Letter from Hattie to Mary, September 4, 1889
Dublin Core
Title
Letter from Hattie to Mary, September 4, 1889
Subject
Married people in missionary work; Mail steamers; Food poisoning; Aging; Servants; Christianity--China; Christian converts; Presbyterian Church
Description
Harriet is glad that Dr. Kerr and Martha are happy together. Dr. Kerr and Martha got food poisoning from eating shrimp for breakfast. Last Sabbath it was their Communion season, so Harriet tells Mary about all the newly admitted members. The mission's cook, Yuk Kwai, applied for admission but was rejected. Nonetheless, Harriet is satisfied because all the mission servants are at least trying to get close to Christianity, unlike their old servant, Akwai, who seemed to get farther and farther away.
Creator
Noyes, Harriet Newell
Source
The College of Wooster, Special Collections, Noyes Collection, Box #4
Publisher
Unpublished
Date
1889-09-04
Contributor
Council on Library and Information Resources Hidden Special Collections Grant
Rights
Format
PDF
Language
eng (English)
Type
Text
Identifier
noyes_c_cor_433
Text Item Type Metadata
Text
Canton China
Sept 4th 1889
My dear Mary
Your good long
letter written July 18th after
your return from Chautauqua
came by the last mail.
I am glad that you had
the trip and hope that it
did you much good. Dr
Bigham must give you
some medicine to cure you
up and make you "as good
as new." Tell him if he does
not do it soon Dr Kerr will
come home and take the
job out of his hands. It is
so nice that Dr Kerr and
M are so happy together.
They both seem very happy
and she takes good care
of him and he appreciates
it. Her hand very soon
recovered and has not
troubled. It seemed such
a pity that they were both
poisoned by eating some shrimps
one morning for breakfast.
Dr Kerr recovered in a day
or two but M has hardly
recovered from the effects of it
yet. I cannot get used to
Dr Kerr's being my brother in law
it seems just as it always has.
They thought Sarah wrote to
him as Dear Brother John for
fun Henry writes to him so.
It is nice that he appreciates
being a member of our family
he will soon be sixty five so
if they go home a year from
next spring he will be in his
sixty seventh year. I think
he will seem very much
like Father to you, his hair
I think is whiter but he walks
about with a great deal of
"vim," and seems strong
usually. M does not
seem to grow old is not
at all gray nor wrinkled.
I guess we are all going to
have a [u] green [/u] old age when
we reach that period which
does not seem any nearer
than it used to. The woman
who now cooks for us Yuk Kwai
I have been thinking of us
getting old and I was quite
surprised the other day
to learn that she is just
my age. I thought when
I saw that old woman of
eighty one this [?forenoon?] that
it would seem nice to be soon
that age was so near heaven
yet I am more than willing
now to wait thirty or forty
years. Last Sabbath was
our Communion season.
Four were admitted one of
Dr Swan's servants, two women
and a little girl a daughter
of Rev. U Sik Kan the pastor of the
First Church. It seemed as
though it would have been
well for her to unite with
her father's church but she
wished to come here where
her schoolmates are and
one of her sisters is a member
here. Our cook Yuk Kwai
to our great joy applied for
admission. She has been here
connected with the school for
ten years and it has taken
her a long time to make up
her mind but we feel very
sure that she is sincere. They
were satisfied evidently with
her examination but they
have a kind of custom of
having them wait until the
next time and so they did
not receive her this time.
Our table boy is a member
of the Baptist Church and
a very good faithful lad.
We are very fortunate in
the servants we have now.
I often think of AKwai and
wonder if he ever will be
a Christian. We prayed for
him so long and kept him
[Continued vertically on the first page]
here so as to
make it [u] easy [/u]
for the Lord
to answer
our prayers.
I am satisfied
now that
after a person
knows the
way there
is no use
in our holding
on to them in
order that they
may be converted
The Spirit can
reach them
anywhere.
he only seemed to
get farther & farther away.
With love ever Hattie.
中国广州
1889 年 9 月 4 日，
亲爱的玛丽，
您在 7 月 18 日从肖托夸返回后写的一封长信，
最后一封信寄来了。
我很高兴你有这次旅行，
并希望它对你有好处。
比格姆医生必须给你一些药来治愈你，
让你“像新的一样”。
告诉他，
如果他不尽快这样做，
Kerr 医生会回家并从他手中接过这份工作。
克尔医生和 M 在一起很开心，
真是太好了。
他们俩看起来都很开心，
她很好地照顾他，
他很感激。
她的手很快就恢复了，
没有烦恼。
一天早上早餐吃了一些虾，
两人都中毒了，
真是太可惜了。
克尔医生在一两天内康复了，
但 M 还没有从它的影响中恢复过来。
我无法习惯 Kerr 医生像往常一样充当我的姐夫。
他们认为莎拉写信给他，
就像亲爱的约翰兄弟一样，
亨利写信给他是为了取乐。
很高兴他很高兴成为我们家的一员，
他很快就会六十五岁，
所以如果他们从明年春天起一年回家，
他将是六十七岁。
我认为他在你看来会很像父亲，
我认为他的头发更白，
但他走路时充满了“活力”，
而且通常看起来很强壮。
M似乎没有变老，
一点也不灰，
也不皱。
我想当我们到达那个似乎并不比过去更近的时期时，
我们都会有一个绿色的老年。
现在为我们做饭的女人 Yuk Kwai 我一直在想我们变老了，
前几天得知她和我一样大时，
我感到非常惊讶。
今早看到那位八十一岁的老妇人，
我就想，
快到那个年纪，
离天堂这么近就好了，
但我现在更愿意等三十年或四十年。
最后一个安息日是我们的圣餐季节。
四人被接纳为斯旺医生的一名仆人，
两名妇女和一名小女孩，
她是第一教会牧师 U Sik Kan 牧师的女儿。
与她父亲的教会联合似乎对她来说是件好事，
但她希望来到她的同学所在的这里，
她的一个姐妹是这里的成员。
我们的厨师 Yuk Kwai 非常高兴地申请了入学。
她在这里与学校有十年的联系，
她花了很长时间才下定决心，
但我们确信她是真诚的。
他们显然对她的检查很满意，
但他们有一种习惯，
让他们等到下一次，
所以这次没有接待她。
我们的餐桌男孩是浸信会的成员，
也是一个非常忠实的小伙子。
我们现在拥有的仆人非常幸运。
我经常想起AKwai，
想知道他是否会成为基督徒。
我们为他祷告了这么久，
把他[垂直在第一页上续]留在这里，
让主更容易回应我们的祷告。
现在我很满意，
在一个人知道了方式之后，
我们为使他们可以悔改而抓住他们是没有用的，
圣灵可以在任何地方到达他们。
他似乎只是越来越远。
永远爱海蒂。
Sept 4th 1889
My dear Mary
Your good long
letter written July 18th after
your return from Chautauqua
came by the last mail.
I am glad that you had
the trip and hope that it
did you much good. Dr
Bigham must give you
some medicine to cure you
up and make you "as good
as new." Tell him if he does
not do it soon Dr Kerr will
come home and take the
job out of his hands. It is
so nice that Dr Kerr and
M are so happy together.
They both seem very happy
and she takes good care
of him and he appreciates
it. Her hand very soon
recovered and has not
troubled. It seemed such
a pity that they were both
poisoned by eating some shrimps
one morning for breakfast.
Dr Kerr recovered in a day
or two but M has hardly
recovered from the effects of it
yet. I cannot get used to
Dr Kerr's being my brother in law
it seems just as it always has.
They thought Sarah wrote to
him as Dear Brother John for
fun Henry writes to him so.
It is nice that he appreciates
being a member of our family
he will soon be sixty five so
if they go home a year from
next spring he will be in his
sixty seventh year. I think
he will seem very much
like Father to you, his hair
I think is whiter but he walks
about with a great deal of
"vim," and seems strong
usually. M does not
seem to grow old is not
at all gray nor wrinkled.
I guess we are all going to
have a [u] green [/u] old age when
we reach that period which
does not seem any nearer
than it used to. The woman
who now cooks for us Yuk Kwai
I have been thinking of us
getting old and I was quite
surprised the other day
to learn that she is just
my age. I thought when
I saw that old woman of
eighty one this [?forenoon?] that
it would seem nice to be soon
that age was so near heaven
yet I am more than willing
now to wait thirty or forty
years. Last Sabbath was
our Communion season.
Four were admitted one of
Dr Swan's servants, two women
and a little girl a daughter
of Rev. U Sik Kan the pastor of the
First Church. It seemed as
though it would have been
well for her to unite with
her father's church but she
wished to come here where
her schoolmates are and
one of her sisters is a member
here. Our cook Yuk Kwai
to our great joy applied for
admission. She has been here
connected with the school for
ten years and it has taken
her a long time to make up
her mind but we feel very
sure that she is sincere. They
were satisfied evidently with
her examination but they
have a kind of custom of
having them wait until the
next time and so they did
not receive her this time.
Our table boy is a member
of the Baptist Church and
a very good faithful lad.
We are very fortunate in
the servants we have now.
I often think of AKwai and
wonder if he ever will be
a Christian. We prayed for
him so long and kept him
[Continued vertically on the first page]
here so as to
make it [u] easy [/u]
for the Lord
to answer
our prayers.
I am satisfied
now that
after a person
knows the
way there
is no use
in our holding
on to them in
order that they
may be converted
The Spirit can
reach them
anywhere.
he only seemed to
get farther & farther away.
With love ever Hattie.
中国广州
1889 年 9 月 4 日，
亲爱的玛丽，
您在 7 月 18 日从肖托夸返回后写的一封长信，
最后一封信寄来了。
我很高兴你有这次旅行，
并希望它对你有好处。
比格姆医生必须给你一些药来治愈你，
让你“像新的一样”。
告诉他，
如果他不尽快这样做，
Kerr 医生会回家并从他手中接过这份工作。
克尔医生和 M 在一起很开心，
真是太好了。
他们俩看起来都很开心，
她很好地照顾他，
他很感激。
她的手很快就恢复了，
没有烦恼。
一天早上早餐吃了一些虾，
两人都中毒了，
真是太可惜了。
克尔医生在一两天内康复了，
但 M 还没有从它的影响中恢复过来。
我无法习惯 Kerr 医生像往常一样充当我的姐夫。
他们认为莎拉写信给他，
就像亲爱的约翰兄弟一样，
亨利写信给他是为了取乐。
很高兴他很高兴成为我们家的一员，
他很快就会六十五岁，
所以如果他们从明年春天起一年回家，
他将是六十七岁。
我认为他在你看来会很像父亲，
我认为他的头发更白，
但他走路时充满了“活力”，
而且通常看起来很强壮。
M似乎没有变老，
一点也不灰，
也不皱。
我想当我们到达那个似乎并不比过去更近的时期时，
我们都会有一个绿色的老年。
现在为我们做饭的女人 Yuk Kwai 我一直在想我们变老了，
前几天得知她和我一样大时，
我感到非常惊讶。
今早看到那位八十一岁的老妇人，
我就想，
快到那个年纪，
离天堂这么近就好了，
但我现在更愿意等三十年或四十年。
最后一个安息日是我们的圣餐季节。
四人被接纳为斯旺医生的一名仆人，
两名妇女和一名小女孩，
她是第一教会牧师 U Sik Kan 牧师的女儿。
与她父亲的教会联合似乎对她来说是件好事，
但她希望来到她的同学所在的这里，
她的一个姐妹是这里的成员。
我们的厨师 Yuk Kwai 非常高兴地申请了入学。
她在这里与学校有十年的联系，
她花了很长时间才下定决心，
但我们确信她是真诚的。
他们显然对她的检查很满意，
但他们有一种习惯，
让他们等到下一次，
所以这次没有接待她。
我们的餐桌男孩是浸信会的成员，
也是一个非常忠实的小伙子。
我们现在拥有的仆人非常幸运。
我经常想起AKwai，
想知道他是否会成为基督徒。
我们为他祷告了这么久，
把他[垂直在第一页上续]留在这里，
让主更容易回应我们的祷告。
现在我很满意，
在一个人知道了方式之后，
我们为使他们可以悔改而抓住他们是没有用的，
圣灵可以在任何地方到达他们。
他似乎只是越来越远。
永远爱海蒂。
Original Format
Letter
Collection
Citation
Noyes, Harriet Newell, “Letter from Hattie to Mary, September 4, 1889,” Letters from Harriet Noyes: Missionaries and Women's Education in Nineteenth Century China, accessed April 26, 2024, https://noyesletters.org/items/show/488.