Letter from Hattie to Sarah, October 19, 1874

Letter from Hattie to Sarah, October 19, 1874

Mail steamers; Typhoons; Death; Women--Education (Higher); Health

Harriet notes that she is including a letter to save money on postage since Mattie is already sending one Sarah's way. Henry is staying in the North of China and has a sore throat that has caused the doctors to tell him not to preach for 5-6 months. She discusses her pride in having such smart sisters performing well in school, and hopes to receive a copy of Emily's graduation essay as apparently it was very good. She warns Sarah to be careful of her health and not over-ambitious, though. Harriet updates that an estimated 20,000 people have died from the typhoon in Macau and that they are tearing down the house where they stayed there to rebuild. She is disappointed that they didn't receive any mail and says that Lillie Happer is returning still in poor health while Miss Shaw is leaving for Japan.

Noyes, Harriet Newell

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

Unpublished

1874-10-19

Council on Library and Information Resources Hidden Special Collections Grant

PDF

eng (English)

Text

noyes_c_cor_131

Canton China
Oct 19th 1874
My dear Sarah
I think I wrote to
you by last mail but as Mattie
has a letter ready to send to
Aunt Fay and I am too
Economical to let Uncle Sam
make too much profit in carrying
it I will send a sheet for
you. I presume you hear
directly from Henry occasionally
and if so will know that he
has concluded to prolong his stay
in the North of China much
to our disappointment although
we are very glad to have him
stay longer on account of his
throat. Dr Nevins and Dr
Ellinwood and so he consulted
a [u]medical[/u] Dr and as he
argued with them he concluded
he had better follow their advice
He tells Henry that he must
be careful of his throat and
not preach much for five or six
months. I suppose it is the

effect of preaching in the open
air. Our last letters from home
told how well Clara came out
at the [?Normal?] School. We have
some pretty smart sisters haven't
we. One of Lucy's letters said
that Lawyer McSwaney of Wooster
said he did not believe there was
a [u]man[/u] in Wooster that could
write such a performance as
Em's graduating Essay. None
of you gave us very full particulars
of that eventful day you were
in such a hurry at home after
it "happened" that you did not
get time for reporting. Clara has
promised to send us a copy of
Em's Essay sometime. I shall
wait with a great deal of interest
to hear whether Em gets that school
or not. I cannot bear to think
of her teaching nor of Clara's staying
at home. I wish so much
that Clara and Mary could
get two years of schooling before
we come home. They write
from home that you were
better for your summer at home

Now let me implore you to be
[u]more careful of your[/u] health. Mattie
says you are too [u]ambitious[/u] and
that there is no need of it for you
get on splendidly, with your work
+c +c. Henry and I used to
be pretty ambitious but I think
the Chinese language has pretty
much destroyed it. If we do from
day to day the best we can we
must be satisfied and if others can
do better than we so much the
better for them. "[u]Nevertheless[/u]" it is
very gratifying to our [u]pride[/u] to hear
how Em stood at Wooster and Sarah
at Columbus and Clara's succes
at Wooster. The hot summer weather
[Note: bottom right of the page torn]
seems to have forgotten to go aw
we have had a long summe
and a trying one. WE shall
remember it henceforth I presu
as the year of the typhoon.
The loss of life in Macao was
fearful some estimates are as high
as 20,00 twenty thousand
At first as the bodies of the
drowned rose to the surface they
buried them but soon found the

labor this involved too great and
were obliged to dispose of them
by burning. The Sabbath after
the Typhoon one thousand bodies
were burned. The Governor of Macao
hopes that it will be rebuilt in
the course of two or three years.
The house in which we were that
night is to be pulled down and
built over. I feel like sending
them word to be sure and put
in a back door. I presume however
there is no danger of their forgetting
it. WE have been expecting the
American mail to-day but I see
the steamer has been in so,e
time and as no letters have "put
[Note: bottom left of the page torn]
an appearance I begin to fear
at we are doomed to disappointment
Lillie Happer is Expected home
the coming steamer but we hear
hat her health is no better than
when she left and as Miss Shaw
is going away probably to Japan
when she returns our working
force will be pretty small
although we do muster such a
long row of names in the
Annual Report. Henry likes Dr + Mrs

[Note: Letter concludes sideways on page one]
Ellinwood very much and we are anticipating much pleasure
from their visit. Henry I presume will wait and
come down
with them
It is Evening
now I was
interrupted
by Chinese
callers so now
I can close
my letter with
the information
that the
mail did
not come
to-day, we
will hope
for it tomorrow
Hoping it
will bring a
letter from
you. I am
Ever your loving -
Hattie.
Give much love for me to Aunt Fay + cousins
one + all

中国广东
1874年10月19日
我亲爱的Sarah，
上次我给你写信时，
我还加了几页让Mattie寄给Fay姨妈，
将我所有的信件
寄给你并让你们
代我寄出比直接从这里寄出要便宜，
所以我会为你添加一个页面。
/

我确定Henry已经告诉过你
但如果你还没有收到他的信件
我会告诉你，
他决定在中国北方多呆一段时间。
我当然很伤心他不会早点回来，
但因为他喉咙痛，
我认为留在那里是个好决定。
他咨询了两位医生关于他的喉咙的问题，
Nevins 医生和 Ellinwood 医生。
起初他和他们争论，
但现在他决定听从他们的建议。
医生告诉Henry
要小心他的喉咙，
特别是五六个月内不要讲太多。
我猜他现在有问题是因为
他花了很多时间

在外面大声音的传教。
上次我们收到家里的来信，
我们听说 Clara 在师范大学表现很好。
我们不是有一些很聪明的姐妹吗？
/
Lucy 在一封信里说到
McSwaney 律师说
Em 的 Wooster 大学毕业论文
比任何男人写得都要好。
/
你们没有人告诉我们
她毕业的全部细节，
也许是因为发生了太多事情，
/
或者是因为你事后急着回家。
Clara 答应给我们寄一份
Em 的毕业论文，
我希望
Em 能得到一份
教书的工作。
我无法忍受 Em 教书或
Clara呆在家里的想法。
我真希望
Clara 和 Mary
能在我们回家之前
再学习两年。
她们在家里写信说
你在家里度过了夏天后感觉好多了。

/
请多注意你的健康。
Mattie说你雄心勃勃，
但你不需要那么积极就能成功。
/
我和 Henry 曾经也有过雄心壮志，
但中文的困难削弱了我们的雄心。
/
/
我们必须对我们取得的进步感到满意，
而不是用别人来衡量自己，
/
/
我们很高兴听到
Em 在 Wooster 的成功，
Sarah 在哥伦布的成功，
和 Clara 在 Wooster 的成功。
【由于本页右下角被撕毁，部分文字难以辨认】
/
这个夏天漫长而艰难，
有一场可怕的台风。
由于台风，
许多人在澳门死亡，
有人估计多达
两万人死亡。
许多人淹死了，
但随后他们的身体浮出水面，
起初他们开始掩埋尸体，
但是尸体太多，

没有足够的工人来埋葬他们，
他们不得不开始焚烧尸体。
台风后第一安息日
一千具尸体被烧毁。
澳门总督希望
能在两三年内重建该岛。
/

我们在澳门住的房子破坏了，
将被拆除。
房子重建时，
我想告诉他们加一个后门，
但我想他们不会忘记建造它。
/
我们预计今天会收到来自家里的信件，
但我还没有看到轮船到达。
【由于本页左下角被撕毁，部分文字难以辨认】
/
[Note: bottom left of the page torn]
/
恐怕我们会失望。
/
Lillie Happer 要坐下一艘轮船回家，
不幸的是，
我们听说她的健康状况仍然不佳。
Shaw 小姐
可能要去日本，
当她回来时，
我们的劳动力将非常少，
但我们名册上的名字很多。
Henry 喜欢 Ellinwood 医生和夫人，

我们希望享受他们的访问。
我想 Henry 会等着和他们一起南下。
/
/
现在是晚上
我不得不暂停写作，
因为我有一些中国游客，
我将在结束我的信时告诉你
信件今天没来，
我们希望明天会到来，
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
我希望能带来你的来信。
你亲爱的，
Hattie。
附言 将我的爱献给 Fay 姨妈和表兄弟们。

Letter