Letter from Hattie to Mattie, January 7, 1881
Dublin Core
Title
Letter from Hattie to Mattie, January 7, 1881
Subject
Death; Mail steamers; Hospitals; Women missionaries
Description
Harriet talks about the condition of the steamers and the China mail. She is glad to hear that Martha has been able to get into the hospital and hopes that this will help to cure her troubles. Mrs. Happer hopes that Mattie is there, not for treatment, but for rest and meditation. Harriet recounts what happened to Mrs. Happer's brother who died in a fire. Aunt Fay has died and Harriet wishes her sister could have been there. Miss Carter praised Mattie in all respects during a recent letter so Harriet copied a large portion so that her sister could read it.
Creator
Noyes, Harriet Newell
Source
The College of Wooster, Special Collections, Noyes Collection, Box #2
Publisher
Unpublished
Date
1881-01-07
Contributor
Council on Library and Information Resources Hidden Special Collections Grant
Rights
Format
PDF
Language
eng (English)
Type
Text
Identifier
noyes_c_cor_229
Text Item Type Metadata
Text
Canton China
Jan 7th 1881.
My dear Mattie-
The mail has
been deferred again but I see
by the China Mail that our
irregular steamer the "Bothwell
Castle" left yesterday for San
Francisco so I hope the letters
we have been sending down to
go by the Rio de Janeiro will have
been sent on, The Rio is being
repaired so I dont know when
it will get off but the Gaelic
which is just in will start
back next week. Your letter
written Nov 15th has just
come. I am glad to hear
that you have succeeded in
getting into the hospital on such
a satisfactory arrangement
and the letters from home
written after yours say that
they had heard from you
after you were received. I
hope that you will be entirely
cured of all your troubles--so
that you will feel well.
Mrs Happer whom I saw
this evening told me to tell you
that she wished she were going
into a hospital not for treatment
but for rest and meditation.
She has had the [u]saddest[/u] news
by the last mail. You know
about her brother John did
you not the one who was so
wild dissipated? She heard
of his death and under such
distressing circumstances. He
and his brother were living together
superintending minin operations
I believe near home- and one
afternoon his brother left him
about three-o-clock. He
had his evening meal with
others and then said he
was going to his room to
read That was about seven
in the evening. He was all
alone in the office and the
next morning about four-o-clock
it was found that the home
and everything in it had been
[u]burned[/u] during the night only
his charred remains were found.
Could anything be more sad?
And then the dreadful fear
that he was not prepared. If
Mrs Happer has ever talked
to you about him you know
how they have all prayed for
him during so many years.
She received a letter from him
by the same mail that
brought the news of his death.
How different it was for me
to hear by the same mail
that dear Aunt Fay had
gone home to heaven to be
"forever with the Lord". I wish
you had seen her but we
cannot look forward and
see coming events. I had a
letter by last mail from Miss Carter.
in which she speaks in highest
terms of yourself and your visit
She says "I must tell you that I have
just had a delightful visit from
your dear sister Mattie She could
only give me two days and oh
what an amount of talking we
did in that time So many questions I
had to ask so many points of information
& she more than answered them.
I will frankly say that I consider Miss
Mattie one of the most devoted and
intelligent missionaries I have ever
met. It was very stimulating to
converse with one of such decided
talent and ability and spirituality
& I know that my love & sympathy
for the cause has been deepened by her
visit I pray that she may be spared to
return again. At our Fall meeting of the
Presb Soc which was an all day
meeting and very largely attended
Miss Mattie spoke & she held us
spell-bound for nearly an hour. I
think that all the ladies agree in the
opinion that never before have we had
such an intersting speaker one who had
just the thing to tell us about that we
wanted to hear. I am sure the influence will
long be felt. I know you will be interested to hear
of the splendid results of your sister visit
to New Jersey and we hope to see her
[Note: Written sideways on page one]
again
before
she returns
to the West.
I have copied
this extract
from her
letter that
you may
see how
much you
are appreciated
in Newark I
told you you
would have no
trouble in finding
plenty to say.
My paper
is full so I
must say
good bye Yrs Affly
Hattie
{I have not sent my thanks for the thing you has Mrs Graves
get for me. They were most welcome the [?ruching?] most convenient
very many thanks for all. I hope you have
all the [?money?] you need.
中国广州
1881 年 1 月 7 日。
我亲爱的玛蒂-邮件又被推迟了，
但我从中国邮件看到我们的不规则轮船“博思韦尔城堡”昨天离开了旧金山，
所以我希望我们一直发送的信件能够通过里约热内卢将被送上，
里约正在修理，
所以我不知道它什么时候下车，
但刚刚进去的盖尔语将在下周重新开始。
你 11 月 15 日写的信刚刚收到。
我很高兴听到您在如此令人满意的安排下成功进入医院，
并且在您之后写的家里来信说他们在收到您后收到了您的来信。
我希望你能完全治愈所有的烦恼——这样你就会感觉良好。
今晚我见到的哈珀夫人告诉我，
她希望自己去医院不是为了治疗，
而是为了休息和冥想。
她在最后一封邮件中得到了最悲伤的消息。
你知道她哥哥约翰的事，
你不是那个如此狂野的人吗？她听说了他的死讯，
而且在如此令人痛苦的情况下。
他和他的兄弟住在一起，
负责监督我相信在家附近的采矿作业——一天下午，
他的兄弟在三点左右离开了他。
他和其他人一起吃了晚饭，
然后说他要去他的房间看书。
那是晚上七点左右。
办公室里只有他一个人，
第二天早上四点左右，
人们发现房子和里面的所有东西都在夜间被烧毁，
只有他烧焦的遗体被发现。
还有什么比这更悲伤的吗？然后是他没有做好准备的可怕恐惧。
如果哈珀夫人曾经和你谈过他，
你就会知道这么多年来他们都是如何为他祈祷的。
她收到了他的一封信，
信来自他的死讯。
在同一封邮件中，
我听到亲爱的费阿姨回到天堂“永远与主同在”，
这对我来说是多么不同。
我希望你见过她，
但我们不能期待和看到即将发生的事件。
我收到了卡特小姐的最后一封信。
在其中，
她用最高的语言评价了你自己和你的来访她说：“我必须告诉你，
我刚刚从你亲爱的妹妹玛蒂那里得到了一次愉快的访问她只能给我两天时间，
哦，
我们在那段时间里聊了多少时间 这么多问题，
我不得不问这么多信息点，
她回答的还不止这些。
我坦率地说，
我认为玛蒂小姐是我见过的最忠诚和最聪明的传教士之一。
与一个人交谈是非常令人兴奋的我知道她的访问加深了我对这项事业的热爱和同情，
我祈祷她可以幸免于再次回来。
在我们全天举行的长老会秋季会议上并且非常多地参加了马蒂小姐的演讲，
她让我们着迷了将近一个小时。
我认为所有女士都同意这样一种观点，
即我们以前从未有过如此有趣的演讲者，
她有话要告诉我们我们想听听。
我相信这种影响会持续很长时间。
我知道你会很想知道你姐姐访问新泽西的辉煌成果，
我们希望在她回到西部之前再次见到她[注：写在第一页的侧面]。
我从她的信中复制了这段摘录，
你可能会看到你在纽瓦克受到了多大的赞赏。
我告诉过你，
你可以毫不费力地找到很多话要说。
我的论文满了，
所以我必须说再见。
亲爱的，
海蒂
我还没有感谢你让格雷夫斯夫人给我的东西。
他们最欢迎皱最方便的非常感谢大家。
我希望你有你需要的所有钱。
Jan 7th 1881.
My dear Mattie-
The mail has
been deferred again but I see
by the China Mail that our
irregular steamer the "Bothwell
Castle" left yesterday for San
Francisco so I hope the letters
we have been sending down to
go by the Rio de Janeiro will have
been sent on, The Rio is being
repaired so I dont know when
it will get off but the Gaelic
which is just in will start
back next week. Your letter
written Nov 15th has just
come. I am glad to hear
that you have succeeded in
getting into the hospital on such
a satisfactory arrangement
and the letters from home
written after yours say that
they had heard from you
after you were received. I
hope that you will be entirely
cured of all your troubles--so
that you will feel well.
Mrs Happer whom I saw
this evening told me to tell you
that she wished she were going
into a hospital not for treatment
but for rest and meditation.
She has had the [u]saddest[/u] news
by the last mail. You know
about her brother John did
you not the one who was so
wild dissipated? She heard
of his death and under such
distressing circumstances. He
and his brother were living together
superintending minin operations
I believe near home- and one
afternoon his brother left him
about three-o-clock. He
had his evening meal with
others and then said he
was going to his room to
read That was about seven
in the evening. He was all
alone in the office and the
next morning about four-o-clock
it was found that the home
and everything in it had been
[u]burned[/u] during the night only
his charred remains were found.
Could anything be more sad?
And then the dreadful fear
that he was not prepared. If
Mrs Happer has ever talked
to you about him you know
how they have all prayed for
him during so many years.
She received a letter from him
by the same mail that
brought the news of his death.
How different it was for me
to hear by the same mail
that dear Aunt Fay had
gone home to heaven to be
"forever with the Lord". I wish
you had seen her but we
cannot look forward and
see coming events. I had a
letter by last mail from Miss Carter.
in which she speaks in highest
terms of yourself and your visit
She says "I must tell you that I have
just had a delightful visit from
your dear sister Mattie She could
only give me two days and oh
what an amount of talking we
did in that time So many questions I
had to ask so many points of information
& she more than answered them.
I will frankly say that I consider Miss
Mattie one of the most devoted and
intelligent missionaries I have ever
met. It was very stimulating to
converse with one of such decided
talent and ability and spirituality
& I know that my love & sympathy
for the cause has been deepened by her
visit I pray that she may be spared to
return again. At our Fall meeting of the
Presb Soc which was an all day
meeting and very largely attended
Miss Mattie spoke & she held us
spell-bound for nearly an hour. I
think that all the ladies agree in the
opinion that never before have we had
such an intersting speaker one who had
just the thing to tell us about that we
wanted to hear. I am sure the influence will
long be felt. I know you will be interested to hear
of the splendid results of your sister visit
to New Jersey and we hope to see her
[Note: Written sideways on page one]
again
before
she returns
to the West.
I have copied
this extract
from her
letter that
you may
see how
much you
are appreciated
in Newark I
told you you
would have no
trouble in finding
plenty to say.
My paper
is full so I
must say
good bye Yrs Affly
Hattie
{I have not sent my thanks for the thing you has Mrs Graves
get for me. They were most welcome the [?ruching?] most convenient
very many thanks for all. I hope you have
all the [?money?] you need.
中国广州
1881 年 1 月 7 日。
我亲爱的玛蒂-邮件又被推迟了，
但我从中国邮件看到我们的不规则轮船“博思韦尔城堡”昨天离开了旧金山，
所以我希望我们一直发送的信件能够通过里约热内卢将被送上，
里约正在修理，
所以我不知道它什么时候下车，
但刚刚进去的盖尔语将在下周重新开始。
你 11 月 15 日写的信刚刚收到。
我很高兴听到您在如此令人满意的安排下成功进入医院，
并且在您之后写的家里来信说他们在收到您后收到了您的来信。
我希望你能完全治愈所有的烦恼——这样你就会感觉良好。
今晚我见到的哈珀夫人告诉我，
她希望自己去医院不是为了治疗，
而是为了休息和冥想。
她在最后一封邮件中得到了最悲伤的消息。
你知道她哥哥约翰的事，
你不是那个如此狂野的人吗？她听说了他的死讯，
而且在如此令人痛苦的情况下。
他和他的兄弟住在一起，
负责监督我相信在家附近的采矿作业——一天下午，
他的兄弟在三点左右离开了他。
他和其他人一起吃了晚饭，
然后说他要去他的房间看书。
那是晚上七点左右。
办公室里只有他一个人，
第二天早上四点左右，
人们发现房子和里面的所有东西都在夜间被烧毁，
只有他烧焦的遗体被发现。
还有什么比这更悲伤的吗？然后是他没有做好准备的可怕恐惧。
如果哈珀夫人曾经和你谈过他，
你就会知道这么多年来他们都是如何为他祈祷的。
她收到了他的一封信，
信来自他的死讯。
在同一封邮件中，
我听到亲爱的费阿姨回到天堂“永远与主同在”，
这对我来说是多么不同。
我希望你见过她，
但我们不能期待和看到即将发生的事件。
我收到了卡特小姐的最后一封信。
在其中，
她用最高的语言评价了你自己和你的来访她说：“我必须告诉你，
我刚刚从你亲爱的妹妹玛蒂那里得到了一次愉快的访问她只能给我两天时间，
哦，
我们在那段时间里聊了多少时间 这么多问题，
我不得不问这么多信息点，
她回答的还不止这些。
我坦率地说，
我认为玛蒂小姐是我见过的最忠诚和最聪明的传教士之一。
与一个人交谈是非常令人兴奋的我知道她的访问加深了我对这项事业的热爱和同情，
我祈祷她可以幸免于再次回来。
在我们全天举行的长老会秋季会议上并且非常多地参加了马蒂小姐的演讲，
她让我们着迷了将近一个小时。
我认为所有女士都同意这样一种观点，
即我们以前从未有过如此有趣的演讲者，
她有话要告诉我们我们想听听。
我相信这种影响会持续很长时间。
我知道你会很想知道你姐姐访问新泽西的辉煌成果，
我们希望在她回到西部之前再次见到她[注：写在第一页的侧面]。
我从她的信中复制了这段摘录，
你可能会看到你在纽瓦克受到了多大的赞赏。
我告诉过你，
你可以毫不费力地找到很多话要说。
我的论文满了，
所以我必须说再见。
亲爱的，
海蒂
我还没有感谢你让格雷夫斯夫人给我的东西。
他们最欢迎皱最方便的非常感谢大家。
我希望你有你需要的所有钱。
Original Format
Letter
Collection
Citation
Noyes, Harriet Newell, “Letter from Hattie to Mattie, January 7, 1881,” Letters from Harriet Noyes: Missionaries and Women's Education in Nineteenth Century China, accessed November 23, 2024, https://noyesletters.org/items/show/285.