Letter from Hattie to "Dear Ones at Home", May 17, 1883

Letter from Hattie to "Dear Ones at Home", May 17, 1883

Memory; Home; Families; Returned missionaries

In this letter to her family, Harriet writes about how she still remembers very vividly that on May 17th, all those years ago, she and Henry arrived back at home since first leaving for Canton. Now, seven years have passed since that summer. She does not feel like she had aged at all since then, and has yet to find her first gray hair. She recounts the day when Clara and Sara came to meet her in Cleveland, how some of her siblings had changed since she had last seen them and how others seemed just the same as when she had left.

Noyes, Harriet Newell

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

Unpublished

1883-05-17

Council on Library and Information Resources Hidden Special Collections Grant

PDF

eng (English)

Text

noyes_c_cor_318

Canton China
May 17th 1883
"Dear Ones at Home"
I will write one letter to
you all together on this anniversary
day. I am sure Henry and
I will always remember the
17th of May 1876 and think
of it as being nearer like our
first day in heaven than
anything else on earth can
ever be. I do not think it
could have seemed quite the
same to you that it did to
us for to you it was only
welcoming two wanderers
back to the fold, but to
us it was coming [u] home [/u] to
on Fathers house to find
our Father and Mother
brother and sisters there to
welcome us, coming back
to "God's country" as the

soldiers used to say after
years of exile in a heathen
land. I am glad that
everything that happened
that day and all that I saw
remains so perfectly fresh and
distinct in my memory. I can
hardly realize that seven
years have come and gone
between that day and this.
It does not seem to me that
I feel a day older and I
hardly think that I have
changed much. I have
yet to find the first gray
hair, but I suppose I can
begin to look for their appearance
soon as a few months more
will bring my fortieth birthday.
Then I shall be just as
old as Father was when I
was born. I am gaining
on him very fast as then
I shall be half as old
as he will be. If I come

home again at the end of
eight years the time will
soon pass. I wonder if Sara
will be at home when this
reaches you. It was so nice
that she could be in Cleveland
with Clara to welcome us that
morning. I remember so well
just how you both looked and
what you each said Sara
said "Oh you blessed people"
and Clara said "Come at last"
I do not think I should have
known you if we had not been
expecting some one from [u] home [/u]
Then Edward and Em were
at the depot they both looked
perfectly natural as did Father
and Mother, but Mary had
changed very much. If we
all live to meet again I am
sure all will look perfectly
natural for I remember you
all so perfectly and now that
all are grown up a few years
will not make much change.

I remember how beautiful
the orchards looked that
morning the apple trees all in
blossom, and then our
first glimpse of the dear
old "home on the hill."
I hope it may be that we
will all meet again sometime
"under the homestead roof."
I always think of our home
as in such a nice place.
The scenery is not wild and
beautiful like Fathers New Hampshire
home but I think it is [u] quietly [/u]
beautiful and now that it is
so easy to reach Cleveland I
do not know where one could
find a nicer place for a
[u] home [/u]. "Home sweet home
A charm from the skies
seems to hallow us there
Which search through the world
Is ne'er met with elsewhere."
With warmest love for all the
dear members of the home circle.
Ever your loving Hattie.



中国广州
1883 年 5 月 17 日
“亲爱的在家” 在这个周年纪念日，
我将一起给大家写一封信。
我相信亨利和我将永远记得 1876 年 5 月 17 日，
并认为它比我们在天堂的第一天更接近地球上的任何其他日子。
我不认为它在你看来可能与它对我们所做的完全一样，
因为对你来说，
它只是欢迎两个流浪者回到羊圈，
但对我们来说，
它是回到父亲家里寻找我们的父亲和母亲兄​​弟和那里的姐妹们欢迎我们，
回到“上帝的国度”，
就像士兵们在异教徒土地流放多年后常说的那样。
我很高兴那天发生的一切以及我所看到的一切都在我的记忆中如此新鲜和清晰。
我几乎无法意识到从那一天到今天已经过去了七年。
在我看来，
我并没有感觉自己变老了一天，
而且我几乎不认为自己发生了很大变化。
我还没有找到第一根白发，
但我想我可以开始寻找它们的外观，
再过几个月就会迎来我的四十岁生日。
那时我将和我出生时父亲一样大。
我正在以非常快的速度接近他，
因为那时我的年龄将是他的一半。
如果我在八年后再次回家，
时间很快就会过去。
我想知道当你收到这封信时，
萨拉是否会在家。
那天早上她能和克拉拉一起在克利夫兰欢迎我们真是太好了。
我清楚地记得你们俩的样子和你们各自说的话 莎拉说“哦，
你们有福了”，
克拉拉说“终于来了” 我想如果我们没有期待有人从家里来的话，
我不应该认识你然后爱德华和艾姆在车站，
他们看起来都非常自然，
就像父亲和母亲一样，
但玛丽已经发生了很大的变化。
如果我们都活着再次见面，
我相信一切都会看起来很自然，
因为我记得你们所有人都那么完美，
现在所有人都长大了几年不会有太大的改变。
我记得那天早上果园看起来多么美丽，
苹果树都开花了，
然后我们第一次看到了亲爱的老“山上的家”。
我希望我们可能会在某个时候“在宅基地的屋顶下”再次见面。
我一直认为我们的家在这样一个美好的地方。
风景不像新罕布什尔州父亲的家那样狂野而美丽，
但我认为它安静地美丽，
现在很容易到达克利夫兰，
我不知道在哪里可以找到一个更好的家。
“家，甜蜜的家，
从天而降的魅力似乎使我们在那里神圣化，
它在世界上的搜索在其他地方从未遇到过。
”对家庭圈里所有亲爱的成员表示最热烈的爱。
永远爱你的海蒂。

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