Letter from Hattie to Father, March 25, 1880

Letter from Hattie to Father, March 25, 1880

Letters; Missionaries; Disease; Travel; Contractors; School construction contracts

Harriet writes to her father about some of the other missionaries in China, including Mr. Henry, who she is very fond of although he is short. There are a few missionary couples that are in poor health and are being sent home. Some she believes will improve when they are back home, others she fears may never get better. They are hiring a contractor to build the school building.

Noyes, Harriet Newell

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

Unpublished

1880-03-25

Council on Library and Information Resources Hidden Special Collections Grant

PDF

eng (English)

Text

noyes_c_cor_211

Canton China
March 25th 1880
My dear Father,
Last mail I left all
my writing for home until an
hour or two before the mail
left and I will try and
not do so this time. I
always feel that it is a great
shame to treat those that
we love the best with the
greatest neglect. This has
been a lovely day, bright
and sunshining. In the
morning Mr Henry started
off for a country trip to "ChukLiu"
expects to be gone a week.
He is a good little missionary
I do not see how he could well
be improved in any respect,
unless he could grow a little
taller. I hope our new missionaries

Mr Fulton and Mr White
will be like-minded. We
seem to be losing so many
from our Mission circle
this Spring. Dr & Mrs Graves
have gone but only for a
season we hope. To-day
we have been to the steamer
to say good-bye to Mr & Mrs
Friend. Their leaving is very
sad. He came out three
years since an earnest promising
young man. But his health
has failed and his eyes
have become so affected that
he has entirely lost the use
of one and it is feared
he will lose the other.
Mrs Friend came out last
year and they were
married here. She is in
miserable health, was not able
to sit up to-day and they have

a little baby six weeks old.
We came back from the steamer
and went down to see Mrs Dilthey
of the German Mission. She and
her husband are of "the excellent
of the earth" but he is in a very
feeble condition hoping to get
strength enough to attempt
the voyage home. He has permission
to go home. The German Societies are
not very kind in taking their missionaries
home. Even more than some others
they seem to like to have their
missionaries "die on the field".
Mr Dilthey has staid until he
is so weak that Dr Kerr feels very
doubtful about his ever reaching
home but we hope that he may.
Another Missionary Mrs Gibson of
the same mission as the
Friends English Wesleyan is
also in such a feeble state
that Dr Kerr says he fears she

can never be any better.
Dr Carson is her physician
and he says she does not need
to go home, but she and every
one else feels that unless she
goes [u]soon[/u] she never can go.
I presume she will go for they
are going to consult Dr OBrien
and if any man living can
tell what is best he can,
and I have little doubt but
that he will send her home
The Contract for our
School Building is not made
yet although it is just about
decided. The man who will
probably have the job is a
Christian a member of the
Wesleyan Church. He
will take it for $3,350.00
three thousand three hundred &
fifty and I presume it
is worth that. He says he
can put it up in one hundred
days but I imagine it will take
longer.

[Note: following written vertically on first page]
Dr Kerr
& Henry
will look
over all his
estimates
tomorrow
afternoon
and make
the contract
I expect and
then they
can commence
work at once.
I cannot tell
you how nice
it seems to
think of having
it so soon
Ever your loving daughter
Hattie.

Letter