Letter from Hattie to Em, March 14, 1876
Dublin Core
Title
Letter from Hattie to Em, March 14, 1876
Subject
Travel; Red Sea; Suez Canal (Egypt)
Description
Harriet writes to Emily that they are aboard a ship and on the Red Sea. Their ship almost collided with another on the water earlier in the trip. They are traveling to the Suez Canal. She is eager to get home.
Creator
Noyes, Harriet Newell
Source
The College of Wooster, Special Collections, Noyes Collection, Box #2
Publisher
Unpublished
Date
1876-03-14
Contributor
Council on Library and Information Resources Hidden Special Collections Grant
Rights
Format
PDF
Language
eng (English)
Type
Text
Identifier
noyes_c_cor_171
Text Item Type Metadata
Text
S.S. "Priam".
Red Sea.
March 14th 1876.
My dear Em -
It is a warm bright
morning in this part of the world
and if your thoughts are wandering
about any where in search of us
they will have to come to the
Red Sea to find us. This is
Tuesday we entered the Red Sea
through the "Gate of Tears"
Straits of Bab-El-Mandeb Early
last Saturday morning. We went
up on deck at three-o-clock in
the morning and were well
repaid It is said to be a
very dreary barren looking place
as seen by daylight but in
the soft moonlight it was
lovely . The passage is about
2 1/2 miles wide on one side the
Island of Perim on which is
a light-house. On both sides
the shores rise into high hills
which in the moonlight were
beautiful. On the sandy beach
at the foot of the hills we
saw a large square building
which we were told was the
habitation of the pilots of the
Red Sea. Several of the
passengers came up on deck
and some of the gentlemen
made their appearance in
costumes that looked decidedly
[u]funny[/u] on deck more suitable
certainly for their cabins.
As we entered the straits
we saw a vessel coming
toward us looking as though
she would pass us on our left
but as she neared us Every one
was astonished to see her
suddenly change her course
and crossing our bows make
her appearance on the other
side For a little time it looked
as though a collision were
possible if not probable-
Our officers thought the other
steamer a French packet
must have gone very close to
the shore and the 2nd mate
said he would not have
cared much to have crowded
her over so that she would
have gone aground . They could
not make out why the officers
of the French steamer incurred
such a risk - some say
the French share the Chinese
belief that it is a sign of good
luck to cross a steamer's bows.
We have been in sight of
land {islands} some of the
time since entering the Red
Sea - have had strong "head
winds" which are keeping us
back so that instead of going
ten knots an hour yesterday
we only made six. We
expect to reach Suez Friday
the 17th then it will take
two or three days through the
Suez Canal to Port Said.
Saturday we passed ten
steamers but since then we
have not seen many --
The time seems to pass very
slowly I feel [u]so[/u] impatient
to hurry on our way --
[Note: Written sideways on page four]
With much love for all from Hattie.
[Note: Additional lines written sideways on page one, crosshatching]
I took a fancy to write a letter
to Lucy almost exactly like this
and will mail them both at
Port Said so you will receive
them about the same time.
We passed yesterday the place
said to be that where the Israelites
crossed the Red Sea and from
the natural features of the
palce I can easily believe that
it is the identical spot It is
a dreary desolate region all
about here a [?waste?] of [?sand?]
plains and hills and
mountains.
I wish I knew
just when we
would get
home so that
I could count
the days. I
have dreamed
of reaching home
almost every night
since I came
on board the
Priam so you
see I think of
you all by night
as [u]well as day.[/u]
“普里阿摩斯”船。
红海。
1876 年 3 月 14 日。
我亲爱的 Em - 在这个世界的这个地方，
这是一个温暖明亮的早晨，
如果你的思绪在任何地方徘徊寻找我们，
他们将不得不来到红海寻找我们。
这是星期二，
我们在上星期六早上通过 Bab-El-Mandeb 的“眼泪之门”海峡进入红海。
我们凌晨三点上甲板，
得到了很好的回报。
据说白天看是一个非常沉闷的贫瘠之地，
但在柔和的月光下，
它很可爱。
通道宽约 2 1/2 英里，
位于佩里姆岛的一侧，
岛上有一座灯塔。
两岸都是高耸的山丘，
月光下很美。
在山脚下的沙滩上，
我们看到一座巨大的方形建筑，
我们被告知这是红海飞行员的住所。
几名乘客来到甲板上，
一些绅士穿着在甲板上看起来非常有趣的服装出现，
当然更适合他们的客舱。
当我们进入海峡时，
我们看到一艘船向我们驶来，
看起来好像她会从我们左边经过，
但当她接近我们时，
每个人都惊讶地看到她突然改变航向，
越过我们的船头，
她就出现在另一边。
过了一会儿，
如果不可能的话，
似乎有可能发生碰撞——我们的军官认为另一艘装有法国邮包的汽船一定已经离岸很近了，
二副说他不会太在意把她挤过来，
所以她会搁浅的。
他们无法弄清楚为什么法国轮船的官员会冒这样的风险——
有人说法国人和中国人一样认为，
越过轮船的船头是好运的标志。
自从进入红海以来，
我们已经有一段时间看到了陆地{岛屿} -
有强烈的“逆风”让我们退缩，
所以昨天我们只以每小时 10 节的速度前进，
而不是 6 节。
我们预计 17 日星期五到达苏伊士，
然后通过苏伊士运河到塞得港需要两三天。
星期六我们经过了十艘轮船，
但从那以后我们就再也没有看到多少轮船了——时间似乎过得很慢，
我迫不及待地想赶路——[注：写在第四页] 来自海蒂对所有人的爱。
[注：在第一页横向写的附加行，
交叉影线] 我想像这样给露西写一封信，
几乎完全一样，
并将它们都邮寄到塞得港，
这样你就可以在同一时间收到它们。
昨天我们经过了那个据说是以色列人过红海的地方，
从这个地方的自然特征，
我很容易相信它是同一个地方。
这里是一片沉闷的荒凉地区，
一片荒芜的沙地和丘陵和山脉。
我希望我知道我们什么时候回家，
这样我就可以计算日子。
自从我登上普里阿摩斯以来，
我几乎每天晚上都梦想着回家，
所以你看，
我白天和黑夜都在想你。
Red Sea.
March 14th 1876.
My dear Em -
It is a warm bright
morning in this part of the world
and if your thoughts are wandering
about any where in search of us
they will have to come to the
Red Sea to find us. This is
Tuesday we entered the Red Sea
through the "Gate of Tears"
Straits of Bab-El-Mandeb Early
last Saturday morning. We went
up on deck at three-o-clock in
the morning and were well
repaid It is said to be a
very dreary barren looking place
as seen by daylight but in
the soft moonlight it was
lovely . The passage is about
2 1/2 miles wide on one side the
Island of Perim on which is
a light-house. On both sides
the shores rise into high hills
which in the moonlight were
beautiful. On the sandy beach
at the foot of the hills we
saw a large square building
which we were told was the
habitation of the pilots of the
Red Sea. Several of the
passengers came up on deck
and some of the gentlemen
made their appearance in
costumes that looked decidedly
[u]funny[/u] on deck more suitable
certainly for their cabins.
As we entered the straits
we saw a vessel coming
toward us looking as though
she would pass us on our left
but as she neared us Every one
was astonished to see her
suddenly change her course
and crossing our bows make
her appearance on the other
side For a little time it looked
as though a collision were
possible if not probable-
Our officers thought the other
steamer a French packet
must have gone very close to
the shore and the 2nd mate
said he would not have
cared much to have crowded
her over so that she would
have gone aground . They could
not make out why the officers
of the French steamer incurred
such a risk - some say
the French share the Chinese
belief that it is a sign of good
luck to cross a steamer's bows.
We have been in sight of
land {islands} some of the
time since entering the Red
Sea - have had strong "head
winds" which are keeping us
back so that instead of going
ten knots an hour yesterday
we only made six. We
expect to reach Suez Friday
the 17th then it will take
two or three days through the
Suez Canal to Port Said.
Saturday we passed ten
steamers but since then we
have not seen many --
The time seems to pass very
slowly I feel [u]so[/u] impatient
to hurry on our way --
[Note: Written sideways on page four]
With much love for all from Hattie.
[Note: Additional lines written sideways on page one, crosshatching]
I took a fancy to write a letter
to Lucy almost exactly like this
and will mail them both at
Port Said so you will receive
them about the same time.
We passed yesterday the place
said to be that where the Israelites
crossed the Red Sea and from
the natural features of the
palce I can easily believe that
it is the identical spot It is
a dreary desolate region all
about here a [?waste?] of [?sand?]
plains and hills and
mountains.
I wish I knew
just when we
would get
home so that
I could count
the days. I
have dreamed
of reaching home
almost every night
since I came
on board the
Priam so you
see I think of
you all by night
as [u]well as day.[/u]
“普里阿摩斯”船。
红海。
1876 年 3 月 14 日。
我亲爱的 Em - 在这个世界的这个地方，
这是一个温暖明亮的早晨，
如果你的思绪在任何地方徘徊寻找我们，
他们将不得不来到红海寻找我们。
这是星期二，
我们在上星期六早上通过 Bab-El-Mandeb 的“眼泪之门”海峡进入红海。
我们凌晨三点上甲板，
得到了很好的回报。
据说白天看是一个非常沉闷的贫瘠之地，
但在柔和的月光下，
它很可爱。
通道宽约 2 1/2 英里，
位于佩里姆岛的一侧，
岛上有一座灯塔。
两岸都是高耸的山丘，
月光下很美。
在山脚下的沙滩上，
我们看到一座巨大的方形建筑，
我们被告知这是红海飞行员的住所。
几名乘客来到甲板上，
一些绅士穿着在甲板上看起来非常有趣的服装出现，
当然更适合他们的客舱。
当我们进入海峡时，
我们看到一艘船向我们驶来，
看起来好像她会从我们左边经过，
但当她接近我们时，
每个人都惊讶地看到她突然改变航向，
越过我们的船头，
她就出现在另一边。
过了一会儿，
如果不可能的话，
似乎有可能发生碰撞——我们的军官认为另一艘装有法国邮包的汽船一定已经离岸很近了，
二副说他不会太在意把她挤过来，
所以她会搁浅的。
他们无法弄清楚为什么法国轮船的官员会冒这样的风险——
有人说法国人和中国人一样认为，
越过轮船的船头是好运的标志。
自从进入红海以来，
我们已经有一段时间看到了陆地{岛屿} -
有强烈的“逆风”让我们退缩，
所以昨天我们只以每小时 10 节的速度前进，
而不是 6 节。
我们预计 17 日星期五到达苏伊士，
然后通过苏伊士运河到塞得港需要两三天。
星期六我们经过了十艘轮船，
但从那以后我们就再也没有看到多少轮船了——时间似乎过得很慢，
我迫不及待地想赶路——[注：写在第四页] 来自海蒂对所有人的爱。
[注：在第一页横向写的附加行，
交叉影线] 我想像这样给露西写一封信，
几乎完全一样，
并将它们都邮寄到塞得港，
这样你就可以在同一时间收到它们。
昨天我们经过了那个据说是以色列人过红海的地方，
从这个地方的自然特征，
我很容易相信它是同一个地方。
这里是一片沉闷的荒凉地区，
一片荒芜的沙地和丘陵和山脉。
我希望我知道我们什么时候回家，
这样我就可以计算日子。
自从我登上普里阿摩斯以来，
我几乎每天晚上都梦想着回家，
所以你看，
我白天和黑夜都在想你。
Original Format
Letter
Collection
Citation
Noyes, Harriet Newell, “Letter from Hattie to Em, March 14, 1876,” Letters from Harriet Noyes: Missionaries and Women's Education in Nineteenth Century China, accessed April 20, 2024, https://noyesletters.org/items/show/228.