Letter from Hattie to Clara, March 24, 1889
Dublin Core
Title
Letter from Hattie to Clara, March 24, 1889
Subject
Death; Health; Heaven; Tonsillitis
Description
Harriet wrote this letter on three different days: March 24, April 7, and April 8. March 24th was the second anniversary of her mother's death. Harriet copied a poem on the part dated April 7th and expressed gratitude for her family and health. On April 8th, Harriet wrote that Miss Butler had tonsillitis. She also asks Clara to let her know when she gets the lot in the cemetery.
Creator
Noyes, Harriet Newell
Source
The College of Wooster, Special Collections, Noyes Collection, Box #4
Publisher
Unpublished
Date
1889-03-24
Contributor
Council on Library and Information Resources Hidden Special Collections Grant
Rights
Format
PDF
Language
eng (English)
Type
Text
Identifier
noyes_c_cor_408
Text Item Type Metadata
Text
Canton China
March 24th 1889.
My dear Clara -
It is Sabbath day, we have
just had our dinner and before I go
into school I will write a few lines to
you. Two years have passed since Mother
went to heaven .I do not think they seem
as near to me here as they did in the old
home. but I do not know as they seem
any farther away than they used to when
they were in America and I in China.
I know how you will all remember
that day as it comes again with 1889.
I wonder what the day is like on your
side of the world. here it is dark and
cloudy. but pleasant, neither too cold, nor
too warn. I have thought so much
about Mrs. Crane. I hope that she has
not suffered all these weeks. I intended
to write to Mary while on the steamer
but did not. I shall always think of
her on the 24th of march. I can
hardly help wishing that I could go
back to the last day of July 1886 and
have my home visit all over again .
But we must go [u]forward[/u] instead of
backward and we [u]shall find them
all again[/u] in "our Father's house-"
April 7th - Two weeks have
passed since I wrote the above
and again it is the Sabbath.
Our work for the day is over it
is now five-o-clock in the afternoon
with you the day is beginning .
Last Sabbath Miss Butler and
I spent in Macao. Mary's
birthday. I hoped to find
letters from home when we came
back but although [--it--] ^the mail had come
it brought no letters from home and
such a mail does not seem worth
counting . It would be very nice
if it were possible as some one
suggested for me to do my mission
work over here and spend the
Sabbaths at home. Well never mind
we shall spend our [u]eternal[/u] sabbath
[u]together[/u] .I will copy a few lines from
a poem I have just been reading
"a Mother's stay" of one whose only son
was shot while on picket duty before
Vicksburg. "Her one thought now
"By night and day (she did not sleep much nights)
"Was whether spirits know about us still
"Still care for us and whether God permits
"Them to be guardian angels to their friends
"Not that she ever hoped nor even wished
"To feel their presence here but only thought
"I would give her joy to know he sometimes came
"And lingered near her with a pitying love
"Which soothed her trouble though she knew it not
I looked on the boy's pictured face and thought
Perhaps his spirit hovers o'er her now
And all the room seemed holier for the thought,"
The poem closes with the word,
"Often do I stop and think
"Of that poor face by care and sorrow lined
"Grow hard through fighting poverty and pain
"Until there seems no room for any smile
"To soften it no hope that any joy
"Of Earth will ever brighten it again
"And then I say "Thank God this life is short
Thank God.' there waits a brighter life beyond."
Whenever we go over to the
hospital we see such an accumulation
of misery that as Dr Kerr says it
makes one feel thankful for all the
ills he [u]has not[/u]. There is much
sorrow in this world it seems as
though we as a family have about
as much to be thankful for as any
far more than the average lot of
humanity I am sure. and
we have had in one way and
another a good many shadows.
so it is well that "there waits a
brighter life beyond". Before I write
to you again the first anniversary
of Father's entrance into heaven will
have passed . I shall never [u]never[/u]
forget those quiet, calm, sweet days
of waiting while it [u]seemed[/u] as
though he was still with us although
we knew that his spirit was in heaven.
It seemed as though it brought heaven
so near nearer I think than it will
ever seem again until I near the
gates at the end of life. I hope
that when your next letters come
they will tell something about Mrs
Crane. I can hardy expect
to hear of her recovery ---
April 8th This is mail day. I
sent a letter to Mary by the morning
steamer so that if by any chance
the night steamer should be delayed
you will at least hear something
from us. Miss Butler had a sick spell
last week but it is all right again now
I think it was an attack of tonsilitis.
I wish that I could have felt assured
last winter as I do now that it was
perfectly right to wait and not come
back until the monument was finished
I am thankful indeed that I did
not yield to a mistaken sense of duty
and leave before I did . It did not
make the coming away any easier
only that I felt as you wrote that
the time had come when I must
leave and there was no longer any
possibility of feeling that I might
stay longer . You must write and
tell me if you get the lot in the
cemetery in order this spring. After
a little I will send you something
to help pay a man to help Edward
to get it in good condition and move
the marker which is out of place.
I am so glad that it is all just
as we wished I wonder if you
will be able to see it when the snow
is not on the ground and if the
sunlight will ever reflect from
it in the evening as it does some
times from some of the other monuments.
With much love ever your aff sister,
Hattie -
中国广州，
1889 年 3 月 24 日。
亲爱的克拉拉——今天是安息日，
我们刚吃过晚饭，
在我上学之前，
我会写几行给你。
母亲去天堂已经两年了。
我觉得他们在这里不像在老家那样离我很近。
但我不知道，
因为它们似乎比以前在美国和我在中国时更远了。
我知道当 1889 年再次到来时，
你们都会记得那一天。
我想知道你们这一边的日子是什么样的。
这里阴暗多云。
但令人愉快，
既不太冷，
也不太警告。
我对克兰夫人想了很多。
我希望她这几个星期没有受苦。
我打算在轮船上给玛丽写信，
但没有。
在 3 月 24 日，
我将永远想起她。
我不禁希望我能回到 1886 年 7 月的最后一天，
重新开始我的家访。
但是我们必须前进而不是后退，
我们将 [u] 在“我们父亲的家”中再次找到它们这是安息日。
我们这一天的工作已经结束，
现在是下午五点，
和你一起，
新的一天开始了。
上个安息日巴特勒小姐和我在澳门度过。
玛丽的生日。
我希望我们回来时能找到家里的来信，
但是虽然邮件来了，
但没有带回家的信，
这样的邮件似乎不值得计数。
如果有人建议我在这里完成我的传教工作并在家度过安息日，
那将是非常好的。
好吧，
没关系，
我们将永恒一起度过安息日。
我将抄写我刚刚读过的一首诗中的几行“母亲的逗留”，
他的独生子是在维克斯堡前执勤时被枪杀。
“现在她的一个想法是”白天和黑夜（她没有睡多少夜）“是不是灵魂仍然知道我们”仍然关心我们，
上帝是否允许“他们成为他们朋友的守护天使”不是她曾经希望的甚至不希望“在这里感受到他们的存在，
只是想”知道他有时会来，
我会让她很高兴“并以一种怜悯的爱在她身边徘徊”虽然她不知道，
但这缓解了她的烦恼。
想也许他的精神现在在她身上徘徊而整个房间似乎都因为这个想法而变得更加神圣，
”这首诗以这个词结束，
“我经常停下来思考”那张可怜的脸，
被关怀和悲伤所衬托“通过战斗努力成长贫穷和痛苦“直到似乎没有任何微笑的余地”要软化它，
没有希望任何欢乐“地球将再次照亮它”然后我说“感谢上帝，
生命短暂感谢上帝。
”那里等待着更光明的生活。
”每当我们去医院时，
我们都会看到痛苦堆积如山，
正如克尔博士所说，
这让人对他没有患上的所有疾病感到感激。
这个世界上有很多悲伤，
似乎我们作为一个家庭要感谢的东西，
远远超过我所确定的人类的平均数量。
我们已经以一种又一种方式有过很多阴影。
因此，
“有一个更光明的生活在等待着”是很好的。
在我再次给你写信之前，
父亲进入天堂一周年已经过去了。
我永远不会忘记那些安静、平静、甜蜜的等待时光，
虽然我们知道他的灵魂在天堂，
但他似乎还和我们在一起。
似乎它让天堂离我想得更近了，
直到我接近生命尽头的大门。
我希望当你的下一封信来的时候，
他们会告诉一些关于克兰夫人的事情。
我可以期待听到她康复的消息 --- 4 月 8 日这是邮件日。
我乘早轮给玛丽写了一封信，
如果万一晚轮延误，
你至少会听到我们的消息。
巴特勒小姐上周病了，
但现在又好了，
我认为是扁桃体炎发作。
我希望去年冬天我能像现在一样感到放心，
等待纪念碑完成后再回来是完全正确的我真的很感谢我没有屈服于错误的责任感并在我这样做之前离开.这并没有使离开变得更容易，
只是当你写的时候我觉得我必须离开的时候已经到了，
不再有任何感觉我可能会停留更长时间的可能性。
你必须写信告诉我，
今年春天你是否把墓地里的地段弄得井井有条。
过了一会儿，
我会寄给你一些东西来帮助付钱给一个人，
帮助爱德华把它弄好，
然后把不合适的标记移开。
我很高兴这一切都如我们所愿其他古迹。
非常爱你的妹妹，
海蒂——
March 24th 1889.
My dear Clara -
It is Sabbath day, we have
just had our dinner and before I go
into school I will write a few lines to
you. Two years have passed since Mother
went to heaven .I do not think they seem
as near to me here as they did in the old
home. but I do not know as they seem
any farther away than they used to when
they were in America and I in China.
I know how you will all remember
that day as it comes again with 1889.
I wonder what the day is like on your
side of the world. here it is dark and
cloudy. but pleasant, neither too cold, nor
too warn. I have thought so much
about Mrs. Crane. I hope that she has
not suffered all these weeks. I intended
to write to Mary while on the steamer
but did not. I shall always think of
her on the 24th of march. I can
hardly help wishing that I could go
back to the last day of July 1886 and
have my home visit all over again .
But we must go [u]forward[/u] instead of
backward and we [u]shall find them
all again[/u] in "our Father's house-"
April 7th - Two weeks have
passed since I wrote the above
and again it is the Sabbath.
Our work for the day is over it
is now five-o-clock in the afternoon
with you the day is beginning .
Last Sabbath Miss Butler and
I spent in Macao. Mary's
birthday. I hoped to find
letters from home when we came
back but although [--it--] ^the mail had come
it brought no letters from home and
such a mail does not seem worth
counting . It would be very nice
if it were possible as some one
suggested for me to do my mission
work over here and spend the
Sabbaths at home. Well never mind
we shall spend our [u]eternal[/u] sabbath
[u]together[/u] .I will copy a few lines from
a poem I have just been reading
"a Mother's stay" of one whose only son
was shot while on picket duty before
Vicksburg. "Her one thought now
"By night and day (she did not sleep much nights)
"Was whether spirits know about us still
"Still care for us and whether God permits
"Them to be guardian angels to their friends
"Not that she ever hoped nor even wished
"To feel their presence here but only thought
"I would give her joy to know he sometimes came
"And lingered near her with a pitying love
"Which soothed her trouble though she knew it not
I looked on the boy's pictured face and thought
Perhaps his spirit hovers o'er her now
And all the room seemed holier for the thought,"
The poem closes with the word,
"Often do I stop and think
"Of that poor face by care and sorrow lined
"Grow hard through fighting poverty and pain
"Until there seems no room for any smile
"To soften it no hope that any joy
"Of Earth will ever brighten it again
"And then I say "Thank God this life is short
Thank God.' there waits a brighter life beyond."
Whenever we go over to the
hospital we see such an accumulation
of misery that as Dr Kerr says it
makes one feel thankful for all the
ills he [u]has not[/u]. There is much
sorrow in this world it seems as
though we as a family have about
as much to be thankful for as any
far more than the average lot of
humanity I am sure. and
we have had in one way and
another a good many shadows.
so it is well that "there waits a
brighter life beyond". Before I write
to you again the first anniversary
of Father's entrance into heaven will
have passed . I shall never [u]never[/u]
forget those quiet, calm, sweet days
of waiting while it [u]seemed[/u] as
though he was still with us although
we knew that his spirit was in heaven.
It seemed as though it brought heaven
so near nearer I think than it will
ever seem again until I near the
gates at the end of life. I hope
that when your next letters come
they will tell something about Mrs
Crane. I can hardy expect
to hear of her recovery ---
April 8th This is mail day. I
sent a letter to Mary by the morning
steamer so that if by any chance
the night steamer should be delayed
you will at least hear something
from us. Miss Butler had a sick spell
last week but it is all right again now
I think it was an attack of tonsilitis.
I wish that I could have felt assured
last winter as I do now that it was
perfectly right to wait and not come
back until the monument was finished
I am thankful indeed that I did
not yield to a mistaken sense of duty
and leave before I did . It did not
make the coming away any easier
only that I felt as you wrote that
the time had come when I must
leave and there was no longer any
possibility of feeling that I might
stay longer . You must write and
tell me if you get the lot in the
cemetery in order this spring. After
a little I will send you something
to help pay a man to help Edward
to get it in good condition and move
the marker which is out of place.
I am so glad that it is all just
as we wished I wonder if you
will be able to see it when the snow
is not on the ground and if the
sunlight will ever reflect from
it in the evening as it does some
times from some of the other monuments.
With much love ever your aff sister,
Hattie -
中国广州，
1889 年 3 月 24 日。
亲爱的克拉拉——今天是安息日，
我们刚吃过晚饭，
在我上学之前，
我会写几行给你。
母亲去天堂已经两年了。
我觉得他们在这里不像在老家那样离我很近。
但我不知道，
因为它们似乎比以前在美国和我在中国时更远了。
我知道当 1889 年再次到来时，
你们都会记得那一天。
我想知道你们这一边的日子是什么样的。
这里阴暗多云。
但令人愉快，
既不太冷，
也不太警告。
我对克兰夫人想了很多。
我希望她这几个星期没有受苦。
我打算在轮船上给玛丽写信，
但没有。
在 3 月 24 日，
我将永远想起她。
我不禁希望我能回到 1886 年 7 月的最后一天，
重新开始我的家访。
但是我们必须前进而不是后退，
我们将 [u] 在“我们父亲的家”中再次找到它们这是安息日。
我们这一天的工作已经结束，
现在是下午五点，
和你一起，
新的一天开始了。
上个安息日巴特勒小姐和我在澳门度过。
玛丽的生日。
我希望我们回来时能找到家里的来信，
但是虽然邮件来了，
但没有带回家的信，
这样的邮件似乎不值得计数。
如果有人建议我在这里完成我的传教工作并在家度过安息日，
那将是非常好的。
好吧，
没关系，
我们将永恒一起度过安息日。
我将抄写我刚刚读过的一首诗中的几行“母亲的逗留”，
他的独生子是在维克斯堡前执勤时被枪杀。
“现在她的一个想法是”白天和黑夜（她没有睡多少夜）“是不是灵魂仍然知道我们”仍然关心我们，
上帝是否允许“他们成为他们朋友的守护天使”不是她曾经希望的甚至不希望“在这里感受到他们的存在，
只是想”知道他有时会来，
我会让她很高兴“并以一种怜悯的爱在她身边徘徊”虽然她不知道，
但这缓解了她的烦恼。
想也许他的精神现在在她身上徘徊而整个房间似乎都因为这个想法而变得更加神圣，
”这首诗以这个词结束，
“我经常停下来思考”那张可怜的脸，
被关怀和悲伤所衬托“通过战斗努力成长贫穷和痛苦“直到似乎没有任何微笑的余地”要软化它，
没有希望任何欢乐“地球将再次照亮它”然后我说“感谢上帝，
生命短暂感谢上帝。
”那里等待着更光明的生活。
”每当我们去医院时，
我们都会看到痛苦堆积如山，
正如克尔博士所说，
这让人对他没有患上的所有疾病感到感激。
这个世界上有很多悲伤，
似乎我们作为一个家庭要感谢的东西，
远远超过我所确定的人类的平均数量。
我们已经以一种又一种方式有过很多阴影。
因此，
“有一个更光明的生活在等待着”是很好的。
在我再次给你写信之前，
父亲进入天堂一周年已经过去了。
我永远不会忘记那些安静、平静、甜蜜的等待时光，
虽然我们知道他的灵魂在天堂，
但他似乎还和我们在一起。
似乎它让天堂离我想得更近了，
直到我接近生命尽头的大门。
我希望当你的下一封信来的时候，
他们会告诉一些关于克兰夫人的事情。
我可以期待听到她康复的消息 --- 4 月 8 日这是邮件日。
我乘早轮给玛丽写了一封信，
如果万一晚轮延误，
你至少会听到我们的消息。
巴特勒小姐上周病了，
但现在又好了，
我认为是扁桃体炎发作。
我希望去年冬天我能像现在一样感到放心，
等待纪念碑完成后再回来是完全正确的我真的很感谢我没有屈服于错误的责任感并在我这样做之前离开.这并没有使离开变得更容易，
只是当你写的时候我觉得我必须离开的时候已经到了，
不再有任何感觉我可能会停留更长时间的可能性。
你必须写信告诉我，
今年春天你是否把墓地里的地段弄得井井有条。
过了一会儿，
我会寄给你一些东西来帮助付钱给一个人，
帮助爱德华把它弄好，
然后把不合适的标记移开。
我很高兴这一切都如我们所愿其他古迹。
非常爱你的妹妹，
海蒂——
Original Format
Letter
Collection
Citation
Noyes, Harriet Newell, “Letter from Hattie to Clara, March 24, 1889,” Letters from Harriet Noyes: Missionaries and Women's Education in Nineteenth Century China, accessed April 27, 2024, https://noyesletters.org/items/show/464.