And he should have been nervous because, throughout history, as he knew all too well, defeated generals and revolutionaries and traitors were typically beheaded, or they were hanged, or they were imprisoned or, like General Napoleon, they were exiled.
他的緊張完全事出有因,因為歷史上戰敗的將領、革命者和叛徒一般都要被砍頭、絞死,或被囚禁,或像拿破侖將軍那樣被流放,對此他再清楚不過了。
In fact, that very morning, the Chicago Tribune editorialized: "Hang Lee." And just days earlier, in the Union capital of Washington, D.C., Andrew Johnson, the vice president of the Union, went out with several senators and before a thronging crowd of hundreds, maybe over 1,000, gave a rousing speech in which he said, "We must hang Davis, we must hang Lee. We must hang them twenty times." So, in fact, Lee didn't know what to expect. Grant would treat him with such tenderness and dignity, and it's such a rich scene. Grant was carrying out Lincoln's vision at City Point of no bloody work, no hangings. But it is really unique in the chain of history.
事實上,就在那個上午,《芝加哥論壇報》發表社論:“絞死李。”此前幾天,在北部首府華盛頓特區,北部聯邦副總統安德魯·約翰遜和幾位參議員,面對幾百,也可能是一千多名蜂擁而至的民眾,發表了一次煽動性的講話,他說:“必須絞死戴維斯,必須絞死李,把他們絞死20遍也不為過。”因此李確實不知道會發生什么事。而格蘭特卻以仁慈和尊嚴待之,此景象寓意極深。格蘭特執行了林肯在錫蒂波因特做出的“無血腥之舉、無絞刑”的決策。這是歷史上真正的罕見之舉。
Interestingly enough, when they first walked into Appomattox Court House, Lee was wearing his finest uniform because, as he said, "Now I must become General Grant's prisoner," and Grant, came in in a mud-spattered private's blouse.
有趣的是,當他們倆首次走進阿波馬托克斯時,李穿著他最好的軍服,他說我肯定會成為格蘭特的戰俘?!备裉m特卻穿著一件濺滿泥漿的列兵夾克衫來了。
In fact, later on in history, he would apologize for how he was attired.
后來,據歷史記載,他對這般穿著深表歉意。
Picture this scene for a second: this small, little home, Wilmer McLean's house, in Appomattox Court House, a little village of about eight structures or so, and rolling hills. Outside in those rolling hills were thousands of men, who were standing at rapt attention to watch this amazing piece of historical theater take place.
想象一下這個場景:一個小小的、可愛的家——那是威爾默·麥克萊恩的房子,在阿波馬托克斯的小村莊,那里有八幢左右的建筑和延綿起伏的丘陵。雇外綿延起伏的丘陵里,上千的士兵全神貫注地站著,觀賞著這一幕令人驚嘆的歷史劇。