Letter from Hattie to Mary, March 11, 1889
Dublin Core
Title
Letter from Hattie to Mary, March 11, 1889
Subject
Travel; Steamboats; Telegrams; Dreams
Description
Aboard the S. S. Oceanic, Harriet writes that they expect to reach Hong Kong two days from today. Harriet is reflecting on death and recalls that it will soon be two years since her mother died. Harriet wishes that telegrams from China were as cheap as from Cleveland to Seville.
Creator
Noyes, Harriet Newell
Source
The College of Wooster, Special Collections, Noyes Collection, Box #4
Publisher
Unpublished
Date
1889-03-11
Contributor
Council on Library and Information Resources Hidden Special Collections Grant
Rights
Format
PDF
Language
eng (English)
Type
Text
Identifier
noyes_c_cor_404
Text Item Type Metadata
Text
S.S. Oceanic
Near China
March 11th 1889
My dear Mary -
This will make [u]fourteen[/u]
letters that I have written
today and as it is now
after nine-o-clock when I
have finished this I shall
consider that it will be time
to stop and go to bed. I
wrote ten on Friday and
hoped to do as well on Saturday
but instead of writing the
sea was rough and I spent
the day in my berth . It
was not very rough but I seem
now to feel a little motion
a great deal and even when
it is quite smooth I do not
feel entirely comfortable .
When I come home I shall
hope to find a smoother sea.
I have been writing to our relatives
this evening have just finished
a letter to Cousin Addie have
written to Uncle Wheeler + Cousins
Mary Fay + Sarah Mason .
We hope to see the shores of China
tomorrow and reach HongKong
the next morning. It is nice that
you will know just about the
time that I will be reaching
there . I wish a telegram
would not cost more than
from Cleveland to Seville.
Martha wrote to me that they
felt so anxious about my
coming over in the winter that
if they had thought a telegram
would reach me they
would have sent to me to
wait until April. But I
think I came at the right
time. I would love to be
with you still but I feel that
I ought to be here and I am
glad the long voyage is almost
over. I dream of you all
very often . last night I dreamed
that Father was still with us at
home. I remembred about that
20th of April it seemed as though
several months had passed and
I wondered why I had never
thought to ask him if it seemed
to him that we were unsympathetic
that day .I asked Em if she
had ever thought of it and she
said she had but was afraid
it would make him feel badly
to ask him [--that--] I said I did
not think it would and we
would ask him when he came
in I thought it was spring
time and was out in the
yard . How soon it will be two
whole years since Mother
left us. It seems to me that
some of us at least will come
back to the old home to spend
the evening of our days after
we are through with doing good.
If the law for the Levites applied
to us only those under fifty years
should serve I would soon
be coming home . It is a very
pleasant anticipation to me
at any rate to think of coming
home to have a good rest before
I go hence and I may as
well expect that as anything
else for we cannot know
anything about what the
future has in store for us. You
must all take good care of
yourselves and we will try and
[?live?] as long as we can.
[Note: Letter concludes sideways on page one]
and now it
is half past
nine and
I must say
good night
Sometimes it
seems as though
I can almost
see "Old
major" coming
in at some
door.
Poor old
fellow
I shall
never
see him
again.
With love
Hattie -
S.S. Oceanic
中国附近
1889 年 3 月 11
日亲爱的玛丽——这将构成我今天写的十四封信，
因为现在是九点钟之后，
当我写完这封信时，
我会考虑是时候停下来去床。
我周五写了十篇，
希望周六也能写得好，
但我没有写，
因为大海很波涛汹涌，
我一整天都在我的泊位上度过。
它不是很粗糙，
但我现在似乎感觉到了很大的一点运动，
即使它很光滑，
我也感觉不太舒服。
当我回家时，
我希望能找到更平静的大海。
我今晚一直在给我们的亲戚写信，
刚刚写完一封给艾迪堂兄的信，
写给了惠勒叔叔、玛丽·费伊和莎拉·梅森堂兄弟。
我们希望明天看到中国的海岸，
第二天早上到达香港。
很高兴你能知道我到达那里的时间。
我希望电报不会比从克利夫兰到塞维利亚花费更多。
玛莎给我写信说，
他们对我冬天过来感到非常担心，
如果他们认为我会收到一封电报，
他们会发给我等到四月。
但我想我来的正是时候。
我很想和你在一起，
但我觉得我应该在这里，
我很高兴漫长的旅程快结束了。
我经常梦见你们。
昨晚我梦见父亲还在家里陪着我们。
我记得 4 月 20 日，
好像几个月过去了，
我想知道为什么我从来没想过问他那天我们是否没有同情心。
我问 Em 她有没有想过，
她说她有 ，
但怕问他会让他难受我说我觉得不会 ，
我们会问他什么时候他进来多久之后母亲离开我们已经整整两年了。
在我看来，
我们中的一些人至少会在做好事后回到老家度过我们的夜晚。
如果利未人的法律只适用于我们只有不到五十岁的人可以服务，
我很快就会回家了。
无论如何，
想到在我离开之前回家好好休息一下，
这对我来说是一个非常愉快的期待，
我也可以期待，
因为我们对未来的未来一无所知。
你们都必须照顾好自己，
我们会努力活下去。
[注：信在第一页横着结束]现在已经九点半了，
我必须说晚安有时我似乎几乎可以看到“老少校”从某个门进来。
可怜的老家伙，
我再也见不到他了。
带着爱的海蒂——
Near China
March 11th 1889
My dear Mary -
This will make [u]fourteen[/u]
letters that I have written
today and as it is now
after nine-o-clock when I
have finished this I shall
consider that it will be time
to stop and go to bed. I
wrote ten on Friday and
hoped to do as well on Saturday
but instead of writing the
sea was rough and I spent
the day in my berth . It
was not very rough but I seem
now to feel a little motion
a great deal and even when
it is quite smooth I do not
feel entirely comfortable .
When I come home I shall
hope to find a smoother sea.
I have been writing to our relatives
this evening have just finished
a letter to Cousin Addie have
written to Uncle Wheeler + Cousins
Mary Fay + Sarah Mason .
We hope to see the shores of China
tomorrow and reach HongKong
the next morning. It is nice that
you will know just about the
time that I will be reaching
there . I wish a telegram
would not cost more than
from Cleveland to Seville.
Martha wrote to me that they
felt so anxious about my
coming over in the winter that
if they had thought a telegram
would reach me they
would have sent to me to
wait until April. But I
think I came at the right
time. I would love to be
with you still but I feel that
I ought to be here and I am
glad the long voyage is almost
over. I dream of you all
very often . last night I dreamed
that Father was still with us at
home. I remembred about that
20th of April it seemed as though
several months had passed and
I wondered why I had never
thought to ask him if it seemed
to him that we were unsympathetic
that day .I asked Em if she
had ever thought of it and she
said she had but was afraid
it would make him feel badly
to ask him [--that--] I said I did
not think it would and we
would ask him when he came
in I thought it was spring
time and was out in the
yard . How soon it will be two
whole years since Mother
left us. It seems to me that
some of us at least will come
back to the old home to spend
the evening of our days after
we are through with doing good.
If the law for the Levites applied
to us only those under fifty years
should serve I would soon
be coming home . It is a very
pleasant anticipation to me
at any rate to think of coming
home to have a good rest before
I go hence and I may as
well expect that as anything
else for we cannot know
anything about what the
future has in store for us. You
must all take good care of
yourselves and we will try and
[?live?] as long as we can.
[Note: Letter concludes sideways on page one]
and now it
is half past
nine and
I must say
good night
Sometimes it
seems as though
I can almost
see "Old
major" coming
in at some
door.
Poor old
fellow
I shall
never
see him
again.
With love
Hattie -
S.S. Oceanic
中国附近
1889 年 3 月 11
日亲爱的玛丽——这将构成我今天写的十四封信，
因为现在是九点钟之后，
当我写完这封信时，
我会考虑是时候停下来去床。
我周五写了十篇，
希望周六也能写得好，
但我没有写，
因为大海很波涛汹涌，
我一整天都在我的泊位上度过。
它不是很粗糙，
但我现在似乎感觉到了很大的一点运动，
即使它很光滑，
我也感觉不太舒服。
当我回家时，
我希望能找到更平静的大海。
我今晚一直在给我们的亲戚写信，
刚刚写完一封给艾迪堂兄的信，
写给了惠勒叔叔、玛丽·费伊和莎拉·梅森堂兄弟。
我们希望明天看到中国的海岸，
第二天早上到达香港。
很高兴你能知道我到达那里的时间。
我希望电报不会比从克利夫兰到塞维利亚花费更多。
玛莎给我写信说，
他们对我冬天过来感到非常担心，
如果他们认为我会收到一封电报，
他们会发给我等到四月。
但我想我来的正是时候。
我很想和你在一起，
但我觉得我应该在这里，
我很高兴漫长的旅程快结束了。
我经常梦见你们。
昨晚我梦见父亲还在家里陪着我们。
我记得 4 月 20 日，
好像几个月过去了，
我想知道为什么我从来没想过问他那天我们是否没有同情心。
我问 Em 她有没有想过，
她说她有 ，
但怕问他会让他难受我说我觉得不会 ，
我们会问他什么时候他进来多久之后母亲离开我们已经整整两年了。
在我看来，
我们中的一些人至少会在做好事后回到老家度过我们的夜晚。
如果利未人的法律只适用于我们只有不到五十岁的人可以服务，
我很快就会回家了。
无论如何，
想到在我离开之前回家好好休息一下，
这对我来说是一个非常愉快的期待，
我也可以期待，
因为我们对未来的未来一无所知。
你们都必须照顾好自己，
我们会努力活下去。
[注：信在第一页横着结束]现在已经九点半了，
我必须说晚安有时我似乎几乎可以看到“老少校”从某个门进来。
可怜的老家伙，
我再也见不到他了。
带着爱的海蒂——
Original Format
Letter
Collection
Citation
Noyes, Harriet Newell, “Letter from Hattie to Mary, March 11, 1889,” Letters from Harriet Noyes: Missionaries and Women's Education in Nineteenth Century China, accessed November 23, 2024, https://noyesletters.org/items/show/460.