Letter from Hattie to Mary, March 31, 1889

Letter from Hattie to Mary, March 31, 1889

Birthdays; Friendly visiting; Weather; Sanatoriums

Harriet writes on Mary's birthday that she is in Macau with Miss Butler visiting the Thomsons and the Whites. She talks about their routine and the weather. It has been quite rainy and she reflects on what the area looked like a couple of years ago following the typhoon and the French war. Many of the former missionaries are buried near a small church there. She discusses the sanitarium of the mission, Santa Sancha, and talks about what she has been up to in Macau with the Thomsons and Whites.

Noyes, Harriet Newell

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

Unpublished

1889-03-31

Council on Library and Information Resources Hidden Special Collections Grant

PDF

eng (English)

Text

noyes_c_cor_409

Macau China
March 31st 1889
My dear Mary,
You will be surprised
to see by the date of this that I
am spending your birthday in
[u] Macau [/u]. We have had such a
delightful quiet Sabbath and now
before we sleep I will write a few
lines for you. Miss Butler wished
me so much to come down here
with her for a day or two and
I wanted to see the Thomsons
and Whites so we came down
yesterday and will stay tomorrow
and go back on Tuesday. I
have been thinking all day
that this is your birthday it seems
so strange to think that our little
Mary is thirty six. Two of the
four "[u] young [/u] missionaries" who came
over on the steamer with me were
thirty six but they seemed to me so
much older than you do. I hope
that you will have a happy birthday
today and that you may have many
more, "[u] many [/u] for the sake of your friends
and [u] happy [/u] for your own sake."

Monday morning April 1st I did
not write very much last night because
we staid down with Mrs Thomson until
half past nine and then talked with
each other after we came up to our room
until quite late. Since I came Miss
Butler and I have talked and [u] talked [/u]
after the manner of our [u] visiting [/u] each
other at home, but we do not intend
to continue it. She has turned over a
new leaf about going to bed goes to bed
at nine-o-clock, and we have breakfast
now at half-past seven instead of eight
I wonder if you will continue to sit up
so late as we have done. I always
think of how Father used to wish us to
go to bed early and I do not doubt that
it would be better for you all. We seem
to have chosen a rainy time for our trip
down here. We wished very much to
come in pleasant weather but before we
were half way here it commenced raining
and we reached here Saturday evening
in a pouring rain. Yesterday however
it did not rain until evening so as the
roads here dry very quickly we could
walk over to the little Protestant church
where there is now held a service every
Sabbath morning. At the time of our
typhoon the little church near the
Protestant cemetery was very much
damaged and for many years was
not repaired. When we came down
here at the time of the French war

it seemed to be in ruins and did
not look as though it could ever be repaired.
But it has been and now looks as well
as ever. It is a very pretty little chapel
only built to accommodate about sixty
It always makes me think of Cynthia
the first summer they were here in Macau
she used to go there to church. I do not
think she was able to go the second year.
Dr Morrison the first missionary to China
is buried in the cemetery also Dr Kerr's
first wife, one of Mrs Preston's children and
others of whom we have heard. I think
I have told you that Mrs Kerr's parents
selected to be engraved upon the tombstone
the text, "As for God His way is perfect."
Yesterday we heard a sermon from the
text "Ye are the light of the world,"
preached by Mr McCloy an agent of
the Bible Society. When Dr Thomson
and Mr White are here they take turns
with Mr McCloy but they are both away
in the country now. At last I am
spending a little time at Santa Sancha
the sanitarium of our mission. I hope
the mission will be able to keep the
place. I suppose a better home and location
for the purpose could not be found
any where in Southern China. It was
built by a Baron and the home and
grounds have been very beautiful and
are so still but the house is in need of
fresh paint and some repairs. It is
on the sea shore, and as I write I can
hear the waves as they come in and

break upon the beach. But "the music
in the waters" has lost some of its charm
for me. I cannot help wishing you could
all be here for I know you would enjoy
it thoroughly. Macau is a beautiful place.
I am sure that after being in Canton
for a while it would seem delightful
to come down here. Everyone asks me if
Canton seems natural. It seems [u] very [/u]
natural one side of the world seems as
[u] natural [/u] now to me as the other but I like
[u] the [/u] [u] other [/u] [u] very [/u] much the best. We
expect the mail will be in Canton today,
it will be so nice to receive letters more
frequently the only drawback is it makes
more writing at both ends of the line and
there is so little time. I am going to
try and write my letters a little every day
for home and then they will answer for a
journal perhaps you would find that a
good way. We wanted to go out over the
hills today but I fear that it will be
too wet. Mrs Thomson's three little children
have grown so much since I went home
and she does not worry over them
now as she used to when they were
smaller. Mr White and his family
expect to go home next spring. It is
now quite early in the morning the others
are sleeping still and with you it is the
evening of March 31st. I hope you have
had a pleasant Sabbath. Em is at home
now I suppose. I wonder when we
shall spend our birthdays together again
I think Miss Butler ought to go home a year
from now but I do not know whether she
will or not. Dr Kerr will go I imagine two years
from now. He seems better than when I went home.

[Continued vertically on the first page]
And now
with all
best wishes
for thus
new year
of your
life I
must close.
Ever your
loving
Hattie.
April 7th
I will try
& write
more letters
tomorrow
but will
send this
so that if
the night
str should
be delayed
by long & miss
the mail you will hear

中国澳门
1889年3月31日
我亲爱的Mary，
你应该很吃惊
我今年在澳门
过你的生日。
我们今天过了很安静的安息日，
现在
睡觉前
我给你写几行。
Butler已经在澳门过了几周，
他想让我来这里陪他玩。
因为我想拜访Thomson夫妇
我昨天来了，
明天玩，
然后周二走。
我整天想到你的生日，
但看起来很奇怪小Mary终于三十六岁了。
/
和我一起登上轮船的两个年轻传教士已经三十六岁了，
但他们似乎比你年长得多。
/
/
我希望你生日快乐，
你会有更多的生日快乐。
我希望你为了你的朋友和你自己而快乐。
/
/

4月1日周一早上
昨晚我没写多少因为
我们一直到九点和Thomson太太聊天
/
我们直到很晚才回家。
自从我到达，
Butler小姐和我聊天就像我们在家里互相拜访一样，
/
但我们不打算继续这样做。
她睡觉变得更勤奋了，
她9点就睡觉了，
我们每天早上
我们在7：30而不是8点吃早餐。
/
你还像以前一样熬夜吗？
我一直在想父亲多么希望我们都早点睡觉，
老实说，
如果我们都早点睡觉可能会更好。
这里现在下雨很大。
我们想在天气好的时候来澳门，
/
但是我们一到这里就下起了倾盆大雨。
/
然而，
昨天直到晚上才下雨，
/
所以道路干燥，
我们步行到一个小新教教堂参加礼拜。
台风来袭时，
新教墓地附近的小教堂遭到破坏，
多年未修复。
/
中法战争期间我们来澳门时，
/

教堂已成废墟，
我认为它永远无法修复。
但现在它看起来是全新的。
这是一个可爱的小教堂，
最多可容纳 60 人。
它总是让我想起Cynthia，
因为他们在澳门的第一个夏天，
他们曾经经常去这个教堂。
/
第一位来华传教士，
Morrison医生，
长眠于此。
Kerr医生第一任妻子，
Preston先生一个孩子，
还有其他认识的人也葬在那个墓地。
Kerr医生父母的墓碑上
有这个报价
“耶稣是世界的光”
我告诉你了吗？
当Thomson医生、White先生在这里时，
他们和McCloy先生轮流传教，
但他们现在在乡下。
/
现在我在竹仔室拜访我们传教组织的疗养院。
我希望传教组织能够保留这座建筑。
/
中国南方没有一个更适合疗养院的地方。
/
它是由一个巴伦建造的
尽管房子需要一些油漆和一些维修
房子和花园都非常漂亮。
/
疗养院在海边，
在我写这篇文章的时候，
我能听到海浪拍打沙滩的声音。

海浪的声音对我来说并不像以前那样美妙。
/
我希望你们都在这里，
你们会彻底享受这个地方。
澳门真的很美丽。
在广州待了一段时间后，
很高兴来到这里。
每个人都问我广州是不是很自然，
生活在世界的这一边似乎和生活在世界的另一边一样自然，
/
但我更喜欢世界的另一边（美国）。
邮件今天应该能到广州，
能多收到信就好了。
唯一的缺点是现在我们必须更频繁地给对方写信，
而且很少有时间这样做。
/
我将尝试每天写一点，
这样我的信就会像一本小日记。
/
/
我们今天想去山上，
但是太潮了。
自从我回家后，
Thomson太太的三个孩子都长大了。
她现在不像他们年轻时那样担心他们。
/
明年春天White先生和他家打算回家。
现在已经是凌晨了，
其他人都在安稳的睡觉，
在美国，
现在仍然是 3 月 31 日的晚上。
Em应该到家了。
不知道什么时候才能再次一起过生日。
/
我觉得Butler小姐应该一年后回家，
但我不知道她会不会。
我想Kerr医生会在两年后回家。
他现在看起来比我回家时好多了。

现在，
/
我将向您致以我对您来年生活的所有最美好的祝愿。
/
/
/
/
/
你爱你的姐姐
Hattie.
4月7日
我明天
试一试
多写几封信
但是
我会
先发
这封信
所以
不能
耽误、
错过邮件。
/

Letter