letters[/u]. We are
glad to hear such good news from
Medway I wonder how Mr Sanfords
health is now You must [--th--] not
think that when a [illegible] write
you write the same thing over for
you hardly ever do and the
last letter is [u]always[/u] just as
interesting as the first. When you
write to Medway remember us to
then I want to write to some of
them when I get time. And
now I must say good-bye. Try +
take good care of yourself and dont
work too hard if the girls are away
teaching. And that God’s richest blessing
may rest upon you all is the earnest prayer of
Your loving daughter Hattie.
中国广东
1868年5月23日
我亲爱的母亲，
我上次打算给你写信
但是轮船来的太快了
所以我来不及
给你写。
我希望夏天一切都好。
我记得去年
我们都担心你的脖子。
现在怎么样？
还疼吗？
我要告诉你
我们前几天收到的什么。
是我从Aspinwall发的包裹
终于来了。
像我们预期的那样，
在一个盒子里七个月后，
苹果变质了.
我们发现
曾经是好苹果
的垃圾.
他们冷冻和腐烂的湿气润湿了锯末，
然后当它们收缩时，
它们留在了盒子的空余空间中，
所以我们发现
一切都很乱。
刚才我停了一会儿，
去拜访一个穿着异国风情，
英语说得很好的中国家庭
他们在纽约住了一段时间，
他们似乎与大多数其他中国人
有很大的不同
我以前认为
其他国家穿美国风格的衣服会很好，
但我认为
其他衣服
不适合中国人 .
中国的衣服
宽松，凉爽
不如美国的衣服贵
/
回到包裹的话题
姜饼没有
我上个秋天
在旧金山吃的好,
但还算不错。
豆子部分发霉，
但有些很好。
自己种豆会很好。
奶酪很好，
水果罐头也不错，
但罐子被压扁了。
当我想到Hannah
准备那个水果时，
我忍不住哭了.
/
当我想起你想念她多少时，
我总是感到难过。
她总是像一束阳光。
我很遗憾地告诉Em，
她费了这么大劲才做的枫糖坏了，
我以为起初盒子一定站在水中，
但我想那只是苹果的水分。
/
/
Kerr医生把一些
枫糖放在罐头里。
我认为在这里可以买到
跟枫糖差不多的糖浆。
这里的大部份的传教士
都是从家里订购黄油的。
我想我们应该请Fife 先生
做黄油最好的时候
为我们做12罐.
保存黄油的最佳方法
与水果相同，
将其放入锡罐中。
如果黄油是好的并且仔细罐头，
它会保持很好的状态。
除了苹果意外
我们这里可以买各个种类的水果
所以你不用
给我们发那样的东西。
但是，如果您要送一盒黄油，
并想再放一点东西
我想不出比
罐装苹果酱，
苹果酱
和大黄更好的东西了。
Henry 说 Cynthia
曾经以为他会写信回家，
让他们发枫糖饼
给小孩吃
所以小孩会认为
世界的另一边
有正在想起他们的人。
通常，在发送罐头盒时根本
没有任何问题
如果你愿意寄给我，
我想戴上我的帽子。
我想戴那个
家里做的帽子，
你知道哪一个。
但暂时不需要戴，
所以如果不方便
就不要发送，
除了信件，
我们还能在这里得到所需的一切。
听到从Medway 来的好消息
让我们高兴。
Sanford 先生的身体怎么样？
你不必担心重复自己
因为你几乎不会重复自己
而且你写的信件都
和下一个信件
一样有意思
你给 Medway 写一封信
告诉他们我们想他们。
我有时点的话也得给他们写信
现在我必须说再见。
好好照顾你自己
千万别太累了。
我祈求
上帝保佑你
你亲爱的女儿Hattie。
Original Format
Letter
Collection
Citation
Noyes, Harriet Newell, “Letter from Hattie to Mother, May 23, 1868,” Letters from Harriet Noyes: Missionaries and Women's Education in Nineteenth Century China, accessed April 25, 2024, https://noyesletters.org/items/show/9.