林肯总统的怀表

by Beth Py-Lieberman

Lincolns English gold watch was purchased in the 1850s from George Chatterton， a Springfield， Illinois， jeweler. Lincoln was not 2）outwardly vain， but the fine gold watch was a 3）conspicuous symbol of his success as a prominent Illinois lawyer. The National Museum of American History acquired the watch in 1958 as a gift from Lincoln Isham， Abraham Lincoln great-grandson.

Every living soul can recall with certainty what they were doing when a national tragedy occurs—the day the Japanese bombed 4）Pearl Harbor， the day in 5）Dallas when John F. Kennedy was 6）assassinated or the events of September 11. Yet， no one alive today can recall the tragic day in 1861 when Confederate forces fired on 7）Fort Sumter， beginning a terrible and tragic war that divided this nation and changed it forever. This week， a stunning find unveiled a personal record that touched the highest levels of government but remained hidden for nearly a century and a half.

林肯的英国金表是19世纪50年代从伊利诺斯州首府斯普林菲尔德的珠宝商乔治·查特顿处购得的。林肯并不讲究外表，但是这块精致的金表是他作为伊利诺斯州杰出律师的显著象征。1958年，亚伯拉罕·林肯的曾孙林肯·艾沙姆将这块金表作为礼物赠送给美国国家历史博物馆。

所有人都能清楚地回忆起国家发生灾难时，自己在做什么——日本轰炸珍珠港那天，约翰·F·肯尼迪在达拉斯被暗杀的那天或是“9·11”事件发生的那天。然而，没有人能够回忆起1861年那悲壮的一天，同盟军向萨姆特堡进攻，发动了一场可怕而悲惨的战争，这场战争分裂并永远改变了这个国家。本周，一个惊人的发现揭露了一项涉及政府最高级人员的私人记录，近一个半世纪以来，这份记录都不为人知。

On April 13， 1861， Irish immigrant and watchmaker Jonathan Dillon was repairing President Abraham Lincolns pocket watch， when he heard of the attack. Forty-five years later， Dillon told the New York Times what he did that day. “I was in the act of 8）screwing on the 9）dial. I unscrewed the dial， and with a sharp instrument wrote on the metal beneath： ‘The first gun is fired. Slavery is dead. Thank God we have a President who at least will try.”

1861年4月13日，当爱尔兰移民钟表匠乔纳森·狄龙知道叛军进攻时，他正在修理亚伯拉罕·林肯总统的怀表。45年之后，狄龙向《纽约时报》披露了当天他做了什么事情：“我当时正在拧紧表盘上的螺丝。我用利器在金属上刻道：‘第一枪已经打响。奴隶制已灭亡。感谢上帝，我们有一位至少愿意努力尝试的总统。”

On Tuesday morning， at the National Museum of American History， some 40 reporters and 10）Smithsonian staff witnessed master craftsman and jeweler George Thomas open Abraham Lincolns watch to search for Dillons secret message. Dillons message was there， but not exactly as he later described it. It was a rare moment when a museum， dedicated to the preservation of American history， could be said to be making history. And therein lies a tale. The watchmaker and the President would never meet. And Lincoln would never know that he carried Dillons secret message in his pocket. Lincolns watch is a fine gold timepiece that the 16th president purchased in the 1850s from a Springfield， Illinois jeweler. Harry Rubenstein， chief 11）curator of the museums 12）bicentennial exhibition “Abraham Lincoln： An Extraordinary Life”， has a fondness for the watch， which today would be the equivalent of a 13）high-end 14）Bulova or 15）Tag Heuer. “When you think about Lincoln especially at this point in his life，” Rubenstein says， “his ill-fitting clothes and messy hair； he doesnt seem to care about his appearance. But in fact， he does care about how people perceive him. One of the status symbols of the 19th century is a gold watch. Lincoln is making a statement. Hes carrying a very visible statement of his own success.”

This story is full of ironies. And so we must pause here to reflect on one. It was February 12， Lincolns 200th birthday， when the phone on Rubensteins desk rang. The caller was Douglas Stiles， a 59-year-old attorney and 16）genealogy expert， from Waukegan， Illinois. Stiles is also Dillons great， great grandson. The evidence was not overwhelming. All that Stiles had to offer was a bit of family lore and a newspaper article written 45 years after the fact. Could the stranger calling convince a museum curator to pull a national icon from display， to bring in an expert craftsman to disassemble the delicate， historical artifact， and to take a huge chance that nothing， in fact， could be there？ But， Rubensteins interest was 17）piqued and the decision was made. “Its sort of amazing，” Rubenstein said in an interview before the watch was opened， “when you think that two years before the 18）Emancipation Proclamation， Abraham Lincoln is carrying this hopeful message in his pocket， and never knowing it.”

星期二的早晨，美国国家历史博物馆里大约有40位记者和史密森尼工作人员见证了技艺精湛的工匠和珠宝商乔治·托马斯拆开亚伯拉罕·林肯的怀表，以寻找狄龙的秘密信息。狄龙的秘密信息确实在里面，但是并不和他后来描述的完全一致。这对于致力保存美国历史的博物馆来说，可以说是创造历史，这是绝无仅有的珍贵时刻。……