Letter from Hattie to Father, January 10, 1880

Letter from Hattie to Father, January 10, 1880

Missionaries; Travel; Language (Language learning); Schools; Marriage

Harriet tells her father about the reading circle that Dr. Graves and Mrs. Graves formed. Mr. Simmons is going to take their place when the Graves leave for home. They are also going to visit Palestine. Harriet writes about Dr. Atterbury and how wealthy he is. She thinks that Dr. Happer wants him to marry his daughter Mary Happer. They have been having meetings in English and Chinese. The schools will be closed for New Years' vacation.

Noyes, Harriet Newell

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

Unpublished

1880-01-10

Council on Library and Information Resources Hidden Special Collections Grant

PDF

eng (English)

Text

noyes_c_cor_207

Canton Jany 10th 1880.
My dear Father,
I have just finished
a letter to you all at home
collectively now I will begin
individually. We are having
a nice quiet evening, the
first for a long time. I hope
we shall have more this
year than last. I do not
believe that all taken together
we had more than ten or a
dozen the whole year
through. Dr & Mrs Graves
formed a reading circle
with us which took up two
evenings of every week,
but I think we will
try now & limit it to one.
I did not feel at first as
though I could possibly
give the time but they

wished it very much and
Mattie thought that she
would like it. I hope they
have heard something by
this mail, about Mr Simmons
who is to come and take
their place. They hoped to
go from here by the 1st
of February and go home
by way of Palestine, but
unless they hear something
definite of Mr Simmons
coming soon they will be
obliged to give up their visit
to Palestine. She is so nervous
however that perhaps it would
be just as well for her not to
undertake the trip. Have
you noticed in the papers
the mention of a young
Dr Atterbury from New York
who has come out to
Peking. I may have
written of hime before.

He was with us in our trip
through Palestine, and certainly
did much to make it
more pleasant for me than
it would otherwise have
been. He comes out at his
own expense has a fortune.
I imagine Dr Happer
has got his eyes on him
for a son-in-law. He is
a very agreeable young man
and if the Fates have
decreed that he is to marry
Mary Happer she will
have a very nice husband.
He is a very intimate
friend of Andrew Happer's
at least Andrew likes him
very much. It seems such
a pity that Andrew could
not have felt as willing
to be a missionary.
The Happer family seems
quite reduced only Mary &

Verdie left. I shall be
surprised if John ever comes
back as a missionary.
We feel so sorry for Mrs Happer
she has been out ten years
and would so like to go home
but the Dr does not want to
go and so of course does not
want her to. If she could
only have gone with John
she might have seen her
mother again. Dr & Mrs
Kerr are relieved of their
anxiety about Josie as they
have letters from him by
this mail. I do hope he
will write to them regularly
and that he will do well.
I do not wonder they are
anxious about him. We have
been having daily meetings this
[--year--] week both in Chinese &
English. We will dismiss our
schools for the New Years vacation
[Note: continues vertically]
soon. Ever your aff daughter, Hattie

Letter