Letter from Hattie to Father, July 10, 1872
Dublin Core
Title
Letter from Hattie to Father, July 10, 1872
Subject
Travel; Death; Grief; Gunshot wounds; Widows
Description
In this letter to her Father, Harriet recounts the death of Mr. McChesney. She started a letter to her father the night before, but rewrote it because of tragic events. Henry and Mr. McChesney were on a boat and had stopped for the night when a band of thieves came by and a stray bullet hit Mr. McChesney in the head. Henry returned with his body and Harriet helped to bury him. She worries for his widow.
Creator
Noyes, Harriet Newell
Source
The College of Wooster, Special Collections, Noyes Collection, Box #1
Publisher
Unpublished
Date
1872-07-10
Contributor
Council on Library and Information Resources Hidden Special Collections Grant
Rights
Format
PDF
Language
eng (English)
Type
Text
Identifier
noyes_c_cor_084
Text Item Type Metadata
Text
Canton China
July 10th 1872.
My dear Father,
It is not because you
were forgotten on the 1st of July
that this letter was not written
then as I intended it should
have been. I was very busy
that day with the school and
getting our house ready for
Mr & Mrs Williams and Miss
Whilden who are staying with
us this month. I had to move
our things about some as I
gave my room up to them
and took Henry's
I commenced a letter to
you last night and if I had
finished it then it would
have been a very different letter
from what I shall write
you to-night. This has been
such a sad [u]sad[/u] day for
us here. Henry I presume
will write you about it and
perhaps more fully than I
can. Yesterday morning Henry
and Mr McChesney started for
a trip of a few days in the
country, Expecting to come back
on Saturday. They went off
in such good spirits and
were anticipating such a
nice time . Early this morning
in less than twenty four hours
Henry came back bringing with
him only the lifeless body of Mr
McChesney, and this afternoon
we have been out to the cemetery
and laid him to rest beside
our own loved Cynthia.
This is another of the mysterious
dispensations of Providence
which if we judged by our
ideas of what is best we
should be sure to call mistakes
Mr McChesney after more than
two year of study was just
beginning to feel ready to attempt
preaching Last night they
stopped at a large village and
after Henry had finished talking
he talked for a time This was
between six and seven oclock
in the evening and just
twenty four hours later we
stood around his grave in
our little cemetery. It seems
so sad so sudden that we
can hardly realize that he is
gone form among us and we
shall never see him again
until we meet "beyond the river".
I imagine that we have
sometimes written of the McChesneys
and if so you doubtless know
that we count them among
our dearest friends here.
And now he is gone and she
is left desolate and almost
heart broken. Henry I presume
will write to you about it. They
stopped last night near a large
village and anchored near a
military boat. In the middle
of the night there was a cry of thieves
and some firing at a little
distance but the thieves were put
to flight and as they passed
fired a volley at the military
boat Mr McChesney + Henry had
just got up and come out of
the cabin and the first shot
struck Mr McChesney Entering
the head just above the right
ear and killing him almsot
instantly for although he breathed
ten or fifteen minutes he never
spoke . and I suppose never
realized his situation. But he
was ready to go so it mattered
not to him but it is [u]so sudden
so sad[/u] for dear Mrs McChesney.
I want to write some letters to
their friends to-night so I will
[Note: Written sideways on the margins of page four]
not have time to write more to send home this time.
I hope before many years have passed we may be at home
to spend your birthday with you.
Your loving daughter
Hattie.
July 10th 1872.
My dear Father,
It is not because you
were forgotten on the 1st of July
that this letter was not written
then as I intended it should
have been. I was very busy
that day with the school and
getting our house ready for
Mr & Mrs Williams and Miss
Whilden who are staying with
us this month. I had to move
our things about some as I
gave my room up to them
and took Henry's
I commenced a letter to
you last night and if I had
finished it then it would
have been a very different letter
from what I shall write
you to-night. This has been
such a sad [u]sad[/u] day for
us here. Henry I presume
will write you about it and
perhaps more fully than I
can. Yesterday morning Henry
and Mr McChesney started for
a trip of a few days in the
country, Expecting to come back
on Saturday. They went off
in such good spirits and
were anticipating such a
nice time . Early this morning
in less than twenty four hours
Henry came back bringing with
him only the lifeless body of Mr
McChesney, and this afternoon
we have been out to the cemetery
and laid him to rest beside
our own loved Cynthia.
This is another of the mysterious
dispensations of Providence
which if we judged by our
ideas of what is best we
should be sure to call mistakes
Mr McChesney after more than
two year of study was just
beginning to feel ready to attempt
preaching Last night they
stopped at a large village and
after Henry had finished talking
he talked for a time This was
between six and seven oclock
in the evening and just
twenty four hours later we
stood around his grave in
our little cemetery. It seems
so sad so sudden that we
can hardly realize that he is
gone form among us and we
shall never see him again
until we meet "beyond the river".
I imagine that we have
sometimes written of the McChesneys
and if so you doubtless know
that we count them among
our dearest friends here.
And now he is gone and she
is left desolate and almost
heart broken. Henry I presume
will write to you about it. They
stopped last night near a large
village and anchored near a
military boat. In the middle
of the night there was a cry of thieves
and some firing at a little
distance but the thieves were put
to flight and as they passed
fired a volley at the military
boat Mr McChesney + Henry had
just got up and come out of
the cabin and the first shot
struck Mr McChesney Entering
the head just above the right
ear and killing him almsot
instantly for although he breathed
ten or fifteen minutes he never
spoke . and I suppose never
realized his situation. But he
was ready to go so it mattered
not to him but it is [u]so sudden
so sad[/u] for dear Mrs McChesney.
I want to write some letters to
their friends to-night so I will
[Note: Written sideways on the margins of page four]
not have time to write more to send home this time.
I hope before many years have passed we may be at home
to spend your birthday with you.
Your loving daughter
Hattie.
中国广东 1872年7月10日。 亲爱的父亲， 我没有在7月1日的时候给您写信， 不是因为您被遗忘了， / 因为我准备写给您。 我那天为学校 和准备在这里和我们住一个月的Williams夫妇、 和Whilden小姐的房子的事情 / 忙得一团糟。 我不得不搬出去一些我不要的东西， 我把我的房间让给他们了， / 而且带走了Henry的东西。 我昨晚开始给您写信， 如果我写完了， 那将会和我今晚给您写的信大相径庭 / / 今天对我们来说， 是个很悲伤的日子。 我认为Henry会告诉您怎么回事 / 而且会比我告诉您的更全。 昨天Henry和McChesney开始了乡下的旅行 / / 准备周六回来。 他们走的时候精神很好， / 而且预料天气会很好。 今天早上， 24小时内， Henry拖着逝去的McChesney先生回来了， / 今天下午， 我们把他带到公墓 并且把他安葬在我们亲爱的Cynthia旁边。 / 这是另一个神秘的上天保佑 / 我们被自己的想法审判 我们做什么事可以最好的对McChesney先生的忏悔 / / 两年以后的学校 只是准备好传教的开始。 昨晚，他们去了大村子， / Henry完成了演讲， 是在晚上六点到七点之间， / / 只是我们在公墓上， 为他扫墓的第24个小时。 / 看起来很悲哀，很猝不及防， 以至于我们几乎意识不到， 他永远离开了我们， / 直到我们在河边遇见。 我想象我们有时候写给McChesneys， / 如果你怀疑， 我们会把朋友们叫来。 / 现在他消失了 她离开了很凄凉，而且心都要碎了。 / 我认为Henry会给您写这件事。 他们昨晚在一个大村庄停下了， 在一艘军用船只房间抛锚。 半夜， 有小偷来了， 发生了枪击事件 后来小偷跑了，当他们逃跑时 在军用船上开了几枪， / McChesney先生和Henry刚刚起来， 出舱查看， 第一枪就射中了McChesney先生的头 / / 基本上是一击毙命 即使他还有10到15分钟到呼吸 他绝不能说话了， 而且我认为他永远不会意识到他的处境。 / 但是他做了思想准备， 所以他没有什么事， 但是这对他来说真的太悲哀，太突然了。 我今天晚上想给他们的朋友写信， 所以我现在没有时间 【第四页边缘书写】 写这封家信了。 我希望很多年前， 我们可以聚在一起庆祝您的生日。 爱您的女儿 Hattie.
Original Format
Letter
Collection
Citation
Noyes, Harriet Newell, “Letter from Hattie to Father, July 10, 1872,” Letters from Harriet Noyes: Missionaries and Women's Education in Nineteenth Century China, accessed April 29, 2024, https://noyesletters.org/items/show/140.