Letter from Hattie to Father and Mother, December 31, 1868
Dublin Core
Title
Letter from Hattie to Father and Mother, December 31, 1868
Subject
New Year; Weather; Scholars; Children; Clothing and dress; Meetings; Missionaries
Description
This letter from Harriet Noyes to her mother and father is in honor of the New Year. Although the New Year is the main focus of the letter, Harriet also discusses the weather, which is colder than usual in the area, her scholars, and missionary meetings. The general tone of the letter is content as Harriet looks back at 1868 as her first year in China.
Creator
Noyes, Harriet Newell
Source
The College of Wooster, Special Collections, Noyes Collection, Box #1
Publisher
Unpublished
Date
1868-12-31
Contributor
Council on Library and Information Resources Hidden Special Collections Grant
Rights
Format
PDF
Language
eng (English)
Type
Text
Identifier
noyes_c_cor_022
Text Item Type Metadata
Text
Canton China -
Dec 31st 1868 -
My [u]own dear Father + Mother[/u].
I feel as though I can
not let the old year go without dating
one more letter in [u]1868[/u] and it shall
be to my beloved parents. I can not
help feeling a little sad at parting with
1868. A year is a funny thing to
"become attached to" is'nt it? but 1868
has always seemed like such a nice
year so much nicer than 1869 I am
sure that during all the coming years
of my life by they many or few I shall
often look back to 1868, my first year
in China. And I feel that I can
truly say to-night as I look back over the
path that has led me hither from my
dear native land that goodness and
mercy have followed me. A year
ago to-night on board the Great Republic
I sat with Miss Norris + Mr Butler and
"watched the old year out and the
new one in" We did not dream
then that the new year so soon would
open for her the gates of the celestial city.
To-night is the fifth time that I have
watched the old year out. It is almost
midnight now. Henry undertook to help
me [u]watch[/u] but he has grown tired +
gone to sleep on the lounge. If he does
not waken before twelve I shall have
a nice chance to be first in wishing
"Happy New Years." I wonder what
sort of weather you are having now.
It is quite easy for me now to think
of you as shivering with the cold for
that is the way we have been here for
the past few days. It seems to me I
never felt the cold more anywhere.
The north winds are so penetrating
here. Last night I thought a good
feather bed would be just the thing
something I never expected to think
of in China. Old Akam says that
this morning there was some [u]ice[/u]
a thing almost unknown in this
region "within the memory of the oldest
inhabitant." I suppose you will want
to ask how low the thermometer gets.
Well this morning it was [u]down to
40[/u]. Now you will say "Im sure thats
not very cold." and so it seems
but whether the weather is cold or not
or the thermometer low or not I am
quite sure that I am [u]cold[/u] quite
cold enough. I have about come to
the conclusion that thermometers have
very little [u]feeling[/u] on the subject. But I
dont imagine this weather will last more
than a day or two and I shall be glad
to see it get a little warmer. I feel so sorry
for some of the Chinese they suffer so much
from the cold as they have no fires
excepting the little they use for cooking.
The way they take to keep warm is to put
on another "sham" as they call their cook
+ another + another until they get on
enough to keep warm or have exhausted
their supply. Some of them look very
funny indeed, anything but graceful.
The scholars if they see I am cold
always urge me to put on another
"sham" and to-day I have been trying
to make myself comfortable inside
of two dresses and two shawls. I have
had one new scholar lately a very
pretty little girl "Suisum", I so often
wish that you could see my scholars
I think they are nice little folks and
I do not see but they are just as smart
and studious kind and obliging and
well behaved as many children at
home. And I often think that I
dont see but they will get as good a
knowledge of the truths of christianity
as the thousands of children in
our mission schools at home whose
parents never teach them anything
good. Next week will be the week
of prayer. We will have 'Union
meetings" of all the missionaries
every day. There it has just struck
twelve and I have been first in
wishing Henry a Happy New Year.
and now he has gone to his room
and I suppose I had better send
a happy New Year to all the dear
ones over the sea and bring
my letter to a conclusion. ---
Mail morning
I will add a line to this for it
is too bad to send blank paper
home. It is now the middle of
January and the week of prayer
is over. We had very nice meetings
Henry and I attended them all.
We met every day at eleven o clock
in turn at different houses. It
was here one day last year so we
did not have it this year. Henry
led the meeting on Thursday the
day for prayer for families schools
and colleges. And now I must say
goodbye with the earnest prayer that the
loving care of our Heavenly Father may be over you
all through all the coming year Lovingly Hattie.
中国广州 -
1868 年 12 月 31 日 -
我亲爱的父亲和母亲。
我觉得如果没有在 1868 年再写一封信，
我就不能让旧的一年过去，
这将是写给我亲爱的父母的。
1868的离别让我不由有些难过。
一年“结缘”是件很可笑的事不是吗？但 1868 年似乎是美好的一年，
比 1869 年美好得多。
我敢肯定，
在我生命的未来几年里，
我会经常回顾 1868 年，
那是我在中国的第一年。
今晚，
当我回顾从我亲爱的故乡带我来到这里的道路时，
我觉得我可以真正地说，
善良和仁慈一直伴随着我。
一年前的今晚，
在伟大的共和国号上，
我与诺里斯小姐和巴特勒先生坐在一起，
“看着旧的一年过去，
新的一年到来”，
那时我们做梦也没想到新的一年会这么快为她打开天城。
今晚是我第五次观看旧年了。
现在已经快午夜了。
亨利答应帮我看，
但他累了，
就去休息室睡觉了。
如果他没有在十二点之前醒来，
我将有很大的机会成为第一个祝“新年快乐”的人。
我想知道你现在有什么样的天气。
我现在很容易把你想象成冻得发抖，
因为这就是我们过去几天来这里的方式。
在我看来，
我从未像现在这样感到寒冷。
这里的北风太刺眼了。
昨晚我以为一张好的羽毛床将是我在中国从未想到过的事情。
老阿卡姆说，
今天早上，
这个地区“在最古老的居民的记忆中”几乎不知道有一些冰。
我想你会想问温度计有多低。
好吧，
今天早上它降到了 40。
现在你会说“我确定那不是很冷”。
似乎是这样，
但是无论天气是否寒冷或温度计是否偏低，
我都非常确定我已经足够冷了。
我已经得出结论，
温度计对这个问题几乎没有感觉。
但我不认为这种天气会持续超过一两天，
我会很高兴看到它变得暖和一点。
我为一些中国人感到很抱歉，
他们受了这么多寒冷的折磨，
因为除了做饭用的很少火之外，
他们没有火。
他们取暖的方法是穿上另一个“假”，
因为他们称他们的厨师，
一个又一个，
直到他们足够保暖或耗尽他们的供应。
他们中的一些人看起来确实很有趣，
一点也不优雅。
学者们如果看到我冷，
总是敦促我穿上另一件“假衣服”，
而今天我一直在试图让自己在两件衣服和两条披肩里感到舒服。
我最近有了一个新学者，
一个非常漂亮的小女孩“Suisum”，
我经常希望你能看到我的学者们和家里的孩子一样乖。
我经常认为，
我看不到，
但他们对基督教真理的了解会与我们家中我们教会学校的成千上万的孩子一样好，
他们的父母从未教过他们任何好的东西。
下周将是祷告周。
我们将每天举行所有传教士的“工会会议”。
那里刚过十二点，
我首先祝亨利新年快乐。
现在他已经回到他的房间，
我想我最好送一封快乐的信新年祝所有远在海上的亲人，
给我的信画上句号。
---邮件早上，
我会在这上面加一行，
因为把白纸寄回家太糟糕了。
现在是一月中旬和一周的祈祷结束了。
我们举行了非常愉快的聚会，
亨利和我都参加了。
我们每天十一点在不同的房子里轮流聚会。
去年有一天在这里，
所以今年我们没有。
亨利领导星期四的聚会，
为家庭学校和大学祈祷。
现在我必须以诚挚的祈祷说再见，
愿我们的天父的慈爱在来年全都在你们身上，
海蒂。
Dec 31st 1868 -
My [u]own dear Father + Mother[/u].
I feel as though I can
not let the old year go without dating
one more letter in [u]1868[/u] and it shall
be to my beloved parents. I can not
help feeling a little sad at parting with
1868. A year is a funny thing to
"become attached to" is'nt it? but 1868
has always seemed like such a nice
year so much nicer than 1869 I am
sure that during all the coming years
of my life by they many or few I shall
often look back to 1868, my first year
in China. And I feel that I can
truly say to-night as I look back over the
path that has led me hither from my
dear native land that goodness and
mercy have followed me. A year
ago to-night on board the Great Republic
I sat with Miss Norris + Mr Butler and
"watched the old year out and the
new one in" We did not dream
then that the new year so soon would
open for her the gates of the celestial city.
To-night is the fifth time that I have
watched the old year out. It is almost
midnight now. Henry undertook to help
me [u]watch[/u] but he has grown tired +
gone to sleep on the lounge. If he does
not waken before twelve I shall have
a nice chance to be first in wishing
"Happy New Years." I wonder what
sort of weather you are having now.
It is quite easy for me now to think
of you as shivering with the cold for
that is the way we have been here for
the past few days. It seems to me I
never felt the cold more anywhere.
The north winds are so penetrating
here. Last night I thought a good
feather bed would be just the thing
something I never expected to think
of in China. Old Akam says that
this morning there was some [u]ice[/u]
a thing almost unknown in this
region "within the memory of the oldest
inhabitant." I suppose you will want
to ask how low the thermometer gets.
Well this morning it was [u]down to
40[/u]. Now you will say "Im sure thats
not very cold." and so it seems
but whether the weather is cold or not
or the thermometer low or not I am
quite sure that I am [u]cold[/u] quite
cold enough. I have about come to
the conclusion that thermometers have
very little [u]feeling[/u] on the subject. But I
dont imagine this weather will last more
than a day or two and I shall be glad
to see it get a little warmer. I feel so sorry
for some of the Chinese they suffer so much
from the cold as they have no fires
excepting the little they use for cooking.
The way they take to keep warm is to put
on another "sham" as they call their cook
+ another + another until they get on
enough to keep warm or have exhausted
their supply. Some of them look very
funny indeed, anything but graceful.
The scholars if they see I am cold
always urge me to put on another
"sham" and to-day I have been trying
to make myself comfortable inside
of two dresses and two shawls. I have
had one new scholar lately a very
pretty little girl "Suisum", I so often
wish that you could see my scholars
I think they are nice little folks and
I do not see but they are just as smart
and studious kind and obliging and
well behaved as many children at
home. And I often think that I
dont see but they will get as good a
knowledge of the truths of christianity
as the thousands of children in
our mission schools at home whose
parents never teach them anything
good. Next week will be the week
of prayer. We will have 'Union
meetings" of all the missionaries
every day. There it has just struck
twelve and I have been first in
wishing Henry a Happy New Year.
and now he has gone to his room
and I suppose I had better send
a happy New Year to all the dear
ones over the sea and bring
my letter to a conclusion. ---
Mail morning
I will add a line to this for it
is too bad to send blank paper
home. It is now the middle of
January and the week of prayer
is over. We had very nice meetings
Henry and I attended them all.
We met every day at eleven o clock
in turn at different houses. It
was here one day last year so we
did not have it this year. Henry
led the meeting on Thursday the
day for prayer for families schools
and colleges. And now I must say
goodbye with the earnest prayer that the
loving care of our Heavenly Father may be over you
all through all the coming year Lovingly Hattie.
中国广州 -
1868 年 12 月 31 日 -
我亲爱的父亲和母亲。
我觉得如果没有在 1868 年再写一封信，
我就不能让旧的一年过去，
这将是写给我亲爱的父母的。
1868的离别让我不由有些难过。
一年“结缘”是件很可笑的事不是吗？但 1868 年似乎是美好的一年，
比 1869 年美好得多。
我敢肯定，
在我生命的未来几年里，
我会经常回顾 1868 年，
那是我在中国的第一年。
今晚，
当我回顾从我亲爱的故乡带我来到这里的道路时，
我觉得我可以真正地说，
善良和仁慈一直伴随着我。
一年前的今晚，
在伟大的共和国号上，
我与诺里斯小姐和巴特勒先生坐在一起，
“看着旧的一年过去，
新的一年到来”，
那时我们做梦也没想到新的一年会这么快为她打开天城。
今晚是我第五次观看旧年了。
现在已经快午夜了。
亨利答应帮我看，
但他累了，
就去休息室睡觉了。
如果他没有在十二点之前醒来，
我将有很大的机会成为第一个祝“新年快乐”的人。
我想知道你现在有什么样的天气。
我现在很容易把你想象成冻得发抖，
因为这就是我们过去几天来这里的方式。
在我看来，
我从未像现在这样感到寒冷。
这里的北风太刺眼了。
昨晚我以为一张好的羽毛床将是我在中国从未想到过的事情。
老阿卡姆说，
今天早上，
这个地区“在最古老的居民的记忆中”几乎不知道有一些冰。
我想你会想问温度计有多低。
好吧，
今天早上它降到了 40。
现在你会说“我确定那不是很冷”。
似乎是这样，
但是无论天气是否寒冷或温度计是否偏低，
我都非常确定我已经足够冷了。
我已经得出结论，
温度计对这个问题几乎没有感觉。
但我不认为这种天气会持续超过一两天，
我会很高兴看到它变得暖和一点。
我为一些中国人感到很抱歉，
他们受了这么多寒冷的折磨，
因为除了做饭用的很少火之外，
他们没有火。
他们取暖的方法是穿上另一个“假”，
因为他们称他们的厨师，
一个又一个，
直到他们足够保暖或耗尽他们的供应。
他们中的一些人看起来确实很有趣，
一点也不优雅。
学者们如果看到我冷，
总是敦促我穿上另一件“假衣服”，
而今天我一直在试图让自己在两件衣服和两条披肩里感到舒服。
我最近有了一个新学者，
一个非常漂亮的小女孩“Suisum”，
我经常希望你能看到我的学者们和家里的孩子一样乖。
我经常认为，
我看不到，
但他们对基督教真理的了解会与我们家中我们教会学校的成千上万的孩子一样好，
他们的父母从未教过他们任何好的东西。
下周将是祷告周。
我们将每天举行所有传教士的“工会会议”。
那里刚过十二点，
我首先祝亨利新年快乐。
现在他已经回到他的房间，
我想我最好送一封快乐的信新年祝所有远在海上的亲人，
给我的信画上句号。
---邮件早上，
我会在这上面加一行，
因为把白纸寄回家太糟糕了。
现在是一月中旬和一周的祈祷结束了。
我们举行了非常愉快的聚会，
亨利和我都参加了。
我们每天十一点在不同的房子里轮流聚会。
去年有一天在这里，
所以今年我们没有。
亨利领导星期四的聚会，
为家庭学校和大学祈祷。
现在我必须以诚挚的祈祷说再见，
愿我们的天父的慈爱在来年全都在你们身上，
海蒂。
Original Format
Letter
Collection
Citation
Noyes, Harriet Newell, “Letter from Hattie to Father and Mother, December 31, 1868,” Letters from Harriet Noyes: Missionaries and Women's Education in Nineteenth Century China, accessed April 24, 2024, https://noyesletters.org/items/show/22.