Letter from Hattie to Sara, July 27, 1882

Letter from Hattie to Sara, July 27, 1882

Boarding schools; Anniversaries; Death; Mail steamers; Charitable bequests (Canon law); Christian missions

Harriet tells Sarah that the boarding school will remain open until relatively late this year; August 16th. Harriet's original plan was to close it on the month of the school's anniversary. She thought it was August 1872, but later she realized that it was June 1872. They received letters earlier than expected. Mr. Lyon's letter announced the death of Mrs. E. A. Bigger, who left $1000 each to Mandana and Harriet. However, Mrs. E. A. Bigger's brother wants Mandana and Harriet to relinquish their claim to avoid litigation because the deceased did not have that much and she was probably not in a good state of mind. According to Harriet, it is common that whenever someone wants to leave money to the mission, the relatives prevent it.

Noyes, Harriet Newell

The College of Wooster, Special Collections, Noyes Collection, Box #3

Unpublished

1882-07-27

Council on Library and Information Resources Hidden Special Collections Grant

PDF

eng (English)

Text

noyes_c_cor_291

Canton China
July 27th 1882
My dear Sara -
This letter I hope will
find you at home although
if it does I suppose your
vacation will be almost
over. I am keeping the
Boarding School on rather
late this year but then it
will not re-open until it is
cooler weather. I thought
that it was first opened
Aug 16th 1872 as I wrote
home but afterwards found
that instead it was June
16th so it will not close
on the anniversary after all
but I will keep to my
original idea and close

on Aug 16th. After the fire
the second building was
opened in Aug 1875 The
first decade of the schools
history is over -- and it
seems as though the record
is very encouraging.
Your letter about Miss Dare
came by the last mail
How very very said it must
have been for you all.
Three or four letters from
America came in this morning
They must have come by
some irregular steamer we
expect our mail in two or
three days. One of the
letters was from Mr Lyon.
and told of the death
of Mrs E A Bigger. Mattie
will remember her she
was Ella Anderson when
we knew her in Hayesville.

He writes also that she
has left a bequest of
$1000.00 one thousand dollars
each to Mandana + I
but that her brother has
been to see them and
asked that we will relinquish
our claim so as to avoid
litigation as they will claim.
1st that she did not have so
much due her in Ohio.
and 2nd that it is very
doubtful whether she was in
a state of mind to know
what she was doing. Does
it not seem too bad that
so often if any one wishes
to leave anything to missions
the relatives are ready to do
anything to prove that they were
not competent to decide for
themselves. For some years
she has sent small sums of
money occasionally to us --

The last letter I received from
her was written about a year
since + enclosed ten dollars.
If the Lord intends us to have
the money we certainly shall
no matter who objects to it. I
have often thought and said
sometimes when we want money
for one thing or another in our
work that if the Lord wanted us
to have it He could easily
send it for the "gold and
the silver are His" . Mr Lyon
says he does not think it would
be right to give it up without
making any attempt to have
her wishes carried out.
He wrote suggestion that I should
ask some one to look after it but
I suppose if I answer his letter
and ask him to look after the
two claims together it will be all
that is necessary as they are
without doubt on the same
basis. and if either is considered
valid both will be ----- If I
should get it as it hardly seems as
though I will I should feel that it
came directly from the Lord through her hands.

[Note: Letter concludes vertically on page one]
Now I must
say good night
After my long
ride of 20 miles
in a chair
feel much as
though I had
had a long
horseback ride
When there are
three coolers
as there must
be when we go such
a long distance one
is so near the chair
that it takes all
the [u]spring[/u] out of
the poles + makes
it much harder
riding
With love ever
yr aff Hattie.

中国广东
1882年7月27日
我亲爱的Sara，
我想你会在家里收到这封信，
如果你收到了，
那是因为你的假期快结束了。
/
我将在今年晚些时候继续开放寄宿学校，
直到天气转凉我才会重新开放。
/
/
我以为学校最早是在 1872 年 8 月 16 日开学的，
但实际上它是在 6 月 16 日开学的，
所以学校不会在它的周年纪念日关闭，
但我仍然会在 8 月 16 日关闭它。
/
/
/
/
/

火灾发生后，
第二座建筑于 1875 年 8 月开放
所以这所学校已经有十年的历史了，
而且一直都很成功，
我觉得非常鼓舞人心。
/
/
我收到了你关于Dare 小姐的信，
大家一定很伤心吧。
/
/
今天早上收到三四封信，
最近邮件一定来则没有规律的轮船
我们已经期盼邮件两三天了
/
/
一封信是Lyon 先生写的，
他告诉我们Ella Anderson Bigger太太去世了。
/
Mattie应该记得她
我们住在Hayesville时的她。
/
/

他说她把一千美元遗赠给了我和Mandana
但她哥哥问我们是否会放弃我们的钱，
他说她没有那么多钱，
当她给我们钱时，
他不认为她是理智的，
/
所以他恳求我们放弃，
避免法律上的麻烦。 
/
首先她没有太多钱要还回俄亥俄
/
其次她是否知道精神正常，知道她在做什么
/
/
很可惜了，
这种情况经常发生，
有人想把钱遗赠给传教士，
他们的亲戚试图证明他们精神不正常，
这样他们就可以为自己保留钱财。
/
/
/
/
/

几年来，她时不时给我们寄钱来，
她每年给我们寄一封信和十美元，
如果上帝要我们拥有这笔钱，
我相信无论谁反对，
我们都会得到它。
当我们要钱的时候我说：
如果上帝想让我们拥有它，
他可以很容易地给它，
因为“金银是上帝的。”
/
/
/
Lyon 先生说我们不应该不努力实现她的愿望就放弃。
/
/
/
/
他说我应该找人调查一下，
但我认为有人可以同时调查我的问题和 Mandana 的问题，
因为它们是同一回事。
/
/
/
/
如果一个被判定为有效，
那么另一个也将被判定为有效。
如果我拿到钱，
感觉就像是通过她直接来自上帝。
/

【纵向书写】
我必须说晚安了。 
今天坐在椅子上骑了20英里，
感觉就像我去骑马了，
当我们走这么长的距离时，
三个苦力把我们扛在杆子上，
到最后，
杆子很硬，
让我们不舒服。

/
/
/
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/
/
/
/
/
/
/
我永远爱你们，
Hattie

Letter