Letter from Hattie to Father, September 25, 1878
Dublin Core
Title
Letter from Hattie to Father, September 25, 1878
Subject
Missionaries; Finance; Travel
Description
Harriet writes that the weather is very hot, 96 degrees, and she is glad that Mattie has not returned yet since she wouldn't like it very much. Dr. Happer and Lillie are to be returning to Canton shortly. They are expecting some "Siam missionaries" soon as well. Others are expected to come too, Mr & Mrs. Wilson back from Chiang Mai, Miss Cole, and Miss Campbell. She complains a bit about how the board chooses to fund the mission.
Creator
Noyes, Harriet Newell
Source
The College of Wooster, Special Collections, Noyes Collection, Box #2
Publisher
Unpublished
Date
1878-09-25
Contributor
Council on Library and Information Resources Hidden Special Collections Grant
Rights
Format
PDF
Language
eng (English)
Type
Text
Identifier
noyes_c_cor_191
Text Item Type Metadata
Text
Canton China.
Sept 25th 1878.
My dear Father.
We have been having a real
summer day today. Now at
five-o-clock in the afternoon the
thermometer is at 96°.
I am very glad Mattie has
not come back yet as this sort
of weather would not suit her
very well. I had a letter from
her this morning written Sept
14th She was feeling very
well when she wrote, expected
to leave there about the 1st of
October. Dr Happer and
Lillie are we suppose already
on their way back to
Canton. We are expecting
some Siam missionaries
by the next steamer which
is due in a few days our old
"City of Tokio". Mr & Mrs Wilson
are coming on their way back
to Ching Mai and with them
two young ladies Miss Cole
and Miss Campbell who
have just graduated from
Oxford Female [?Semy?]. It
seems such a pity for them
to go away off up there Dr Chuk
says it is such a perfect
sink of malarial vapors
that he does not believe any
one can ever live there
long, and there are only
40,000 people there. A large
parish to be sure but we could
find hundred of towns as
large within the vicinity of
Canton. It seems as though
it would be so much better
and wiser to train Laos
assistants and send them
there. Miss Cort writes from
Petchaburi that the scholars
in their schools this year are
nearly all Laos Dr Cheek wanted
so much to go to Petchaburi which
is a healthy place near the seashore
but the Board would not allow it.
He was [u]three months[/u] making
the journey from Bangkok & he
felt that neither he nor his wife
can live long in Ching Mai.
But as one of the ladies from Chicago
wrote to me by the last mail it is a
mission that is very near to the
hearts of the people at home. I
suppose on the same principle as
the old lady who felt so deeply
interested in Missions when the
missionaries lived in bark houses
and were in danger of being
eaten by cannibals but when
they came to live comfortably she
lost all her interest in Missions.
It does seem as though the
funds of the Board are oftentimes
very unwisely appropriated & it
seems such a pity that it
should be so, when they are
so hard to get. I think Dr
Gregory is right that it would
work better if the Board had
less authority and the
missionaries more. Still for a
mission with Dr Happer in it I do
not know as that would do very
well. I always feel so thankful
to think that [u] only [/u] the Canton
Mission has Dr Happer. We
shall be nearly swamped with
Happers bye & bye apparently. If
Andrew & John come on & join the
mission they will have in their
family [u]six votes[/u] and of course
it will be just the same as Dr
Happer having six votes himself
But we will not borrow trouble,
but trust that the work will go
on all right in spite of Dr Happer.
It seems as though the harm that
is being done will take so long to
correct We cannot help feeling
that he is building up such a
[u]rotten[/u] church. He is so given to
"numbering the people" so anxious
to count up numbers that it seems
as though he will take in almost
any one, & then he will not listen
to any complaints against any one
& the Chinese very soon learn that
he does not want to be told if any
one is going wrong and they are
ready enough to keep still.
[Note: written sideways on page one]
This is our prayer meeting evening and it is to be here.
I am very
glad we
do not have
to go out
this warm
evening.
When you
receive this
I expect it
will be cold
weather you
will perhaps
have the stoves
up. You must
put a stove in
the study this
winter if you would
like notwithstanding the
[u]paper[/u]. Your aff daughter
Hattie.
中国广州。
1878 年 9 月 25 日。
我亲爱的父亲。
今天我们度过了一个真正的夏日。
现在下午五点，
温度计是 96°。
我很高兴玛蒂还没有回来，
因为这种天气不太适合她。
我今天早上收到了一封她写于 9 月 14 日的信。
她写信时感觉很好，
预计将于 10 月 1 日左右离开那里。
我们猜哈珀医生和莉莉已经在回广州的路上了。
我们期待着一些暹罗传教士乘坐下一班轮船，
几天后我们的旧“东京城”将到期。
威尔逊先生和夫人正在返回清迈的路上，
还有两位刚从牛津女子神学院毕业的年轻女士科尔小姐和坎贝尔小姐。
他们离开那里似乎很可惜 Chuk 医生说这是一个完美的疟疾蒸气汇，
他不相信任何人可以在那里长期居住，
而且那里只有 40，000 人。
可以肯定的是一个大教区，
但我们可以在广州附近找到数百个如此大的城镇。
似乎培训老挝助手并将他们送到那里会更好，
更明智。
Cort 小姐在 Petchaburi 写道，
今年他们学校的学者几乎都是老挝人 Cheek 医生非常想去 Petchaburi ，
这是一个靠近海边的健康地方，
但董事会不允许。
他从曼谷来了三个月，
他觉得他和他的妻子在清迈都活不了多久。
但正如芝加哥的一位女士在上一封邮件中写给我的那样，
这是一项非常贴近国内人民心的使命。
我想，
和那位老太太一样，
当传教士住在树皮房子里，
有被食人族吃掉的危险时，
她对传教很感兴趣，
但当他们过上舒适的生活时，
她对传教失去了所有兴趣。
似乎董事会的资金经常被非常不明智地挪用，
而且当它们如此难以获得时，
似乎很遗憾应该如此。
我认为格雷戈里医生是对的，
如果董事会拥有更少的权力和更多的传教士，
它会更好地工作。
仍然有哈珀医生参与的任务我不知道，
因为那会做得很好。
想到只有广州传道部有哈珀医生，
我总是很感激。
显然，
我们将被Happer夫妇淹没。
如果 Andrew 和 John 加入任务，
他们将在他们的家庭中获得 6 票，
当然这与 Happer 医生自己拥有 6 票一样但我们不会借用麻烦，
但相信工作会继续进行尽管有哈珀医生。
似乎正在造成的伤害需要很长时间才能纠正我们不禁感到他正在建立这样一个腐朽的教会。
他如此热衷于“数人”，
如此急于数数，
似乎他几乎会接纳任何一个人，
然后他不会听任何对任何人的抱怨，
而中国人很快就会知道他这样做了不想被告知是否有人出了问题，
他们已经准备好保持静止。
[注意：写在第一页上]
这是我们的祷告会之夜，
就在这里。
我很高兴我们不必在这个温暖的夜晚外出。
当你收到这个时，
我预计天气会很冷，
你可能会把炉子打开。
如果你愿意，
尽管有报纸，
今年冬天你必须在书房里放一个炉子。
你的女儿，
海蒂。
Sept 25th 1878.
My dear Father.
We have been having a real
summer day today. Now at
five-o-clock in the afternoon the
thermometer is at 96°.
I am very glad Mattie has
not come back yet as this sort
of weather would not suit her
very well. I had a letter from
her this morning written Sept
14th She was feeling very
well when she wrote, expected
to leave there about the 1st of
October. Dr Happer and
Lillie are we suppose already
on their way back to
Canton. We are expecting
some Siam missionaries
by the next steamer which
is due in a few days our old
"City of Tokio". Mr & Mrs Wilson
are coming on their way back
to Ching Mai and with them
two young ladies Miss Cole
and Miss Campbell who
have just graduated from
Oxford Female [?Semy?]. It
seems such a pity for them
to go away off up there Dr Chuk
says it is such a perfect
sink of malarial vapors
that he does not believe any
one can ever live there
long, and there are only
40,000 people there. A large
parish to be sure but we could
find hundred of towns as
large within the vicinity of
Canton. It seems as though
it would be so much better
and wiser to train Laos
assistants and send them
there. Miss Cort writes from
Petchaburi that the scholars
in their schools this year are
nearly all Laos Dr Cheek wanted
so much to go to Petchaburi which
is a healthy place near the seashore
but the Board would not allow it.
He was [u]three months[/u] making
the journey from Bangkok & he
felt that neither he nor his wife
can live long in Ching Mai.
But as one of the ladies from Chicago
wrote to me by the last mail it is a
mission that is very near to the
hearts of the people at home. I
suppose on the same principle as
the old lady who felt so deeply
interested in Missions when the
missionaries lived in bark houses
and were in danger of being
eaten by cannibals but when
they came to live comfortably she
lost all her interest in Missions.
It does seem as though the
funds of the Board are oftentimes
very unwisely appropriated & it
seems such a pity that it
should be so, when they are
so hard to get. I think Dr
Gregory is right that it would
work better if the Board had
less authority and the
missionaries more. Still for a
mission with Dr Happer in it I do
not know as that would do very
well. I always feel so thankful
to think that [u] only [/u] the Canton
Mission has Dr Happer. We
shall be nearly swamped with
Happers bye & bye apparently. If
Andrew & John come on & join the
mission they will have in their
family [u]six votes[/u] and of course
it will be just the same as Dr
Happer having six votes himself
But we will not borrow trouble,
but trust that the work will go
on all right in spite of Dr Happer.
It seems as though the harm that
is being done will take so long to
correct We cannot help feeling
that he is building up such a
[u]rotten[/u] church. He is so given to
"numbering the people" so anxious
to count up numbers that it seems
as though he will take in almost
any one, & then he will not listen
to any complaints against any one
& the Chinese very soon learn that
he does not want to be told if any
one is going wrong and they are
ready enough to keep still.
[Note: written sideways on page one]
This is our prayer meeting evening and it is to be here.
I am very
glad we
do not have
to go out
this warm
evening.
When you
receive this
I expect it
will be cold
weather you
will perhaps
have the stoves
up. You must
put a stove in
the study this
winter if you would
like notwithstanding the
[u]paper[/u]. Your aff daughter
Hattie.
中国广州。
1878 年 9 月 25 日。
我亲爱的父亲。
今天我们度过了一个真正的夏日。
现在下午五点，
温度计是 96°。
我很高兴玛蒂还没有回来，
因为这种天气不太适合她。
我今天早上收到了一封她写于 9 月 14 日的信。
她写信时感觉很好，
预计将于 10 月 1 日左右离开那里。
我们猜哈珀医生和莉莉已经在回广州的路上了。
我们期待着一些暹罗传教士乘坐下一班轮船，
几天后我们的旧“东京城”将到期。
威尔逊先生和夫人正在返回清迈的路上，
还有两位刚从牛津女子神学院毕业的年轻女士科尔小姐和坎贝尔小姐。
他们离开那里似乎很可惜 Chuk 医生说这是一个完美的疟疾蒸气汇，
他不相信任何人可以在那里长期居住，
而且那里只有 40，000 人。
可以肯定的是一个大教区，
但我们可以在广州附近找到数百个如此大的城镇。
似乎培训老挝助手并将他们送到那里会更好，
更明智。
Cort 小姐在 Petchaburi 写道，
今年他们学校的学者几乎都是老挝人 Cheek 医生非常想去 Petchaburi ，
这是一个靠近海边的健康地方，
但董事会不允许。
他从曼谷来了三个月，
他觉得他和他的妻子在清迈都活不了多久。
但正如芝加哥的一位女士在上一封邮件中写给我的那样，
这是一项非常贴近国内人民心的使命。
我想，
和那位老太太一样，
当传教士住在树皮房子里，
有被食人族吃掉的危险时，
她对传教很感兴趣，
但当他们过上舒适的生活时，
她对传教失去了所有兴趣。
似乎董事会的资金经常被非常不明智地挪用，
而且当它们如此难以获得时，
似乎很遗憾应该如此。
我认为格雷戈里医生是对的，
如果董事会拥有更少的权力和更多的传教士，
它会更好地工作。
仍然有哈珀医生参与的任务我不知道，
因为那会做得很好。
想到只有广州传道部有哈珀医生，
我总是很感激。
显然，
我们将被Happer夫妇淹没。
如果 Andrew 和 John 加入任务，
他们将在他们的家庭中获得 6 票，
当然这与 Happer 医生自己拥有 6 票一样但我们不会借用麻烦，
但相信工作会继续进行尽管有哈珀医生。
似乎正在造成的伤害需要很长时间才能纠正我们不禁感到他正在建立这样一个腐朽的教会。
他如此热衷于“数人”，
如此急于数数，
似乎他几乎会接纳任何一个人，
然后他不会听任何对任何人的抱怨，
而中国人很快就会知道他这样做了不想被告知是否有人出了问题，
他们已经准备好保持静止。
[注意：写在第一页上]
这是我们的祷告会之夜，
就在这里。
我很高兴我们不必在这个温暖的夜晚外出。
当你收到这个时，
我预计天气会很冷，
你可能会把炉子打开。
如果你愿意，
尽管有报纸，
今年冬天你必须在书房里放一个炉子。
你的女儿，
海蒂。
Original Format
Letter
Collection
Citation
Noyes, Harriet Newell, “Letter from Hattie to Father, September 25, 1878,” Letters from Harriet Noyes: Missionaries and Women's Education in Nineteenth Century China, accessed April 29, 2024, https://noyesletters.org/items/show/247.