Unsigned letter from Harriet to Father, June 10, 1868
Dublin Core
Title
Unsigned letter from Harriet to Father, June 10, 1868
Subject
Mail steamers; Books--Care; Bible records; Letter writing
Description
In this letter, Harriet writes to her father about news from her life in China, including the hot weather and her and her brother's increasing weight. She also discusses the difficulty of caring for books in China. Although the letter is incomplete, it can be attributed to Hattie based on her handwriting and the content of the letter.
Creator
Noyes, Harriet Newell
Source
The College of Wooster, Special Collections, Noyes Collection, Box #1
Publisher
Unpublished
Date
1868-06-10
Contributor
Council on Library and Information Resources Hidden Special Collections Grant
Rights
Format
PDF
Language
eng (English)
Type
Text
Identifier
noyes_c_cor_010
Text Item Type Metadata
Text
Canton China
June 10th /[u] 68 [/u]
My [u] own [/u] [u] dear [/u] [u] Father [/u],
As there is no
steamer coming out this month
I am writing a letter to send
Mrs Hamsher by the English
mail and so will enclose a
few lines to you. This soiled
sheet is the last we have of the
thin paper & I fear a thicker
one would make the letter too
heavy. It is really very trying
to think of the letters that must
lay in San Fransisco a month
but we will try and think that
you are all well. Henry & I
are both very well and growing
fleshier every day I expect. The
thermometer is standing at 90°
now which tends to make a
person feel rather dull. I hope
you will write to us how you
stand the hot weather & once
in a while tell us how much
you weigh. This morning
as I was looking over the books
and wiping off the mould I found
in Bloomfield's Greek Testament
a Family Record that you had
kept on a leaf out of a small
Bible I should think. I dont
know whether you will remember
it or not but I recollect very well
our looking at it once [u] together [/u]
in the study. You may be sure
we will keep it now. It brings you
very near when I look over the
books and see your name written
in so many of them in your own
familiar hand. It is a sad place
for books here. What with mould
bookworms, cockroaches & other bugs
it seems impossible to keep them
nice. It really makes my heart
ache sometimes to see a choice
book abused & I often think how
you would feel for them.
I believe I have written to Em how
much I liked "Kathrina" better
than any other poem I have ever
read. I hope the girls have read
it before this Henry has just finished
reading it the second time & to-night
Mr Preston has taken it home to
read. Mr & Mrs Preston have
been spending the evenings here
with Mr & Mrs Kip of the Dutch Ref Mission
at Amoy. She is a daughter of
Mr Culbertson the missionary. I
think you heard him speak at
June 10th /[u] 68 [/u]
My [u] own [/u] [u] dear [/u] [u] Father [/u],
As there is no
steamer coming out this month
I am writing a letter to send
Mrs Hamsher by the English
mail and so will enclose a
few lines to you. This soiled
sheet is the last we have of the
thin paper & I fear a thicker
one would make the letter too
heavy. It is really very trying
to think of the letters that must
lay in San Fransisco a month
but we will try and think that
you are all well. Henry & I
are both very well and growing
fleshier every day I expect. The
thermometer is standing at 90°
now which tends to make a
person feel rather dull. I hope
you will write to us how you
stand the hot weather & once
in a while tell us how much
you weigh. This morning
as I was looking over the books
and wiping off the mould I found
in Bloomfield's Greek Testament
a Family Record that you had
kept on a leaf out of a small
Bible I should think. I dont
know whether you will remember
it or not but I recollect very well
our looking at it once [u] together [/u]
in the study. You may be sure
we will keep it now. It brings you
very near when I look over the
books and see your name written
in so many of them in your own
familiar hand. It is a sad place
for books here. What with mould
bookworms, cockroaches & other bugs
it seems impossible to keep them
nice. It really makes my heart
ache sometimes to see a choice
book abused & I often think how
you would feel for them.
I believe I have written to Em how
much I liked "Kathrina" better
than any other poem I have ever
read. I hope the girls have read
it before this Henry has just finished
reading it the second time & to-night
Mr Preston has taken it home to
read. Mr & Mrs Preston have
been spending the evenings here
with Mr & Mrs Kip of the Dutch Ref Mission
at Amoy. She is a daughter of
Mr Culbertson the missionary. I
think you heard him speak at
中国广东
1868年6月10日
我亲爱的父亲，
因为这个月没有轮船，
/
我现在写给Hamsher 太太一封信。
我打算用英语邮局寄信。
我想给你看看我写的什么。
这张被弄脏的纸
是我们最后一张薄纸
我怕
我担心较厚的纸张会使这封信太沉重。
令我沮丧的是，
这些信件不得不在旧金山
等了一个月
但是我们只能希望你们一切都好。
Henry 和我都很好，
每天发胖多一些。
这里的天气
让我感觉很慢。
外面的温度计显示
九十华氏度。
当你写信给我们时，
请务必告诉我们如何承受高温，
还请告诉我们您有多重
今天早上
当我看书并擦掉霉菌
我在 Bloomfield's
《希腊医嘱》中发现了
你写在一张小纸上
的家谱
我不知道你是否会记住一点，
但我记得
在你的书房中
一起看过的很好。
当然我们会保留家谱。
当我翻阅书籍
并看到
你的名字写在书上时，
我感到与你很亲近.
这里的天气不适合书，
由于霉菌，
蠕虫和蟑螂，
无法保存书籍。
当我看到一本损坏的书时，
我很心疼它，
我在想
我能更好地照顾它。
我认为我写信给Em，
告诉她
我最喜欢的诗歌是《Kathrina》
我希望我的姐妹们已经度过
Henry刚刚读完第二遍
今晚
Preston 先生打算读。
Preston夫妇
在这里
跟荷兰改良传教士Kip 夫妇过晚上
Kip 太太是Culbertson 先生的女儿
他也是个传教士。
我认为你听过他讲到在
Original Format
Letter
Collection
Citation
Noyes, Harriet Newell, “Unsigned letter from Harriet to Father, June 10, 1868,” Letters from Harriet Noyes: Missionaries and Women's Education in Nineteenth Century China, accessed November 21, 2024, https://noyesletters.org/items/show/8.