Letter from Hattie to Em, July 3, 1875

Letter from Hattie to Em, July 3, 1875

Fourth of July; Boaters (Persons); Salt industry and trade--China; Sailing; Nature observation

In this letter to Emily, Harriet is writing about the good weather as a group of them are on a sailing trip up the river. She goes into depth describing the scenery and how beautiful everything is. Being in the country is a breath of fresh air, quite literally, compared to Canton. She talks about the 4th of July and how she will be spending next year at home. They have found some food for dinner in a near by village. This morning she watched a boat laden with salt try to get up one of the river rapids, they attempted it four times and she is not sure if it worked in the end or not.

Noyes, Harriet Newell

The College of Wooster, Special Collections, Noyes Collection, Box #2

Unpublished

1875-07-01

Council on Library and Information Resources Hidden Special Collections Grant

PDF

eng (English)

Text

noyes_c_cor_147

Linchan River
July 3d 187[?5?]
My own dear Em -
It is such a lovely day
and we are all enjoying it so much
and having [u]such a nice time[/u]
that I felt as if I must write
and tell you about it. WE have
been sailing up this river all day
and Enjoying so much the
beautiful scenery that we were
passing. For several hours we
were coming up through a mountain
pass and it seemed as though
one could not imagine anything
more beautiful. The clear-sea-green
swiftly flowing river beneath us and
the banks often crowned with graceful
feathery bamboos and rising into
hills and mountains covered with
verdure beautiful ferns and vines
and mountain pines. Then
above and beyond the bright clear
sky with white snowy fleecy clouds
coming down until they almost

rested on the mountain tops -
And every where the fresh pure
life-giving mountain air so different
from Canton. WE are enjoying it
all so much and nothing more
than the [u]quiet rest[/u] we find
up here among the mountains
where I suppose no foreign lady
has Ever been before. The thinly
populated country is such a relief from
crowded Canton where it seem as
though there is not enough air
such as it is for all to breathe.
We are now through the pass and
have come out into more open
country and are stopping at a
little village of a few hours for our
servant to go and see what he
can get for us to Eat: tomorrow is
Sunday "the glorious fourth" but I
judge from the looks of the
village he will not be able to get
material for an Elaborate repast.
I hope we shall find a nice
place to anchor to-night so that we
may have pleasant memories to
keep of the fourth of July spent
away up here among the mountains

of Lin-chau . Last fourth we were at a
great dinner party given by one of the
merchants in Canton and [u]next[/u]
Fourth we Expect to spend in [u]USA[/u].
Only [/u]six months[/u] more and I know
the time will be filled up so full
that it will just fly away.
WE brought some books on Palestine
along with us so as to get "posted" in
anticipation of our trip there.
WE are all doing more or less Chinese
work Mattie and Lucy study several
hours Each day. Mattie is now diligently
poring over Bible Stories and Henry
and Lucy are enjoying a game
of chess. Do you think we are
getting demoralized? I remember
when I came out on the steamer.
Mr Butler wanted me so much to
learn to play chess but at that time
I had conscientious scruples which
I have since outgrown however.
WE say out here sometimes that "we
have to [u]use[/u] our consciences and
memories [u]so much[/u] that they get
nearly worn out," so there is a good
reason you see in favor of
missionaries coming home occasionally

to recruit physically and [u]spiritually[/u]
and [u]mentally[/u]. [?Ashing?] our servant
has come back and reports "nothing
much to try," he succeeded however
in getting some pork and Eggs so
we will have something to Eat
now and hope that before night we
may reach a village better supplied
with Eatables. If not I tell them
we shall have to go to bed tomorrow
and [u]sleep[/u] instead of [u]Eating[/u].
This river is full of rapids and
when we have a good wind so that
the sail helps carry us over them
we enjoy going over the rushing water
very much otherwise the work is very
hard for the boatmen. We were much
interested this morning in watching a
boat laden with salt trying to get up
one of these rapids "tans" the Chinese
call them . The boatmen worked
so hard but when they would get it up
to the hardest place the force of the
current would overcome them and
back they would go sweeping down
the stream a long distance before
they could get their boat stopped.
We watched them until we were

[Note: Letter concludes vertically on page one]
out of sight and then they were coming up for the [/u]fourth[/u] attempt.
We felt so sorry for them and wanted so much to know whether
they were successful
or were swept
back again as
they had been
so many times.
I have nearly
filled my sheet
so I suppose
it is time "to
draw my letter
to a close."
We are none
of us keeping a
journal but I
expect we
shall give you
"notes of travel" from
time to time.
Ever yours lovingly
Hattie.



林禅河
1875 年 7 月 3 日
我亲爱的 Em -
这是如此美好的一天，
我们都非常享受它，
度过了如此美好的时光，
我觉得我必须写信告诉你。
我们一整天都在这条河上航行，
享受着我们所经过的美丽风景。
几个小时以来，
我们一直在穿过一个山口，
似乎无法想象有什么比这更美丽的了。
清澈的海绿色湍急的河流在我们脚下和河岸上常常长满了优美的羽毛竹，
并上升到覆盖着翠绿美丽的蕨类植物和藤蔓和山松的丘陵和山脉。
然后，
在明亮晴朗的天空之上和之外，
白色的雪绒般的白云飘落，
几乎停在山顶上——每一个地方，
清新纯净的山间空气都与广州截然不同。
我们非常享受这一切，
只不过是我们在山间找到的安静的休息，
我想以前没有外国女士去过那里。
这个人口稀少的国家让拥挤的广州如释重负，
那里似乎没有足够的空气供所有人呼吸。
我们现在穿过山口，
来到更开阔的地方，
在一个几个小时的小村庄停下来，
让我们的仆人去看看他能给我们弄点什么吃：明天是“光荣的第四个”星期天，
但是我从村子里的样子判断，
他将无法为精心制作的晚餐弄到材料。
我希望我们今晚能找到一个不错的地方停泊，
这样我们就可以留下美好的回忆，
以纪念七月四日在临州山区度过的美好时光。
第四次我们参加了由广州的一位商人举办的盛大晚宴，
接下来第四次我们希望在美国度过。
再过六个月，
我知道时间会被填得满满的，
以至于它会飞走。
我们带来了一些关于巴勒斯坦的书籍，
以便在期待我们去那里旅行时得到“张贴”。
我们都在做或多或少的中国工作，
Mattie 和 Lucy 每天学习几个小时。
玛蒂现在正在认真研究圣经故事，
亨利和露西正在享受下棋。
你觉得我们士气低落吗？我记得我是在蒸笼上出来的。
巴特勒先生非常希望我学习下国际象棋，
但当时我有认真的顾忌，
但后来我已经长大了。
我们有时在这里说“我们必须如此多地使用我们的良心和记忆，
以至于它们几乎筋疲力尽”，
所以你看到有一个很好的理由支持传教士偶尔回家在身体、精神和精神上招募新人。
Ashing 我们的仆人回来了，
报告说“没什么可尝试的”，
但是他成功地弄到了一些猪肉和鸡蛋，
所以我们现在可以吃点东西了，
并希望在晚上之前，
我们可以到达一个有更多食物供应的村庄。
如果不是，
我告诉他们我们明天必须上床睡觉而不是吃饭。
这条河充满了急流，
当风很大时，
风帆可以帮助我们渡过它们，
我们非常喜欢在湍急的水流中渡过，
否则船夫的工作会很辛苦。
今天早上，
我们非常感兴趣地看到一艘满载盐分的船试图爬上中国人称之为“棕褐色”的急流。
船夫们辛苦了，
但是当他们把它弄到最困难的地方时，
水流的力量会克服他们，
然后他们会沿着溪流很长一段距离才能停下他们的船。
我们一直看着他们，
直到我们 [注：信件在第一页垂直结束] 看不见，
然后他们开始进行第四次尝试。
我们为他们感到难过，
非常想知道他们是成功了，
还是像他们多次一样被卷走。
我几乎填满了我的表格，
所以我想是时候“结束我的信了”。
我们没有人写日记，
但我希望我们会不时给你“旅行笔记”。
你的，
海蒂

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