Unsigned letter from Harriet to Mattie, July 7, 1883

Unsigned letter from Harriet to Mattie, July 7, 1883

Health; Sickness; Pneumonia; Diseases; Women missionaries; Dengue; Boarding schools; Teachers

Hattie feels sorry for Martha because she is still not feeling well so she will not be able to return to the mission. Still, she encourages her to keep trying to get well so that she can come back. She tells Mattie that the teachers are so well trained now that the work has become relatively easy. Miss Butler has been pretty weak since she got pneumonia. Due to her poor health, Harriet thinks that she will catch dengue fever every year. The letter is incomplete.

Noyes, Harriet Newell

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

Unpublished

1883-07-07

Council on Library and Information Resources Hidden Special Collections Grant

PDF

eng (English)

Text

noyes_c_cor_325

Canton China
July 7th 1883
My dear Mattie,
Your letter of May
21st came a few days since
I am so sorry that you
are not feeling any better.
I had not much hope
that you would be able
to come back this year.
But you must not feel
disemayed but just go on
and try to get well and
come back when you get
well enough. Mrs Happer
will doubtless be coming
back a year from next
autumn and [u] nothing [/u]
could be more delightful
than to come back with
her. Of course if you are

able to come back the Board
will be ready to send you
and otherwise you would
not think it best yourself
to come back. I should
think the same amount of
strength would go much
farther in work here than
in New York. You know
how well the work is now
arranged here and how
with such good trained
teachers as we now have
the work in the Boarding
School is made as easy as
it possibly can be. Perhaps
if you cannot come before
you will be able to come
out in time to take charge
fo the School and let me
go home for a visit. Miss
Butler will be a very good
worker in the schools and
a good missionary in every

way but I am afraid
that she will never be very
strong. She says she used to
be very strong but she had
some time since a very
severe attack of pneumonia
and a relapse and the
sickness has evidently
impaired her constitution.
She takes cold very easily
and it seems almost
impossible for her to get rid
of a cold when she gets it.
Then I am afraid that
she is going to have dengue
fever annually. She has
had another attack this
year and does not seem
to be able to get it out of her
system. She is not able
to take much exercise
and [Illegible] cannot be
strong, for I think no one
can be strong unless they

can exercise. I do not
suppose she would care much
to have me write this to you
for she feels as you used
to about letting any one
know that she is not strong.
She says she has always been
very strong and it is a great
trial to her not to be so now.
But I think she can
hardly expect it after teaching
fifteen years the last ten
in city schools. I hope if she
is careful she may keep
pretty well out here, but it
is hard for her to take
life easy. Lucy was the
best one I ever knew to take
care of herself and it is a
pretty good qualification for a
missionary. But it did
not do her much good in
the end after all. I imagine she
never had good health after

中国广东
1883年7月7日
我亲爱的Mattie，
你在 5 月 21 日写的信几天前就到了，
听到你感觉不好，
我很遗憾，
我对你今年能回来没有抱希望，
所以我并没有太失望。
/
/
请不要失去希望，
专注于恢复，
等你好了再回来。
/
Happer 太太将于明年秋天返回中国，
如果你能和她一起回来就好了。
/
/
/
/
/

当传教组织准备好派遣你时，
你可以回来，
或者你可以在感觉好点的时候早点来。
/
我认为在这里工作会比在纽约更容易，
因为我们有很多好老师，
一切都已经安排好了，
管理寄宿学校非常容易。
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
如果你不能在我回家之前来接替我，
也许Butler 小姐可以。
/
/
/
Butler 小姐是一个很好的经历和一个很好的传教士，
但她的健康状况不是很好。
/
/

/
/
她的健康本来很好，
但后来她得了两次严重的肺炎，
她的健康状况从未如此。
/
/
/
/
她很容易感冒，
而且恢复得很慢。
/
/
我担心她每年都会得登革热。
/
她今年感冒了，
一直没能康复。
/
/
因为她不能经常运动，
所以她不是很强壮。
/
/
/

我猜她不想让我告诉你我认为她身体很虚弱。
/
/
/
/
/
她说她一直很坚强，
所以最近的弱点对她来说尤其困难。
/
她当了 15 年的老师，
她在城市学校任教十年，
我希望她可以放松，
这样她才能康复，
但她很难放松，
因为她已经习惯了努力工作。
/
Lucy非常善于照顾自己，
她是一位非常出色的传教士，
/
/
但这最终对她没有帮助，
我猜她的健康在此之后再也没有恢复，

Letter