2014-05-26

【Aiden in English】

        Nobody in the 21^st century knows exactly what an 18th century town looked like just as an 18^th century villager couldn't picture what a woolly mammoth would look like. But even the 18th century villager knew that woolly mammoths were big just as we know that people back then were somewhat more majestic than our current sense of fashion. All we needed to do was to go on a little scavenger hunt for clues about the past and piece them together by imagination. Follow these simple instructions and you'll find yourself in Williamsburg.

        Everything in Williamsburg was grand, such as grand houses, grand beds, grand furniture, etc. That was why it stood out in history. The tours took place everywhere, workers scurried around doing what colonial people in the 1700's would do, and the streets were stuffed with tourists.

         A variety of colonial architectures were built in Williamsburg where many American historical people lived, for example, Peyton Randolph, and Speaker of Virginia's House of Burgesses. In his house, the dinner was awaiting for him before he died of heart stroke. He didn't get to see the 13 colonies free from the Britain. Another famous building would be the capitol with high chairs stood in the Council Chamber and arched windows marched across the courtroom.

        Unfortunately they both were blown away by the Governor's Palace, home to seven governors including Thomas Jefferson. Everything was decorated so spectacularly that it appeared to be ready for a party. Speaking of decoration, who displayed muskets and swords in the halls? Well, the governor did, because muskets were put in rows and stacked on top of another, with swords intertwined together on the walls. But that's just the beginning. The beds were a picture of their own. Flowers and birds were woven into the blanket and beautiful silk drapes surrounded the bed. More specific features symbolized its red dressing room, blue ballroom, and green dining room. In addition, the backyard had maze grown out of bushes (yes, like the one in Harry Potter Book Four), which probably made the most significant of all.

        You may never know what the Colonial America really resembled in the past. To get the general idea, however, Williamsburg is always available.

【紅霞譯文】

        在21世紀的今天，恐怕無人能夠確切地知道十八世紀小鎮布局狀況，正如十八世紀的鄉巴佬沒法想像真猛瑪象長成什麼樣子，但他們意識到真猛瑪象很大，猶若我們對那個年代的人們講究氣派略知一二。眼下我們需要做的事情就是要身臨其境，發揮個人想像力以求還原歷史面目。不知不覺地，威廉斯堡很快出現在你的眼前。

        威廉斯堡所有一切都可以用“宏大”來形容，大房子、大床、大家具等等，正因如此，威廉斯堡才會成為美國殖民史上重要篇章。景點隨處可見，身着十八世紀殖民古裝的工作人員忙裡忙外接待照應，街上遊客如織。

        威廉斯堡有很多殖民式建築，不少歷史人物曾在此生活過，譬如佩頓‧倫道夫——弗吉尼亞州眾議院議長。來到他家參觀，你會發現晚飯剛擺上桌，但他因心肌梗塞突然離世，再也不能返回住所與親屬就餐，生前未來得及看到美國十三個殖民地先後擺脫英國統治的經過。另外一座著名樓房應算國會大廈，其會議室高靠背太師椅、法庭內拱形窗戶，都給我們留下深刻印象。

        遺憾的是，這兩處建築均無法與總督府相媲美，這裡先後住過包括托馬斯‧傑斐遜在內七任總督。總督府內部裝飾華麗，好像將要舉行盛大聚會。說起裝飾，有誰會在屋內走廊處掛滿火槍和利劍﹖除了總督之外，你找不出第二位。牆上火槍一個挨一個排好，利劍交叉有序，但這僅僅是個開頭，花鳥編織的毯子、漂亮的絲簾床圍、紅更衣室、藍舞廳以及綠飯廳。另外，後院的迷宮全部由灌木叢組成，(沒錯，很像《哈利‧波特》第四集)，這也許堪稱總督府與眾不同的地方。

        你可能永遠搞不清楚美國殖民地的風土原貌，不過如果僅僅為了普及基礎知識，威廉斯堡永遠是本活教材供你參閱。