Letter from Hattie to Father, October 21, 1883
Dublin Core
Title
Letter from Hattie to Father, October 21, 1883
Subject
Justification (Christian theology); End of the world; Good and evil--Religious aspects--Christianity; Prophecy--Christianity; Cholera; Death
Description
Harriet tells her father that he should not think that she is turning heterodox and that she is departing from the good old Presbyterian faith. She clarifies that she never intended her father to believe that she endorsed Guinness's views. For instance, she does not believe that there will be a coming of the savior soon. However, she does believe that the end of the age is approaching. She expresses her dissatisfaction with the present order, characterized by evil. In addition, Harriet writes about her sadness at the death of Mr. Butler and his son on the same day - both of cholera.
Creator
Noyes, Harriet Newell
Source
The College of Wooster, Special Collections, Noyes Collection, Box #3
Publisher
Unpublished
Date
1883-10-31
Contributor
Council on Library and Information Resources Hidden Special Collections Grant
Rights
Format
PDF
Language
eng (English)
Type
Text
Identifier
noyes_c_cor_338
Text Item Type Metadata
Text
Canton China
Oct 31st 1883 -
My dear Father,
Very many thanks
for your good long letter
of Sept 7th which came two
days since. I am very glad
your second thought was
better than your first one
and that you sent it to
China instead of destroying it.
You must not conclude
that I am getting heterodox
and departing from the
good old Presbyterian faith,
Not at all, like Sarah I
am still quite ready to leave
it to you to tell me what
I believe. I never meant you
to think that I endorse
Guinness' views entirely.
I presume you and I are
not far apart in what we
believe on the question. It
does not [u]seem[/u] to me. at
least I do not feel at all
sure that there is to be a personal
visible coming of the Savior
again soon. But what I
do believe, and what it seems
to me Guiness' book proves
pretty conclusively is that the
end of the age is approaching,
that is the present dispensation
has nearly passed and there
is to be a [u]marked change for
the better very soon[/u] probably
within the time he indicates.
Whether the change will be so
sudden that every one will feel
and recognize it at once or
whether it will be gradual
I have no idea, very likely
the latter. I am so tired of
the present dispensation with
its accumulated evil that
I am glad to believe every
thing that seems to be probable
in this direction. Dr [?Ashman?]
says he thinks that the time
is near when the [?enl?] influences
which are now so powerful in
the Earth will be withdrawn
and the good seed which Christians
have been serving so long will be
allowed to develop unhindered.
This I suppose will be the
millenium. Nevertheless I mean
to be [u]watching[/u] so that if Guinness
views should be correct I will
not be among those who would
be surprised if the Savior
should suddenly appear
[u]to-day[/u] or [u]tomorrow[/u]. The
passage that you quote seem
undoubtedly to refer to the
[u]last days[/u] which of course can
not come before the end of
all and it seems clear
that there will then be the
judgement of all mankind.
Whatever the prophecies
mean we are certainly
nearEr their fulfillment and
probably the correct interpretation
of them ^than the early Christians It seems as though
they must be written to be
understood some time by some
one and perhaps it may be
soon. None of us pretend to
get to the bottom of Guinness'
arguments. but we understand
as much as we can and
believe as much as we like
You will perhaps have heard
of the death of Mr Butler of
Ningpo. He died very suddenly
of cholera, and the same
day I think his little boy the
eldest died of the same disease
and they were both buried in
one grave. It must have been
very sad for Mrs Butler. Perhaps
you will remember that when they
went home a few years since,
she reached her own home just
two hours after her Mother's death.
She had been obliged to wait
over a steamer in Shanghai on
account of her own illness otherwise
she would have been in time to
see her mother alive. Mr Butler was
a very good missionary, He was one
of my best friends. we begun our
missionary life together, and
now his is finished I wonder
how soon that will be said of mine
but for many years I presume.
[Note: Letter concludes sideways in the margin]
With much love from Your aff daughter Hattie ---
中国广州
1883 年 10 月 31
日——我亲爱的父亲，
非常感谢您在 9 月 7 日的长信，
两天后寄来。
我很高兴你的第二个想法比你的第一个想法更好，
你把它送到了中国而不是摧毁它。
你不能断定我变得不正统，
背离了古老的长老会信仰，
一点也不像莎拉，
我仍然准备好让你告诉我我的信仰。
我从来没有让你认为我完全赞同吉尼斯的观点。
我想你和我在这个问题上的看法相差不远。
在我看来不是。
至少我完全不确定救主是否会再次以个人可见的方式再次降临。
但我确实相信，
而且在我看来，
吉尼斯的书相当确凿地证明，
时代即将结束，
也就是说，
目前的时代已经接近尾声，
可能很快就会有明显的好转在他指示的时间内。
这种变化是突然来得如此突然，
以至于每个人都会立即感觉到并认出它，
还是它是渐进的，
我不知道，
很可能是后者。
我厌倦了目前累积的邪恶，
我很高兴相信在这个方向上似乎可能发生的每一件事。
阿什曼博士说，
他认为现在在地球上如此强大的英国影响将被撤回的时候已经临近，
基督徒长期以来服务的好种子将不受阻碍地发展。
我想这将是千禧年。
尽管如此，
我的意思是要注意，
如果吉尼斯的观点是正确的，
如果救世主今天或明天突然出现，
我不会是那些会感到惊讶的人之一。
你引用的这段话似乎毫无疑问是指末世，
当然不能在一切结束之前到来，
似乎很清楚，
那时全人类都会受到审判。
无论预言意味着什么，
我们肯定比早期的基督徒更接近它们的应验，
并且可能是对它们的正确解释。
似乎它们必须写成一段时间才能被某人理解，
也许很快就会被理解。
我们没有人假装深入了解吉尼斯的论点。
但我们尽可能地了解并尽可能地相信您可能已经听说过宁波巴特勒先生的死讯。
他死于霍乱，
就在同一天，
我认为他的大儿子死于同样的疾病，
他们都被埋在一个坟墓里。
巴特勒夫人一定很伤心。
也许你会记得，
几年后他们回家时，
她在母亲去世后两个小时就回到了自己的家。
因为她自己的病，
她不得不在上海等轮船，
否则她本来可以及时看到她母亲活着的。
巴特勒先生是一位非常好的传教士，
他是我最好的朋友之一。
我们一起开始了我们的传教生活，
现在他的生活已经结束了。
我不知道多久会这样说我的，
但我想已经有很多年了。
[注：信在空白处横着结束] 怀着你女儿的厚爱，
海蒂——
Oct 31st 1883 -
My dear Father,
Very many thanks
for your good long letter
of Sept 7th which came two
days since. I am very glad
your second thought was
better than your first one
and that you sent it to
China instead of destroying it.
You must not conclude
that I am getting heterodox
and departing from the
good old Presbyterian faith,
Not at all, like Sarah I
am still quite ready to leave
it to you to tell me what
I believe. I never meant you
to think that I endorse
Guinness' views entirely.
I presume you and I are
not far apart in what we
believe on the question. It
does not [u]seem[/u] to me. at
least I do not feel at all
sure that there is to be a personal
visible coming of the Savior
again soon. But what I
do believe, and what it seems
to me Guiness' book proves
pretty conclusively is that the
end of the age is approaching,
that is the present dispensation
has nearly passed and there
is to be a [u]marked change for
the better very soon[/u] probably
within the time he indicates.
Whether the change will be so
sudden that every one will feel
and recognize it at once or
whether it will be gradual
I have no idea, very likely
the latter. I am so tired of
the present dispensation with
its accumulated evil that
I am glad to believe every
thing that seems to be probable
in this direction. Dr [?Ashman?]
says he thinks that the time
is near when the [?enl?] influences
which are now so powerful in
the Earth will be withdrawn
and the good seed which Christians
have been serving so long will be
allowed to develop unhindered.
This I suppose will be the
millenium. Nevertheless I mean
to be [u]watching[/u] so that if Guinness
views should be correct I will
not be among those who would
be surprised if the Savior
should suddenly appear
[u]to-day[/u] or [u]tomorrow[/u]. The
passage that you quote seem
undoubtedly to refer to the
[u]last days[/u] which of course can
not come before the end of
all and it seems clear
that there will then be the
judgement of all mankind.
Whatever the prophecies
mean we are certainly
nearEr their fulfillment and
probably the correct interpretation
of them ^than the early Christians It seems as though
they must be written to be
understood some time by some
one and perhaps it may be
soon. None of us pretend to
get to the bottom of Guinness'
arguments. but we understand
as much as we can and
believe as much as we like
You will perhaps have heard
of the death of Mr Butler of
Ningpo. He died very suddenly
of cholera, and the same
day I think his little boy the
eldest died of the same disease
and they were both buried in
one grave. It must have been
very sad for Mrs Butler. Perhaps
you will remember that when they
went home a few years since,
she reached her own home just
two hours after her Mother's death.
She had been obliged to wait
over a steamer in Shanghai on
account of her own illness otherwise
she would have been in time to
see her mother alive. Mr Butler was
a very good missionary, He was one
of my best friends. we begun our
missionary life together, and
now his is finished I wonder
how soon that will be said of mine
but for many years I presume.
[Note: Letter concludes sideways in the margin]
With much love from Your aff daughter Hattie ---
中国广州
1883 年 10 月 31
日——我亲爱的父亲，
非常感谢您在 9 月 7 日的长信，
两天后寄来。
我很高兴你的第二个想法比你的第一个想法更好，
你把它送到了中国而不是摧毁它。
你不能断定我变得不正统，
背离了古老的长老会信仰，
一点也不像莎拉，
我仍然准备好让你告诉我我的信仰。
我从来没有让你认为我完全赞同吉尼斯的观点。
我想你和我在这个问题上的看法相差不远。
在我看来不是。
至少我完全不确定救主是否会再次以个人可见的方式再次降临。
但我确实相信，
而且在我看来，
吉尼斯的书相当确凿地证明，
时代即将结束，
也就是说，
目前的时代已经接近尾声，
可能很快就会有明显的好转在他指示的时间内。
这种变化是突然来得如此突然，
以至于每个人都会立即感觉到并认出它，
还是它是渐进的，
我不知道，
很可能是后者。
我厌倦了目前累积的邪恶，
我很高兴相信在这个方向上似乎可能发生的每一件事。
阿什曼博士说，
他认为现在在地球上如此强大的英国影响将被撤回的时候已经临近，
基督徒长期以来服务的好种子将不受阻碍地发展。
我想这将是千禧年。
尽管如此，
我的意思是要注意，
如果吉尼斯的观点是正确的，
如果救世主今天或明天突然出现，
我不会是那些会感到惊讶的人之一。
你引用的这段话似乎毫无疑问是指末世，
当然不能在一切结束之前到来，
似乎很清楚，
那时全人类都会受到审判。
无论预言意味着什么，
我们肯定比早期的基督徒更接近它们的应验，
并且可能是对它们的正确解释。
似乎它们必须写成一段时间才能被某人理解，
也许很快就会被理解。
我们没有人假装深入了解吉尼斯的论点。
但我们尽可能地了解并尽可能地相信您可能已经听说过宁波巴特勒先生的死讯。
他死于霍乱，
就在同一天，
我认为他的大儿子死于同样的疾病，
他们都被埋在一个坟墓里。
巴特勒夫人一定很伤心。
也许你会记得，
几年后他们回家时，
她在母亲去世后两个小时就回到了自己的家。
因为她自己的病，
她不得不在上海等轮船，
否则她本来可以及时看到她母亲活着的。
巴特勒先生是一位非常好的传教士，
他是我最好的朋友之一。
我们一起开始了我们的传教生活，
现在他的生活已经结束了。
我不知道多久会这样说我的，
但我想已经有很多年了。
[注：信在空白处横着结束] 怀着你女儿的厚爱，
海蒂——
Original Format
Letter
Collection
Citation
Noyes, Harriet Newell, “Letter from Hattie to Father, October 21, 1883,” Letters from Harriet Noyes: Missionaries and Women's Education in Nineteenth Century China, accessed December 22, 2024, https://noyesletters.org/items/show/394.