Letter from Hattie to Sara, June 8, 1885

Letter from Hattie to Sara, June 8, 1885

Birthdays; Aging; Death; Missionaries; Girls' schools

Harriet wishes Sarah a happy birthday and then proceeds to tell her how she spent the 3rd (the day of Sara's birthday). She spent the morning at the women's school, the afternoon at the girls' school, and in the evening they had a conference where there were around 50 people. Of those 50, only Harriet, the Simmons, and Dr. Graves had been in Canton for more than ten years, which makes her think that she has almost "outlived" her generation. However, they are expecting some of the old missionaries to come back. Along with this letter, Harriet sends tiger claw pins for Sara and Clara and a copy of Dr. Kerr's and Hattie's letters reporting on Mrs. Kerr's death.

Noyes, Harriet Newell

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

Unpublished

1885-06-08

Council on Library and Information Resources Hidden Special Collections Grant

PDF

eng (English)

Text

noyes_c_cor_373

Canton China
June 3d 1885
(8th)
My dear Sara -
This is to be your
birthday letter so of course
it ought to be written on
June 3d - instead of very
late in the evening of
June 8th. However I am
sure it will not make any
difference as it would
not have started from
Canton any earlier if it
had been written five
days ago .I hope long ere
this reaches you, you
will have had a good
rest at home and be
as good as new again.
You have not kept me

very well posted with regard
to your feelings and doings
during the past year
but I shall hope for one
or two letters in vacation
time. Well I will tell
you how I spent your
birthday. It came on
Wednesday which is a
busy day with me. In
the forenoon I hear lessons
in the Womens school and
in the afternoon in the
Girls' On that particular
Wednesday we had Conference
in the evening. It met
at Mr Eichler's a little
German missionary who
has just got married
and they are as happy

and loving as a couple of
kittens. There were about forty
or fifty present and of all
the number only Mr and
Mrs Simmons Dr Graves
and I had been in
Canton more than ten
years. You see I have
almost outlived "my generation"
However we expect some
of the old missionaries back
again before long to keep
us in countenance.
I send you by this mail a
tiger claw pin, and in
the same box is a smaller
one for Clara. At Henrys
birthday party I wore Em's
+ Clara's and Mary's on my
sleeves. I could'nt find

a place for yours, so I wore
yours only on the evening
of your own birthday.
I hope the others sent to
Em and Mary have
been received and that
these will reach you
safely in due time.
Tell Mary I was very glad
to get her photo and think it
is very good. I do not think
it flatters her at all --
I have copied the letters
that Dr Kerr and Hattie
wrote about Mrs Kerr's death
and send them by this mail
to Mrs Preston asking her to
forward them to Seville
where she has read them.
Perhaps you will ere this

[Note: Letter concludes sideways on page one]
have had a visit from them and they will have
told you
all. And
now I must
say goodnight
Wishing you
many happy
returns of
the day June 3d
Ever yr aff
[u]Hattie[/u]



中国广州
1885 年 6 月 3 日（8 日）
我亲爱的 Sara -
这是你的生日信，
所以它当然应该写在 6 月 3 日 -
而不是在 6 月 8 日晚上很晚。
但是我相信它不会有任何区别，
因为如果它是五天前写的，
它不会更早从广州开始。
我希望在你收到之前，
你会在家里好好休息，
并保持良好状态又像新的一样。
在过去的一年里，
你没有让我很好地了解你的感受和行为，
但我希望在假期能收到一两封信。
好吧，
我会告诉你我是如何度过你的生日的。
它是在星期三来的，
这对我来说是忙碌的一天。
上午我在女子学校听课，
下午在女子学校听课。
在那个特定的星期三，
我们在晚上举行了会议。
它是在艾希勒先生的一位刚结婚的德国小传教士那里相遇的，
他们像一对小猫一样快乐而充满爱心。
在场的大约有四十或五十人，
其中只有西蒙斯夫妇和格雷夫斯博士和我在广州待了十多年。
你看，
我几乎比“我这一代人”活得更久，
但是我们希望不久之后一些老传教士会再次回来，
以保持我们的面貌。
我通过这封邮件寄给你一个虎爪别针，
在同一个盒子里还有一个较小的给克拉拉的。
在亨利的生日派对上，
我的袖子上戴着艾姆、克拉拉和玛丽的。
我找不到你的位置，
所以我只在你生日那天晚上穿了你的。
我希望发送给 Em 和 Mary 的其他人已经收到，
并且这些将在适当的时候安全地送达您。
告诉玛丽，
我很高兴得到她的照片，
并认为它非常好。
我认为这对她一点也不恭维——我抄写了克尔博士和海蒂写的关于克尔夫人去世的信，
并通过这封邮件寄给普雷斯顿夫人，
请她将它们转发到塞维利亚，
她在那里读过这些信。
也许你会在这[注：信在第一页横着结束] 曾经拜访过他们，
他们会告诉你一切。
现在我必须说晚安 祝你在 6 月 3 日当天快乐归来，
海蒂

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