Letter from Hattie to "Dear Ones at Home", March 14, 1889

Letter from Hattie to "Dear Ones at Home", March 14, 1889

Steamboats; Travel; Catholic Church; Pagodas; Gravestones

Harriet writes to everyone at home, her month and a half trip is finally coming to a close. She describes the sights as they approach the city by way of the Canton River. She was disappointed that Mattie could not come down to Hong Kong. Harriet picks up the letter a week later on March 21st and says how glad she is that she stayed long enough at home to see her parent's monument erected.

Noyes, Harriet Newell

The College of Wooster, Special Collections, Noyes Collection, Box #4

Unpublished

1889-03-14

Council on Library and Information Resources Hidden Special Collections Grant

PDF

eng (English)

Text

noyes_c_cor_407

S.S. Honam.
Canton River
March 14th 1889
Dear Ones at Home,
Just a few more lines
before I reach the end of the
long journey which began Feb 1st
in Seville and ends this morning
in Canton. It seems almost as
cold here as it did that morning
in Canton. It seems almost as
cold here as it did that morning
there but the thermometer would
not say so. They have had quite
warm weather here thermometer
standing at 82° but there has
been a sudden change. We
are now only about eight miles
from Canton. I can already
see the familiar landmarks
the Roman Catholic cathedral
the Five story Pagoda at the
North Gate, and White Cloud Hills
in the background. The country

is very beautiful this morning
with the verdancy which belongs
to the early spring-time. I
would like a gleam of sunshine
it is a dark cloudy day. I was
so disappointed that Mattie could
not come down to Hong Kong, but I
shall see her very soon now, we
could have had such a good
long quiet visit before seeing
any one else. + March 21st
A week has passed since the
above was written and now it is
after nine-o-clock in the evening
and I have just promised
Miss Butler that I will not
sit up after ten, so I can only
write a little while. She feels
very sorry that she did not
find time to write to you
during these months to keep you
posted as the intended doing.

She says she will write it up
yet and send you. I
am going to try and write
a little every day do not know
how long I shall keep it up
but I think it would be a good
way then when mail day
comes around will have a
letter ready for home. You
will see by the schedule that
the steamers will go more
frequently almost once a week.
I am afraid you will think
the time to "write to China"
comes around pretty often but
you must not try to write
long letters if you have not
time, but let us have a little
every time. It seems so
strange not to feel anxious
about father and mother
to know that they are

safe and happy whatever
may come to us. It does
not seem as I thought it
might as though they are nearer
to me than you are. It seems
as though if they are near any
place on Earth it is the old
home and the place where
their bodies are resting "till He
come." I am so [u] very [/u] [u] glad [/u]
that I waited until the
monument was finished. It
was just as we thought it did
not make any especial difference
here and I should have
been [u] so [/u] [u] sorry [/u] if I had
not staid. Now I can always
think just how it looked in
winter time some time I hope
that I may see it under the
summer sunshine. I am
[u] so [/u] [u] glad [/u] that it was just right.

[Continued vertically on the first page]
With much
love for you
all. Ever
You aff
Hattie.



S.S.湖南。
坎顿河
1889 年 3 月 14 日
亲爱的在家的人们，
在我到达从 2 月 1 日在塞维利亚开始到今天早上在坎顿结束的漫长旅程的终点​​之前，
只需要再多几行。
这里似乎和广州那天早上一样冷。
这里似乎和那天早上那里一样冷，
但温度计不会这么说。
他们这里的天气非常温暖，
温度计为 82°，
但突然发生了变化。
我们现在离广州只有大约八英里。
我已经可以看到熟悉的地标罗马天主教堂北门的五层宝塔和背景中的白云山。
这个国家今天早上非常美丽，
绿意盎然，
属于初春。
我想要一缕阳光，
那是一个乌云密布的日子。
我对玛蒂不能来香港感到非常失望，
但我很快就会见到她，
我们本可以在见到其他人之前进行这么长时间的安静访问。
3 月 21 日
写完上面已经过去一周了，
现在已经是晚上九点多了，
我刚刚答应巴特勒小姐十点以后不坐了，
所以我只能写一小会儿。
她感到非常抱歉，
在这几个月里她没有抽出时间给您写信，
让您按预期工作。
她说她会写下来然后寄给你。
我会尝试每天写一点，
不知道我会坚持多久，
但我认为这将是一个好方法，
然后当邮件日到来时，
会有一封准备好回家的信。
您会从时间表中看到，
轮船几乎每周一次更频繁地运行。
恐怕你会认为“写信给中国”的时间是经常来的，
但如果你没有时间，
你千万不要试图写长信，
而是每次都让我们有一点。
不为父母感到焦虑似乎很奇怪，
因为他们知道他们是安全和快乐的，
无论我们遇到什么。
看起来不像我想象的那样，
他们比你离我更近。
似乎他们靠近地球上的任何地方，
那就是老家和他们的身体“直到他来”休息的地方。
我很高兴我一直等到纪念​​碑完工。
就像我们认为它在这里没有任何特别的区别一样，
如果我没有坚持下去，
我应该会很抱歉。
现在我总能想到它在冬天的样子，
我希望我能在夏日的阳光下看到它。
我很高兴这是正确的。
[第一页垂直续] 非常爱你们。
你永远爱海蒂。

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