Letter from Harriet to Mother, September 11, 1882

Letter from Harriet to Mother, September 11, 1882

Death; Dengue; Fever; Cemeteries; Burial; Opium abuse; Family problems; Teachers, Foreign

Hattie writes about how it has been extremely hot as of recent. Miss Butler has gone back to the schoolhouse to avoid the company because she has developed a rash which characteristically follows Dengue fever. Harriet thinks she got it from Mr. Henry. There have been many cases of fever among the Chinese and she tells her mother to inform Mattie that Ayan died last week. Harriet recounts the funeral and how she was buried in their cemetery. When it started to rain the men who carried the coffin set it down on the ground and went to find shelter. Harriet reflects how hard Ayan's life was and that she hopes she is in heaven now. She noticed that someone put a nice stone on Mrs. Happer's grave.

Noyes, Harriet Newell

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

Unpublished

1882-09-11

Council on Library and Information Resources Hidden Special Collections Grant

PDF

eng (English)

Text

noyes_c_cor_296

Canton China
Sept 11th 1882
My dear Mother,
I have just come in
from school and I found it
pretty hot out in the streets to-day.
Now in my room at nearly five in
the afternoon the thermometer is
up to 96°. I do not find Miss
Butler in so I suppose she has
gone out into the school house
to [u] hide [/u] from company. She
went out to the service last
night and now as the rash
has all come out this morning
which follows dengue fever she
does not care to have people
know she has been having it
lest they should think they
have been exposed to it. Some
say it it not contagious but it seems
to be and some take it very
easily. I suppose she took it
from Mr Henry he had a
light attack of it this year.
When I went out to school I

left a note to be sent to the
post office if the letters came by
the afternoon steamer but as I
see it it still here I suppose
there are not any letters to-day.
We ought to be pretty sure of
getting them to-morrow morning.
There have been several [?very?]
cases of fever among the Chinese
about here lately. Tell Mattie
that AYan the one who studied
medicine died last week. She
was living at Dr Thomson's but
got sick with fever and then
went out to her home in a
village east of the city. It was
a long ways to go in a hot
summer day here I do not
wonder that she did not get
well. She died a few days
after. Miss Butler and I
went out to the funeral. It was
such a forlorn sight a little
bit of a room with a ground [?pless?]
not much longer than the
little chamber a pile of straw
in the corner and the coffin
on a few [?stones?] on the floor
was everything there was in the

room We sat down on some
benches outside and with one
of the elders (the one [?asmed?] man)
had a little service and then
the coffin was taken to our
cemetery. Her two little girls
and an adopted daughter
three first about of a dirge and
with white sack cloth sack [Illegible]
over thin clothes and a piece of
sack cloth over their heads
looked too forlorn for anything.
These three little things followed
the coffin all the way to the
cemetery lamenting all the
way as is their custom. Just
as we reached the cemetery
a heavy shower came up and
we all had to hurry away
to avoid getting drenched.
The men that carried the
coffin just put it down in the
rain and ran under shelter
It seemed very hard but there
was nothing else to do. Poor
AYan here had a very hard
life but I hope she is in heaven
now. She was the only child

of her parents and her poor
Mother felt very badly. Her
father I am told is an
opium smoker and very worthless
I hope they will be able to take
care of the little girls in some
way until the school reopens
and then they will come
back here again. I was very
sorry when we were out at the
cemetery that we did not
have time to stay a little while
It is two years since I have
seen [?out?] before. I saw that
a very nice stone has been put
up at the [?seemd?] Mrs Happer's
grave but I had not time to
see what was the inscription.
It looked very pretty and green
out there. The bamboo hedge
which has been planted
around the enclosure does
not seem to grow very well.
I wish it would it would
seem so much better it it were
enclosed. I hope we can go out
some time again before very
long, when it is not quite so hot.

[Continues vertically on the first page]
I have
filled
up my
sheet so
I will
say goodby
and write
next to a
lady in
[u] Ishpeming
Michigan [/u]
Ever yr aff
daughter
Harriet.

中国广州
1882年9月11日
我亲爱的母亲，
我刚从学校回来
外面的路上
都很热。
今天下午我办公室的温度接近 96 华氏度。
/
我找不到Butler小姐，
所以我认为她去学校是为了躲避客人。
/
她昨晚去礼拜，
但今天早上，
因为登革热，
她起了皮疹，
她不想让任何人知道这件事。
/
/
/
有人说登革热不会传染，
/
但有些人很容易感染。
/
我想她是在Henry先生今年轻症的时候被他传染的。
/
/

上学的时候，
我给邮局留了一张纸条，
如果信件今天下午在轮船上到达，
他们应该把它们带到这里。 
他们还没有带来，
所以我猜他们还没有到。
我们应该在明天早上收到信件。
这里有几个中国人发烧的例子。
/
请告诉Mattie
A Yan——学医学的那个人，
她上周去世了。
她住在Thomson医生家，
但她还是发烧了，
去了城东一个村庄的家。
在炎热的夏日，
这是一次长途旅行，
所以这可能对她的病情没有帮助。
/
几天后她死了。
Butler小姐和我
我们参加了葬礼。
这是一个非常悲伤的葬礼，
/
它在一个比卧室大不了多少的小房间里举行，
角落里堆着一堆稻草，
地板上有一些石头。
/
/

我们坐在外面的长椅上，
一位教会长老主持仪式，
然后他们把棺材带到墓地。
/
/
她的两个小女儿和她的养女也在那里，
单薄的衣服外面套着白麻布，
太可怜了。
/
/
/
/
根据习惯，
三个小女孩一直跟着棺材走到墓地，
痛哭流涕。
/
到了墓地，
开始下雨了，
/
大家要抓紧时间才不会被淋湿
/
抬棺材的人在雨中把它放下，
跑回屋檐下。
非常难过，
但我们无能为力。
她在这里过着非常艰苦的生活。 
/
我希望她在天堂快乐。

她是独生女，
所以她妈妈很伤心。
听说她爸爸是个不值钱的老抽鸦片。
/
我希望她的父母能照顾好小女孩，
/
直到学校开学。
/
我很遗憾我在墓地没有跟他们说什么。
/
/
/
距离我上次见到他们已经两年了。
在墓地，
我看到他们在Happer太太的坟墓上立了一块非常漂亮的墓碑
但我没有时间阅读题词。
/
/
村子很绿很漂亮。
有一个竹篱笆，
应该把墓地围起来，
但它长得不太好。
/
我希望竹子长得更好，
如果墓地更封闭，
墓地会更好。
我希望我们能在天气太热之前不久再次访问这个村庄。
/


我的纸已经写满了
/
所以我要说再见了。
/
/
/
/
下一次，
我会告诉您一位来自密歇根州Ishpeming的女士。
/
/
您的女儿
Harriet.

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