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And what did General Meade do? He did the very opposite. He hesitated. He procrastinated. He telegraphed all manner of excuses. He refused point-blank to attack Lee. Finally the waters receded and Lee escaped over the Potomac with his forces.
可是米德将军是怎么做的呢？他做得正好相反。他犹豫了。他拼命拖拉，发电报给林肯，提出了各种各样的借口。他直截了当地拒绝进攻李将军。最后，河水退去，李将军终于逃脱，带着他的部队安全越过了波托马克河。
Lincoln was furious. In bitter disappointment, he wrote Meade this letter of great restraint:
林肯怒不可遏。他在极度失望中给米德写了一封行文非常克制的信：
My dear General,
我亲爱的将军：
I do not believe you appreciate the magnitude of the misfortune involved in Lee's escape. He was within our easy grasp, and to have closed upon him would, in connection with our other successes, have ended the war. As it is, the war will be prolonged indefinitely. If you could not safely attack Lee last Monday, how can you possibly do so south of the river, when you can take with you very few—no more than two-thirds of the force you then had in hand? It would be unreasonable to expect and I do not expect that you can now affect much. Your golden opportunity is gone, and I am distressed immeasurably because of it.
我相信您不会懂得让李将军逃脱是多大的不幸。他已经落在我们的手中。如果当时紧紧将他包围，再加上其他的胜利，就有可能结束这场战争。而现在，这场战争将继续延长下去，不知何时才能终结。如果您上星期一都没把握进攻李，那您怎么可能在现在手头只有当时三分之二兵力的情况下，在河南岸再发动进攻？指望您这么做是没有理由的。我也不指望您现在能做些什么了。您的天赐良机已经失去了。为此，我感到非常沮丧。
What do you suppose Meade did when he read the letter? He never saw that letter. Lincoln never mailed it. It was found among his papers after his death.
你猜米德读了这封信会有什么反应？但是他根本没有看到这封信。林肯根本没有把这封信寄出去。这封信是在他去世后，从他的文件堆里发现的。
