Letter from Harriet to Em, November 12, 1916
Dublin Core
Title
Letter from Harriet to Em, November 12, 1916
Subject
Sabbath; English language--Spoken English; Young Men's Christian associations; Death; Avalanches; Memorials; Schools
Description
Harriet tells Em that last Sabbath she attended a service in English after several months. The new Y.M.C.A. building is finished and one of its rooms is called Morrison Memorial. The priority of the new missionaries is to teach the Chinese Western "social functions". Harriet recounts the story of some kids buried in an avalanche seventeen years ago. A school was founded in Calcutta in their memory and currently has 280 students (mostly girls).
Creator
Noyes, Harriet Newell
Source
The College of Wooster, Special Collections, Noyes Collection, Box #4
Publisher
Unpublished
Date
1916-11-12
Contributor
Council on Library and Information Resources Hidden Special Collections Grant
Rights
Format
PDF
Language
eng (English)
Type
Text
Identifier
noyes_c_cor_474
Text Item Type Metadata
Text
Canton China
Nov 12th 1916
My dear Em,
I have written to Mary and
Clara, and now I will turn
my thoughts to you. Last Sabbath
I actually went down to the evening
service in English the first time I
have been for weeks, [u] months [/u] indeed
only a very few times since I came
back from home. The new Y.M.C.A.
building is finished and was
dedicated last Sabbath-one room is
called the Morrison Memorial, and
in that the Sabbath services are now held
that used to be at Dr Kerr's in the long ago.
Like everything else it seems so completely
changed that we do not care much to
go. [u] Sociability [/u] is at the front now and the
aim of the present generation of missionaries
is to teach the Chinese to conduct
"social functions" in Western ways.
Some things seem to us as Miss Cort
of Siam once said "Object lessons of how
not to do," but of course all is in harmony
with the present advancement and
the [u] progress [/u] that has been made.
(Query) In what direction?
We had a good sermon in the Chinese
service today from one of Will's teachers
I almost wrote Henry. Whatever Will
may have felt or thought in the past
he is devoted to Henry now and keeps
his memory green. A few days
since we had a visit from a man
who looked somewhat like Henry and
seemed very much like him.
Do you remember many years
since it must be seventeen an
account in the papers of a missionary
family six children who were buried
by an avalanche on the side of one
of the Himalayen Mts. This was
Mr Lee the father of those children.
He has been in Calcutta forty five
years at that time he did not leave
his work, but they send the children
to the mountains where it was
cooler, and where they could be
in school. Mrs Lee did not go
because she had a baby nine months
old and for some reason it
seemed better for them to stay
in Calcutta. I think you will
remember the account in the papers.
There had been heavy rains and there
was in consequence a land slide
The eldest little girl said {at first they
started to run} Let us stay here and
if we die we will all go together to
heaven. I think one of the children
was found and lived a short time
and told something about it, but
the others were left where, like Moses,
God himself had buried them.
Mrs Lee is now staying in Oakland
Calif with the baby who is now a
young man of seventeen studying
there, and Mrs Lee has come back
alone. He seems a [u] very [/u] good man
he spoke of the 54th ch of Isaiah 10th
verse as being such a precious promise
to him "For the mountains shall depart
and the hills be removed, but my
loving kindness shall not depart from
thee neither shall the covenant of my
peace be removed saith the Lord
that hath mercy on thee" I was
glad to see him and have a
talk with him. Friends
who were interested in them
showed their sympathy and
appreciation by contributing a
fund which established and
supports the Lee Memorial Mission
in Calcutta they have a school
of 230 girls and fifty boys and
a great deal of other mission work.
Mr and Mrs Lee are the
Superintendents of this work,
and it is all in their hands while
they live, but he feels now that
they are getting old and he will
arrange the best way to leave
it in order to insure its being
carried forward as they and
the donors wish.
Miss Butler has just come in
to tell me that a letter has come
from her brother in Harrisburg and
amony other things he wrote that his
wife's sister-in-law had fallen down
and broken her wrist so if Clara's
misery likes comparing there is another
one, do all of you "be careful"
With love from Hattie
Nov 12th 1916
My dear Em,
I have written to Mary and
Clara, and now I will turn
my thoughts to you. Last Sabbath
I actually went down to the evening
service in English the first time I
have been for weeks, [u] months [/u] indeed
only a very few times since I came
back from home. The new Y.M.C.A.
building is finished and was
dedicated last Sabbath-one room is
called the Morrison Memorial, and
in that the Sabbath services are now held
that used to be at Dr Kerr's in the long ago.
Like everything else it seems so completely
changed that we do not care much to
go. [u] Sociability [/u] is at the front now and the
aim of the present generation of missionaries
is to teach the Chinese to conduct
"social functions" in Western ways.
Some things seem to us as Miss Cort
of Siam once said "Object lessons of how
not to do," but of course all is in harmony
with the present advancement and
the [u] progress [/u] that has been made.
(Query) In what direction?
We had a good sermon in the Chinese
service today from one of Will's teachers
I almost wrote Henry. Whatever Will
may have felt or thought in the past
he is devoted to Henry now and keeps
his memory green. A few days
since we had a visit from a man
who looked somewhat like Henry and
seemed very much like him.
Do you remember many years
since it must be seventeen an
account in the papers of a missionary
family six children who were buried
by an avalanche on the side of one
of the Himalayen Mts. This was
Mr Lee the father of those children.
He has been in Calcutta forty five
years at that time he did not leave
his work, but they send the children
to the mountains where it was
cooler, and where they could be
in school. Mrs Lee did not go
because she had a baby nine months
old and for some reason it
seemed better for them to stay
in Calcutta. I think you will
remember the account in the papers.
There had been heavy rains and there
was in consequence a land slide
The eldest little girl said {at first they
started to run} Let us stay here and
if we die we will all go together to
heaven. I think one of the children
was found and lived a short time
and told something about it, but
the others were left where, like Moses,
God himself had buried them.
Mrs Lee is now staying in Oakland
Calif with the baby who is now a
young man of seventeen studying
there, and Mrs Lee has come back
alone. He seems a [u] very [/u] good man
he spoke of the 54th ch of Isaiah 10th
verse as being such a precious promise
to him "For the mountains shall depart
and the hills be removed, but my
loving kindness shall not depart from
thee neither shall the covenant of my
peace be removed saith the Lord
that hath mercy on thee" I was
glad to see him and have a
talk with him. Friends
who were interested in them
showed their sympathy and
appreciation by contributing a
fund which established and
supports the Lee Memorial Mission
in Calcutta they have a school
of 230 girls and fifty boys and
a great deal of other mission work.
Mr and Mrs Lee are the
Superintendents of this work,
and it is all in their hands while
they live, but he feels now that
they are getting old and he will
arrange the best way to leave
it in order to insure its being
carried forward as they and
the donors wish.
Miss Butler has just come in
to tell me that a letter has come
from her brother in Harrisburg and
amony other things he wrote that his
wife's sister-in-law had fallen down
and broken her wrist so if Clara's
misery likes comparing there is another
one, do all of you "be careful"
With love from Hattie
中国广东
1916年11月12日
我亲爱的Em，
我已经给Mary和Clara写信了，
现在，
我给你写一封信。
上个安息日
我几周前来过第一次参加晚间英语礼拜，
自从我从美国回来后，
我很少参加了。
新基督教青年会大楼竣工
并于上周日开放，
一个房间叫做Morrison纪念室，
那里有英文礼拜，
很久以前，
他们曾经在Kerr 医生家举行英文礼拜。
礼拜和其他一切一样
都发生了变化，
我不想再参加了。
传教士目前的目标似乎是教中国人如何像外国人一样举办派对。
/
/
另外，
他们大多想教，引用暹罗传教士 Cort 小姐的话
“不该做什么的教训。”
但是当然现在很和谐而且很成功
/
什么访向？
我们在中文礼拜中听了Will一位老师的精彩传教，
我差点写信给Henry告诉他。
即使他们以前没有相处，
现在Will对Henry忠心耿耿，
记忆犹新。
几天前，
我们被拜访了一位让我非常想起Henry的人
一个让我想起他的人来拜访我们。
你还记得 17 年前
关于一个传教士
和六个孩子在喜马拉雅山的雪崩中
被埋葬的故事吗？
这个人是其中一个孩子的父亲。
他叫Lee先生，他在印度做传教士已经四十五年了。
在雪崩的时候，
他和他的妻子和孩子住在加尔各答，
因为那里的夏天太热了，
所有的传教士都把他们的孩子送到山上的学校，
那里比较凉爽。
/
Lee 太太么有去应为她有9个月的宝宝，
所以她最后不要去。
/
/
/
你肯定记得报纸上的这个故事，
下了大雨，
结果发生了山体滑坡。
起初，
他们开始奔跑，
但意识到这是无用的。
最年长的女孩说，
“让我们留在这里，
这样如果我们死了，
我们都可以一起上天堂。”
其中一名儿童被发现并讲述了她的经历
但不久之后她就去世了。
现在，
Lee 太太和现在 17 岁的年轻人一起住在加利福尼亚州的奥克兰，
Lee先生一个人回中国，
他看起来是个好人，
他引用了以以赛亚 54 章，
他说第十节就像上帝对他的应许：
“大山可以挪开，
小山可以迁移。
但我的慈爱必不离开你，
我平安的约也不迁移。
这是怜恤你的耶和华说的。”
我很高兴见到他并与他交谈。
/
/
如果我们国内的朋友有兴趣表达他们的同情和感谢，
他们可以捐赠给 Lee 先生成立的基金，
该基金用于支持加尔各答的传教士和那里的学校，
那里有 230 名女孩和 50 名男孩。
/
/
/
/
Lee 先生在加尔各答监督传教工作，
但他认为自己年纪大了，
会尝试让新人接替他。
/
/
/
/
/
/
Butler 小姐来告诉我她在 Harrisburg 的哥哥寄来了一封信。
她哥哥的妻子的嫂子摔断了手腕，
就像Clara一样。
你们都小心哦。
/
/
/
/
爱你，Hattie
Original Format
Letter
Collection
Citation
Noyes, Harriet Newell, “Letter from Harriet to Em, November 12, 1916,” Letters from Harriet Noyes: Missionaries and Women's Education in Nineteenth Century China, accessed November 21, 2024, https://noyesletters.org/items/show/529.