Letter from Hattie to Edward, September 5, 1889

noyes_c_cor_434.pdf

Dublin Core

Title

Letter from Hattie to Edward, September 5, 1889

Subject

Mints--China; Viceroys; Money

Description

Harriet tells Edward about her visit to the Mint, which is the largest in the world and its machinery was manufactured in England. The Mint's superintendent is a foreigner. Harriet describes the materials and procedure of minting. Their current Viceroy will be transferred and substituted by Li Hung Chang's older brother who is supposed to be less hostile to foreigners. Harriet will try to send Edward $150 after New Years' to fix his barn.

Creator

Noyes, Harriet Newell

Source

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

Publisher

Unpublished

Date

1889-09-05

Contributor

Council on Library and Information Resources Hidden Special Collections Grant

Format

PDF

Language

eng (English)

Type

Text

Identifier

noyes_c_cor_434

Text Item Type Metadata

Text

Canton China
Sept 5th 1889
My dear Edward -
Perhaps Martha
will tell you about our visit
to the Mint a few mornings
since She came over very
early in the morning to say
they were going to start in a few
minutes so we hurried and
got ready to go with them .
We visit the Mint a few
weeks since but it was before
it was completed and the
machinery was not running
Now it is in operation and
we found it very interesting
It is the largest mint
in the world the machinery
was made in Englad.
It is capable of producing
two million of cash pet
day . but it hardly seems
probable that they will
ever need such a quantity

as that made .I believe
they are now making
about 500, 000 in a day --
When we were there before
Mr Wyon the foreigner who
superintends the whole business
was away and a Chinaman
who spoke English very well
went around. We expressed
our admiration and he
said "It is [u]stu-pen-dous[/u]."
The cash look very bright
and pretty when first turned
out and the Viceroy is much
disgusted and disappointed
to find that they became
tarnished by use . We
saw the different operations
the composite metal is made
of 60 parts copper to 40 zinc.
It is first melted and
poured into molds to cool.
in bars about 18 niches long
4 or 5 wide and perhaps
an inch thick .There

are afternoons taken to
another place and heated
again and then passed
four times through an
immense rolling machine.
They go through one way
then back again through
and back again A man
stands on each side
and catches the hot metal
as it comes out with a
pair of huge tongs and
then starts it back again.
When it comes out the
fourth time it is in a long
thin strip the same width
as at first and perhaps
about eighty or ten feet
long . Then the round
cash are cut out of these
strips and they are left
perforated with holes to
be remelted . The
cash afterward must
be stamped and polished.

They have machinery for
coining silver pieces which
they will probably do after
a time . Our present
Viceroy is to be transferred
to another position . The
one who is appointed to take
his place is an elder brother
of Li Hung Chang and
it is expected that he will
not be so anti-foreign as
the present Viceroy . The
new one is an elderly man
72 years of age I think.
I suppose you are
busy now with the fall work
I hope that you can get what
help you need. I wonder
if you will be able to arrange
to fix your barn next
spring . I will try and
send you $150.00 towards
it if I can . I can not
do it until after New Years
but think I can then. I
am so anxious you should

[Note: Letter concludes sideways on page one]
have it fixed
as soon
as possible.
It seems
as though
it would
make your
work easier
in the
winter .
Yours with
love
[u]Hattie[/u]



中国广州 1889 年 9 月 5 日
我亲爱的爱德华 -
也许玛莎会在几天前告诉你我们去造币厂的事,
因为她一大早就过来说他们将在几分钟后开始,
所以我们赶紧准备和他们一起去。
几周后我们参观了造币厂,
但在它建成之前,
机器没有运行现在它正在运行,
我们发现它非常有趣它是世界上最大的造币厂,
机器是在英国制造的。
它每天能够生产两百万现金宠物。
但他们似乎不太可能需要如此多的数量。
我相信他们现在一天能生产大约 500、000 件——当我们在 Wyon 先生之前到达那里时,
负责整个业务的外国人不在,
一个英语说得很好的中国人四处走动。
我们表达了我们的钦佩,
他说“太棒了”。
现金在第一次出现时看起来非常明亮和漂亮,
总督非常厌恶和失望地发现它们因使用而失去光泽。
我们看到了复合金属由 60 份铜对 40 份锌制成的不同操作。
首先将其熔化并倒入模具中冷却。
在酒吧里,
大约有 18 个壁龛,
长 4 或 5 宽,
也许有 1 英寸厚。
有几个下午被带到另一个地方,
再次加热,
然后通过一台巨大的滚压机四次。
他们从一条路穿过,
然后再穿过,
再穿过一个男人站在两边,
用一对大钳子接住滚烫的金属,
然后重新开始。
当它第四次出来时,
它是一条细长的条带,
宽度和第一次一样,
大概有八十或十英尺长。
然后从这些条带上切下圆形现金,
并在它们留下穿孔以重新熔化。
之后的现金必须盖章和抛光。
他们有铸造银币的机器,
他们可能会在一段时间后完成。
我们现在的总督将调任另一个职位。
接替他的,
是李鸿章的一个哥哥,
估计不会像现在的总督那么反洋。
新来的是一位72岁的老人,
我想。
我想你现在正忙于秋季工作,
我希望你能得到你需要的帮助。
我想知道你能否安排明年春天修理你的谷仓。
如果可以的话,
我会尝试向您发送 150.00 美元。
直到新年之后我才能做到,
但我想我可以做到。
我很着急,
您应该 [注意:信件在第一页横向结束] 尽快修复它。
似乎它会让你在冬天的工作更轻松。
你的海蒂

Original Format

Letter

Citation

Noyes, Harriet Newell, “Letter from Hattie to Edward, September 5, 1889,” Letters from Harriet Noyes: Missionaries and Women's Education in Nineteenth Century China, accessed April 26, 2024, https://noyesletters.org/items/show/490.

Output Formats