Letter from Harriet to Father, July 1, 1884
Dublin Core
Title
Letter from Harriet to Father, July 1, 1884
Subject
Cold (Disease); Examinations; Church dinners; Flower arrangement; Lanterns
Description
Hattie writes to her father about how her day has been and how she is getting over her cold. Due to the rain, there were not as many Chinese at the dinner as they had hoped and she plans to have the closing exercises in the chapel next year instead of inviting everyone to their house. The examinations went well. They are planning a trip to Macau next week. She also mentions that the teachers and students contributed money to decorated the school with flowers and lanterns and made it look quite beautiful.
Creator
Noyes, Harriet Newell
Source
The College of Wooster, Special Collections, Noyes Collection, Box #3
Publisher
Unpublished
Date
1884-07-01
Contributor
Council on Library and Information Resources Hidden Special Collections Grant
Rights
Format
PDF
Language
eng (English)
Type
Text
Identifier
noyes_c_cor_347
Text Item Type Metadata
Text
Canton China
July 1st 1884
My dear Father,
Notwithstanding this
has been such a busy day
I have found time to think
much of my beloved Father,
and have sent many loving
thoughts and good wishes
across the sea to the dear
old home on the hill. The
day has passed very pleasantly
and satisfactorily here and I
do not feel as tired tonight as
I expected but I do feel
very much relieved to think
of being free from the responsibility
of the school for a good long
vacation. I found this
morning to my great relief
that my cold was much
better so that I was not
obliged to spend most of my
time wiping my nose and eyes
It rained very hard in
the morning and this no doubt
prevented many of the Chinese
from coming but we had quite
a good number. There were
sixteen foreigners present. I
should say twenty. Fifteen
of them staid to dinner.
Next year we think we
will have the closing exercises
in the chapel and then
we will not feel obliged to
ask them to come to dinner.
It is the most inconvenient
day in all the year for us
to have company as there are
so many Chinese here who
wish to see us and we cannot
be in more than one place
at the same time. The
examination went off very
well indeed. It has rained
so much during the afternoon
that very few have been
able to get away. Tonight
there were fifty-two to eat
rice here. I hope tomorrow
will be a good day so that
many of the rest can leave.
We will try to have as few
left on our hands as
possible for the summer.
We are expecting to go to
Macau next Monday to spend
two or three weeks, and then
I must try and get some
letters written. I forgot to
say when writing about the
examination that the
teachers and scholars
contributed money and
bought flowers and
decorated the school room
beautifully. The Chinese
have a way of making
flower baskets over wires
and imitations of lanterns &c
which are very strong.
They have the wire frames
and after the flowers have
faded come back for the
frames which they use
repeatedly. After the exercises
were over when we were at
dinner the scholars took down
the baskets and brought
them out to decorate my
room and sung a serenade
but unfortunately we were
so taken up with our dinner
that we did not notice
what they were doing for
which we were very sorry.
I wish you could have
been here today. I know
it would have given you
real pleasure to have seen
and heard the scholars.
I was glad to remember that
you would know and think
of it being the last day of
this school year. And
now I must say good night
for I will have to be early
to see some of the scholars
who will start home in
the morning. With warmest
love and all best wishes
from your loving daughter
Harriet.
July 1st 1884
My dear Father,
Notwithstanding this
has been such a busy day
I have found time to think
much of my beloved Father,
and have sent many loving
thoughts and good wishes
across the sea to the dear
old home on the hill. The
day has passed very pleasantly
and satisfactorily here and I
do not feel as tired tonight as
I expected but I do feel
very much relieved to think
of being free from the responsibility
of the school for a good long
vacation. I found this
morning to my great relief
that my cold was much
better so that I was not
obliged to spend most of my
time wiping my nose and eyes
It rained very hard in
the morning and this no doubt
prevented many of the Chinese
from coming but we had quite
a good number. There were
sixteen foreigners present. I
should say twenty. Fifteen
of them staid to dinner.
Next year we think we
will have the closing exercises
in the chapel and then
we will not feel obliged to
ask them to come to dinner.
It is the most inconvenient
day in all the year for us
to have company as there are
so many Chinese here who
wish to see us and we cannot
be in more than one place
at the same time. The
examination went off very
well indeed. It has rained
so much during the afternoon
that very few have been
able to get away. Tonight
there were fifty-two to eat
rice here. I hope tomorrow
will be a good day so that
many of the rest can leave.
We will try to have as few
left on our hands as
possible for the summer.
We are expecting to go to
Macau next Monday to spend
two or three weeks, and then
I must try and get some
letters written. I forgot to
say when writing about the
examination that the
teachers and scholars
contributed money and
bought flowers and
decorated the school room
beautifully. The Chinese
have a way of making
flower baskets over wires
and imitations of lanterns &c
which are very strong.
They have the wire frames
and after the flowers have
faded come back for the
frames which they use
repeatedly. After the exercises
were over when we were at
dinner the scholars took down
the baskets and brought
them out to decorate my
room and sung a serenade
but unfortunately we were
so taken up with our dinner
that we did not notice
what they were doing for
which we were very sorry.
I wish you could have
been here today. I know
it would have given you
real pleasure to have seen
and heard the scholars.
I was glad to remember that
you would know and think
of it being the last day of
this school year. And
now I must say good night
for I will have to be early
to see some of the scholars
who will start home in
the morning. With warmest
love and all best wishes
from your loving daughter
Harriet.
中国广东
1884年6月1日
我亲爱的父亲，
尽管这是非常忙碌的一天，
但我仍然抽空想念您，
并向我敬爱的父亲致以最良好的祝愿。
/
/
/
/
在这里的日子过得愉快，
今晚，
我没有想象中那么累，
实际上，
我很欣慰能在假期里摆脱学校的责任。
/
/
/
今天早上，
我发现我的感冒消失了，
我松了一口气，
现在我不用再擦眼睛和鼻子了。
/
/
尽管下雨使一些中国人无法参加，
但仍有许多中国人参加了我们的学校闭校仪式。
/
/
我们总共有16位外国人参加，
我该说是20位，
但只有 15 人留下来吃晚饭。
/
明年，
我们可以在小教堂举行学校的闭幕式，
这样我们就不必请人吃饭了，
/
/
那是我们有客人最不方便的一天，
想见我们的人太多了，
我们不能同时见所有人。
/
/
/
/
考试很顺利，
下午雨下得很大，
几乎没人能离开。
今晚，
有五十二个人在食堂吃饭，
我希望明天是个好天气，
这样其他人就可以离开了。
/
/
我们希望尽可能少的学生在夏天留在学校。
/
/
我们计划下周一去澳门，
在那里待两三个星期，
所以在那之前我必须写很多信。
/
之前忘记说了，
考试期间，
老师和同学们都捐钱买花来装饰学校。
/
/
/
/
有一种中国传统的制作花篮的方法，
看起来像灯笼，
篮子很结实，
篮子有金属丝框架，
即使在花朵枯萎后也可以重复使用。
/
/
/
/
/
考试结束后，
我吃晚饭的时候，
学生们取下花篮来装饰我的房间，
他们甚至给我唱了一首歌，
但不幸的是，
因为我们出去吃饭，
我没有听到他们的声音。
/
/
/
我希望您能在这里，
我知道您会很高兴看到和听到学生们。
/
/
/
我很高兴知道您会知道今天是我们学年的最后一天，
您会想到我。
/
现在我必须说晚安，
明天我必须早起和一些早上要回家的学生说再见，
/
/
/
送您我最温暖的爱和最美好的祝福，
/
您亲爱的女儿，
Harriet
Original Format
Letter
Collection
Citation
Noyes, Harriet Newell, “Letter from Harriet to Father, July 1, 1884,” Letters from Harriet Noyes: Missionaries and Women's Education in Nineteenth Century China, accessed April 27, 2024, https://noyesletters.org/items/show/402.