Letter from Hattie to Mary, June 8, 1900

Letter from Hattie to Mary, June 8, 1900

Disease; Women missionaries; Bronchitis; Gunboats; Travel; Anniversaries; Admirals

Harriet writes to her sister Mary about Martha's condition. It seems that she has been having some health troubles and now has had an attack of bronchitis. The Pattons moved away last October. Harriet hoped they would visit, and in fact, because of Mrs. Patton's health, she was brought down to Canton. Miss Barnett of the English Church Mission is visiting from Macau. Martha is starting to settle into her new house. There is a gunboat on the river that was captured by the Spaniards in Manila Bay. Admiral Watson is also there and recently visited the hospital.

Noyes, Harriet Newell

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

Unpublished

1900-06-08

Council on Library and Information Resources Hidden Special Collections Grant

PDF

eng (English)

Text

noyes_c_cor_462

Canton China
June 8th 1900
My dear Mary -
Your letter of April 19th
came a few days since
and we are hoping for another
home mail to-day. I thought
of home and the little circle
there when our anniversary
days were passing. but I did
not remember as well as you
about the evening before Father
went home. It seems hardly
possible that twelve years have
passed since then. We are
all still spared to each other
Martha has been quite miserable
ever since last March and
has had an attack of bronchitis
in addition to her other troubles.
One night Dr Niles and I
were both over there, and
she was so bad that Dr Kerr
though we should send up
for Henry which we did
He and Bella had go to

bed but they got up and came
down. By that time however
she had gone to sleep so they
did not see her and they
came down again early the
next morning and then she
was sleeping so then they got
discouraged and came no more.
She is very nervous which is
not at all strange with all the
trouble that she has . The
night she was so bad she had
such difficult to get her breath
that we used hot applications
to such excess in order to relieve
her that the heat affected her
heart and made her feel
much worse. As soon as the
Pattons who have been with
us since last October moved
away we proposed their coming
here although this is anything
but a quiet place. At first they
thought they would not come
but she kept feeling worse and
worse. so last Saturday she
was carried down and put
in a boat, and brought over

here . We managed every
thing as well as we could
but we were just having our
quarterly Communion and there
were about seventy women
in from the country. making
some two hundred and twenty
in School. and Miss Barnett
of the English Church Mission
from Macao was visiting us.
It rained hard nearly all
day Saturday and we feared
it would not be possible to
move her but we managed
it towards night. We tried to
keep everything as still as
possible but it is not very easy
with as many as 350 people
within a radius of 100 feet.
Then in the middle of the
night we were wakened by
two women from the school
who came in with a lantern
to tell us that one of the women
who had come in from the
country had been taken
very ill and had very

decided symptoms of the plague
which is all about now. You
can imagine our distress .There
seemed to be nothing to do but
to keep still until daylight, and
then we did not know what
we should do. About four o clock
we went in to see her and found
she was able to walk about which
simplified matters very much
as the Chinese are all so afraid
of the plague not that they will
naturally enough not allow any
one whom they suspect to come
near their house or boat.
When we had Martha carried
down to the river side and
boatpeople saw that she could
not walk they took fright at once
and poled their boats off and
it was some little time
before we could get them to
take her on. Well as soon
as I saw the woman I rather
though she did not have the
plague although her symptoms
were suspicious . We managed
to get her off home early

in the morning, and quietly
so as not to alarm any
one, and since we have heard
that she is better, and no one
else has been taken sick
so it was not the plague
probably. For the first few
days Martha did not
seem to improve down
here but yesterday and
today she is better. Their
new home is nearly done
if it were only finished so
they could get into it now
that would probably be the
best place for her as it will
be as cool probably as any
home can be in this latitude
It will be very nice, and
a fine looking mansion. I
think when they get settled
in it it will seem so much
better as they can get all
their things together after

having been scattered about
here and there for eighteen
months. The Chinese wanted
Dr Kerr to have a [u]nicer[/u]
home than he had before
and in many respects I
think it will be and no
Dr Swan can push them
out of it. When it is finished
they will doubtless get
a photograph .It is close
to the river and will
get a fine breeze and there
is a narrow street between
it and the Refuge.
Yesterday was Mr + Mrs
Patton's wedding day
anniversary and they
invited Miss Butler and
me to go there and help them
celebrate it but Miss Butler
was kept in by an
attack of Bronchitis which
however she has thrown

off with the aid of hot roasted
potatoes applied externally.
Tomorrow will be the
14th anniversary of Martha's
wedding . hope she will
feel well enough to
enjoy it. Dr Kerr has
gone over to the new
home today . she seems
to feel much better ,I
wish so much she could
get real well again, Dr
Kerr has been so well
ever since that dreadful
spell he had in Macao.
Whatever it was it seems
as though he then obtained
relief from had been
disturbing his digestion
so long and now he
eats like any one else
and at seventy-five seems
nearly as brisk and active

as ever. We are going
to close our school for
the summer vacation
on the glorious Fourth.
We have a new Consul and
a gunboat is here now. The
Austria one that was
captured from the Spaniards
in Manila Bay . It was
nearly sunk but was raised
and repaired and looks as
good as new apparently
happy and contented under
the American flag. Admiral
Watson was here he is a Presbyterian
He came to the hospital + if Dr
Kerr had been there he would
have brought him over to see the
school but of course Dr Swan
would not. Henry met him + when
he was introduced the Admiral
said, "Your name is very
familiar to me" - It always
seems rather unexpected to me
when any of our prominent men
are good Presbyterians . I have not written
any thing scarcely that I want to say
[Note: written sideways in the right hand margin]
but the mail must go-- With love for all Hattie

中国广东
1900年6月8日
我亲爱的Mary，
你4月19日写的信刚刚到了，
/
我们希望今天能收到另一个邮件。
/
当我们的周年纪念日过去时，
/
我想到了家，
/
但我对父亲回家前一天晚上的记忆没有你那么清楚，
/
我不敢相信从那以后已经十二年了。
/
我们仍然彼此亲近。
自从三月以来，
Martha一直很痛苦，
因为她的健康状况一直很差，
除了她的其他问题，
她最近还患了支气管炎。
一天晚上，
我和Niles医生在Martha家，
她的病很严重，
Kerr医生认为我们应该去接Henry，
我们照做了。

Henry和Bella已经上床睡觉了，
但他们又起床过来了，
当他们到达时，
Martha已经睡着了，
所以他们没有看到她。 
他们回家，
第二天一大早又来了，
但Martha又睡着了，
所以他们放弃了。
Martha很紧张，
但这是可以理解的，
因为她有很多麻烦。
我们非常担心她的那个晚上，
她呼吸困难，
所以我们放了热毛巾来缓解这个问题，
但后来她太热了，
心脏不舒服感觉更坏了。
Patton夫妇从去年十月就一直和我们在一起，
但后来他们搬走了，
在那之后，
尽管这个地方并不安静，
但我们问他们是否愿意和我们一起搬进来。
起初，
他们认为他们不会搬进来，
但Martha的身体越来越差，
所以上周六，
/
她被带到一条船上并被带到这里。

我们尽我们所能，
但我们即将进行季度圣餐
/
七十名妇女来自乡下
所以总共有220名女性在学校。
/
/
来自英国传教组织Barnett小姐
从澳门来拜访我们。
/
星期六一整天都在下雨，
我们担心无法带她走，
但我们设法在晚上做到了。
/
我们尽量让一切保持平静，
但这并不容易，
因为我们有 350 人在同一个地方。
/
/
晚上，
/
我们被两个女人叫醒，
/
说其中一位参加圣餐的农村妇女病得很重，
/
看起来像是得了瘟疫。
/

/
我们都非常担心。
我们什么也做不了，
只能保持冷静直到早上，
然后到了早上，
我们仍然不知道该怎么办。
4:00左右，
我们去看她，
发现她好多了。
中国人太怕瘟疫了，
一怀疑有人感染就不会靠近，
这意味着他们经常怀疑是瘟疫的事情最终不会很严重。
/
/
/
当我们Martha玛莎抬下河边时，
/
几个船夫看到了她，
/
因为她不能走路，
他们很害怕，
/
拒绝让她上船。
/
我一看到那个女人，
/
就知道她没有感染瘟疫，即使他看起来像。
/

我们设法让她一大早回家。
我们非常安静地打动她，
因为我们不想惊动任何人。
从那以后，
再没有人生病，
也没有听到病妇的任何消息，
应该是好转了，
应该不是瘟疫。
Martha好几天都没有好转，
但昨天她感觉好多了，
今天她完全康复了。
/
他们的新家快完工了
如果他们能搬进去，
/
那对她来说可能是最好的地方，
/
这可能是这个纬度上你能拥有的最凉爽的房子。
它会非常漂亮，
而且是一座看起来很可爱的豪宅。
/
我想当他们安顿下来时，
/
一切都会好起来的。

他们已经在不同的地方生活了 18 个月，
/
所以他们终于有一个可以称之为家的地方的感觉一定非常好。
/
中国人希望Kerr医生有一个比以前更好的房子，
/
我认为他们的新房子真的会比他们的旧房子好，
而这一次，
Swan医生将无法将他们推出这所房子。
当他们的房子完工时，
我相信他们会拍下它的照片。
他们的房子靠近河边，
那里会有微风
房子和避难所之间还有一条狭窄的道路。
/
昨天是Patton夫妇的婚礼纪念日，
/
他们请我和Butler小姐来庆祝，
但是Butler小姐
她得了非常严重的支气管炎，
我们不能去。
/
幸运的是，
她康复了，

但不得不留在家里，
把烤土豆放在她的皮肤上。
/
明天是Martha结婚十四周年，
我希望她会感觉足够好去享受它。
/
Kerr医生今天去了新家，
/
Martha看起来好多了。
/
我希望她能完全康复，
最近，
Kerr医生一直很健康，
一点也不像他在澳门的那段糟糕时光。
/
在澳门折磨他的一切现在都消失了。
/
他的消化已经恢复，
/
现在他想吃什么就吃什么。
/
尽管他已经 75 岁了，
/

但他看起来还是一如既往的活跃和活泼。
/
我们将在 7 月 4 日完成春季学期并开始暑假
/
我们有一个新的领事，
港口有一艘炮艇。
这艘炮艇被称为Austria，
它是在马尼拉湾从西班牙人手中捕获的。
它几乎沉没了，
但它已经修好，
看起来和新的一样，
我们很高兴它现在悬挂着美国国旗。
/
上将Watson，
他是长老会。
他去看医院，
如果Kerr医生在那里，
他会带他去看学校，
但Swan医生在那里，
所以他没有。
当海军上将第一次被介绍给Henry时，
上将说，
“我知道你是谁”
当杰出的人是长老会时，
我总是感到惊讶。
我没有时间写任何我想说的话，
但邮件必须离开

爱你，Hattie

Letter