Unsigned letter from Harriet to Mattie, May 6, 1881

Unsigned letter from Harriet to Mattie, May 6, 1881

Boarding schools; Travel; Weather

Hattie writes to Martha from Hong Kong. She talks about the damp weather they have been having and the difficulties of drying clothes. She mentions a couple of people she met on the steamer, there is a Mr. Robertson from Massachusetts who has been staying at Mr. Cunningham's. He later told her all about his life, his wife who died fifteen years ago, and his two sons. Mr. Henry came and met her in Hong Kong and it was a pleasant trip back. The girls a the school have become more scared of thieves so Harriet plans to put irons across the windows and to paint them green so they look nicer.

Noyes, Harriet Newell

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

Unpublished

1881-05-06

Council on Library and Information Resources Hidden Special Collections Grant

PDF

eng (English)

Text

noyes_c_cor_237

Canton China
May 6th 1881-
My dear Mattie -
I will [u]commence[/u]
a letter to you this morning
and [u]finish[/u] it sometime before
the mail goes. I would like
to write a little every day and
to keep pace with the "current
of events" but I fear it will
not be possible. I wrote you
from Hong Kong to send with the
home letters Henry told me
he would have liked to write
but thought I would be sure
to and I suppose it was easier
not. I told you I staid in
Hong Kong another day and so
came up on Wednesdays Steamer.
I have Mr [?Pugh?] your thanks for
his speaking a good word to
the purser of the Belgic for
you. He said if he could
ever do me a service in
any way he would be glad
if I would let he know

so I had a good opportunity to
thank him for taking our washing
which he says is no trouble at all.
By the way I found when I got back
that the washing we picked up so
carefully the morning you left was
not sent after all so I am having
quite a time to get it sunned.
Everything in the house seems very
damp having been shut up a
few days and they say it
rained very hard yesterday-
I met very pleasant company on
the steamer a Mr Robertson from
Mass. He came over in the Belgic
and liked the steamer and
officers very much. I hope you
will have a like experience.
He is staying for a few days at
Mr Cunningham's- called here
yesterday and this evening I am
invited to take tea with him at
Mrs Henrys. Dr Kerr and all his
family including Messrs Fulton
and Jeremiahson are to be there.
Mr Robertson was very communicative
and gave me quite a history of

his life. His wife has been dead fifteen
years. He said for the first few months
after her death he felt so afraid
he would forget her but now he
knows he never shall says he
remembers her as though she had
left him yesterday. So at last I think
I have met a man who remembers
his wife and I presume does not
care to get married again. He has
two sons whose last letters just received
he showed one. The oldest is only 23
but has a position in Providence where
he has charge of 500 men His
picture looked very youthful, he has
some [?such?] experiences on account of
his youth as young Stubbs did in his
position I wonder if you will see
him in "Frisco". Mr Henry went
up to the steamer for me but I had
already embarked for Kukfan -
had some difficulty in getting in the
boat there was such a crowd but
Captain Benning undertook to get
me off his steamer safely
and succeeded in doing so. It was
rather warm coming up the
breeze was with the steamer so
we did not feel it -

I had on the whole a very pleasant
visit in Hong Kong and enjoyed it a
fact which I am sure will both
surprise and please you. The Ladies
tried to make me promise to come
down again in the summer but I do
not think I can possibly- certainly
not while the Boarding School is
in session- I rather judge the
scholars had a little holiday
while I was away although they
has their lessons all right.
They are thoroughly frightened
about thieves now and lock up
most carefully. I am having
irons put in the windows on
the lower floor- they will be
painted green so they will not
look badly. It seems best to
have it perfectly secure and
of course they could hardly feel
like leaving the windows open
without- They bar the [?venetians?]
all the way across the verandahs
with the typhoon bars clear up in
the third story where no one could
possible climb at night. It is so cool now
it does not matter + I hope they will get
over their scare before it comes warms
[Note: Sideways]
if not I shall have to interfere I suppose --

Letter