Letter from Henry to Father, July 1, 1869

Letter from Henry to Father, July 1, 1869

Birthdays; Sabbath; Missionaries; Buildings; Chinese language--Writing

Henry writes to his father to wish him a happy birthday. Henry has been attending more prayer missionary meetings since moving into a new house. Henry is very happy with the new house and is able to get more done because of the location. Henry finished writing up the New Testament in Chinese and now claims he can write Chinese characters as fast as native writers. He's proud of this and says he is the only missionary in Canton that can do so.

Noyes, Henry Varnum

The College of Wooster, Special Collections, Noyes Collection, Box #3

Unpublished

1869-07-01

Council on Library and Information Resources Hidden Special Collections Grant

PDF

eng (English)

Text

noyes_c_cor_739

Canton 1st July 1869
My dear Father,
I must take a
few minutes before going to
bed to-night to let you
know that I have not for-
gotten that this is your birth
day. It has just fairly commenced
with you & I wish you a very
happy one. We have attended
prayer meeting this evening &
shall hereafter every Thursday
evening. When we lived at
the other house we did not
attend any as the missionaries
had none but only a meeting
Sabbath evenings. We still attend
there Sabbath evenings but
Thursday go the prayer meeting

at the East End as we
call it. We divide our
missionary company into
those living at the Eastern
End of the city & those at
the West End. Those at [--the--] each
[--two--] end[--s--] formerly lived very
near to each other but the
two localities 2 1/2 or 3 miles
apart. The new buildings of
our mission are just about
half way between so that we
can now reach either end
very conveniently. We are very
glad to begin again the well-
remembered habit of attending
prayer-meeting on Thursday
evening. We find our new
house very comfortable indeed
& enjoy it very much. It

seems to me that I can do
more in a day & with less
fatigue than at the old place.
There is no home here that
gets the Southern breeze in
the Summer any better than
this one, & those who have
lived here a year or two
know the value of being
exposed to this evening breeze.
It is capital to sit out in
the verandah up stairs after
one of these hot days awhile
before going to bed & luxuriate
in this tropical breeze that
for 2/3ds of the Summer blows
every night. We do not have at
home quite such soft mild air
as this, but I think I could
stand the home breezes after all.

I believe I forgot to write
by last mail that I inter-
preted your good letter to
Lau Lin Shang and that he
was very much pleased with
it. I believe he said he
would answer it. Akwai
the other assistant who lived
with us at the old house wished
me to send his regards to
you. I believe I wrote last
mail that I had finished writing
out the New Testament in Canton
Colloquial. I made every [--let--] char-
acter in it with my own hand
and a Chinese pencil. I can write
Chinese characters now as fast as
The Chinese [--they--] do themselves. It is'nt very mod-
est for me to say it but there is
no other missionary in Canton to my
knowledge that can do this I suppose
I may tell this to you in a kind of a
confidential way. My paper is done & it
is bed time & so I must stop. This

[Continued vertically on the first page]
is rather a funny letter for a birth-day letter I suppose but it
shows my good will. Very much love for yourself & all the rest from
Your aff Son Henry



广州 1869 年 7 月 1 日
我亲爱的父亲，
我必须采取
出发前几分钟
今晚睡觉让你
知道我没有忘记这是你的出生
天。它刚刚开始
和你在一起，我希望你非常
开心的那个。我们参加了
今晚的祷告会和
以后每周四
晚上。当我们住在
我们没有的另一所房子
参加任何传教士
没有，只有开会
安息日晚上。我们仍然参加
有安息日晚上，但
星期四去祷告会

我们在东区
叫它。我们划分我们的
传教士公司进入
住在东方的人
城市的尽头和那些在
西区。那些在每个
结束以前的生活
彼此靠近，但
两个地方 2 1/2 或 3 英里
分开。的新建筑
我们的使命就是
中途让我们
现在可以到达任何一端
非常方便。我们很
很高兴重新开始井-
记住参加的习惯
星期四的祷告会
晚上。我们发现我们的新
房子确实很舒服
& 非常享受。它

在我看来我能做到
一天多一点，少一点
比在老地方更累。
这里没有家
让南风吹进来
夏天比
这个，以及那些有
在这里住了一两年
知道存在的价值
暴露在这晚风中。
坐在外面是资本
阳台上楼梯后
这些炎热的日子之一
睡前尽情享受
在这热带微风中
2/3 的夏天来袭
每晚。我们没有在
家好这么柔软温和的空气
像这样，但我想我可以
毕竟忍受家里的微风。

我相信我忘了写
通过我解释你的好信给的最后一封邮件
刘林尚和他
非常满意
它。我相信他说他
会回答它。阿夸伊
另一个住的助手
和我们一起在老房子希望
我要向他问好
你。我相信我最后写的
我写完的邮件
在广州出新约
口语。我亲手制作了其中的每个角色
和一支中国铅笔。我可以写
汉字现在一样快
中国人自己做。我这样说不是很谦虚，但有
广州没有其他传教士到我这里
我想可以做到这一点的知识
我可以用某种方式告诉你
保密方式。我的论文完成了
是睡觉时间&所以我必须停下来。这个

[在第一页垂直继续]
我想这是一封相当有趣的生日信，但它
显示我的善意。非常爱自己和所有其他人
你的儿子亨利

Letter