Letter from Hattie to Em, October 28, 1875

Letter from Hattie to Em, October 28, 1875

Anniversaries; Homesickness; Home

Eight years ago on this day, Harriet left home. She is looking forward to returning to United States and resting, but also feels sad about leaving the school. She believes that by the time this letter reaches Emily, the girls will be scattered all over: two in Wooster, one in Columbus, two in China, and one in the old house on the hill. She hopes that Em does not have to work too hard this Winter and that the girls do not have to study too much at Wooster.

Noyes, Harriet Newell

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

Unpublished

1875-10-28

Council on Library and Information Resources Hidden Special Collections Grant

PDF

eng (English)
chi (b) (Chinese)

Text

noyes_c_cor_158

[Note: Additional note sideways on page one, crosshatching]
Henry says he is going to write to Father + Mother
some hint of the reason we are going
home "via Bangkok and so I am
going to tell [u]you[/u] that Mattie and I
are [u]delighted[/u] with present prospects.
We both love Miss Anderson [u]very dearly[/u]
she is just one of the nicest and
most lovable ladies I ever knew.

Canton China
Oct 28th 1875
My own dear Em -
I am going to take
this little sheet for a
letter to you and I
imagine it will not
take me long to fill it
for I am writing at
rail-road speed.
I feel as if I must
write you a few lines
because this is the
anniversary of my leaving
house. Eight years ago
and yet it all comes
back to me so fresh

to-night it seems to me more so than Ever
before Perhaps it is because I begin
to feel that the chain that binds
me to the dear old home is growing
shorter Every day. Do you remember
the last morning I was at home
you came into the North Bedroom
and asked me if I did'nt think
I might sometime come home
and I told you I didnt suppose
I ever should. If I could have
looked forward then and known
that at the end of Eight years I
would be thinking of going home it would
have made it much Easier but I
have always been glad that I did
not know then for I gave up then
all hope and thought of Ever
seeing America again. As soon
as the school closes I shall feel
that I may "fong sum" {loose the
heart} as the Chinese say - and
oh! I shall be so glad to think
of having a long [u]rest[/u]. I suppose
when this reaches you the girls
will all be scattered, two in Wooster,

one in Columbus, two in China, and
only one in the old house on the hill.
I try to picture to myself how it will
seem to find you all so much "older
and wiser grown." I hope you will
not have to work too hard this winter
and that the girls will not study too
hard at Wooster -- I feel as though
the letters I write lately are not worth
sending so far but I expect Matt
writes all the news so I only write to
feel that communication is not broken
off between us, and I will make up
for all deficiencies in writing by talking
when I come home. Ever your loving
Hattie -



[注：第一页的附加说明，交叉影线]
亨利说他要写信给父亲和母亲一些暗示我们要“通过曼谷回家”的原因，
所以我要告诉你，
马蒂和我很高兴目前的前景。
我们都非常爱安德森小姐，
她只是我所认识的最好和最可爱的女士之一。
中国广州
1875 年 10 月 28 日
我亲爱的 Em——
我要拿这张小纸给你和我的一封信想象一下用不了多久我就可以写满了，
因为我正在以铁路的速度写作。
我觉得我必须给你写几行，
因为这是我离开家的周年纪念日。
八年前，
但一切又回来了今晚对我来说如此新鲜 似乎比以往任何时候都更回家你走进北卧室问我是不是觉得我可能有一天会来回家，
我告诉过你我不认为我应该这样做。
如果我当时能够向前看，
并且知道在八年结束时我会考虑回家，
那会变得容易得多，
但我一直很高兴我当时不知道，
因为我放弃了所有希望和想到再一次看到美国。
学校一关门，
我就会觉得我可能会像中国人所说的那样灰心——哦！想到要好好休息一下，
我会很高兴的。
我想当你收到这封信时，
女孩们都会分散，
两个在伍斯特，
一个在哥伦布，
两个在中国，
只有一个在山上的老房子里。
我试着想象自己会如何发现你们都这么“老了，
也长大了”。
我希望你今年冬天不必太努力，
女孩们也不会在 Wooster 学习太刻苦——我觉得我最近写的信到目前为止不值得寄出，
但我希望马特会写所有的新闻，
所以我只写感觉我们之间的沟通没有中断，
回家后我会通过谈话来弥补所有写作的不足。
永远是你的爱人，
海蒂——

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