親歷歷史：希拉里回憶錄：比爾在艾納戴爾湖畔向我求婚

1972年的總統(tǒng)大選給我們從政之路上了寶貴的第一課。

After completing law school in the spring of 1973, Bill took me on my first trip to Europe to revisit his haunts as a Rhodes Scholar. We set out to visit as many cathedrals as we could, We meandered from Salisbury to Lincoln to Durham to York, pausing to explore the ruins of a monastery laid waste by Cromwell's troops or wandering through the gardens of a great country estate.

1973年春，我從耶魯法學院畢業(yè)，比爾帶我首次去歐洲旅行，重溫當年他這位羅德學者在英國的游歷之處。我們盡可能多地拜訪各個教堂，兩人一路從索爾茲伯里經林肯、達勒姆玩到約克，偶爾停下來憑吊被克倫威爾部隊棄置的修道院遺址，或流連于鄉(xiāng)間古堡的花園之間。

Then at twilight in the beautiful Lake District of England, we found ourselves on the shores of Lake Ennerdale, where Bill asked me to marry him.

一天傍晚，我倆來到英格蘭風景如畫的湖區(qū)，比爾在艾納戴爾湖畔向我求婚。

I was desperately in love with him but utterly confused about my life and future. So I said, "No, not now." What I meant was, "Give me time."

我深深地愛著他，但我完全不清楚自己的生活與未來，所以我說“不行，現(xiàn)在還不行”，言外之意是“給我一點時間”。

My mother had suffered from her parents' divorce, and her sad and lonely childhood was imprinted on my heart. I knew that when I decided to marry, I wanted it to be for life. Looking back to that time and to the person I was, I realize how scared I was of commitment in general and of Bill's intensity in particular. I thought of him as a force of nature and wondered whether I'd be up to the task of living through his seasons.

外公與外婆離婚讓母親吃了不少苦，加上母親悲苦、寂寞的童年深深印在我心中，所以我下定決心，一旦結婚，一定要和丈夫白頭偕老。現(xiàn)在想想，那時的我多么害怕承諾，更害怕招架不了比爾的深情。我覺得他像大自然般多變，并懷疑自己是否有本事應付他的春夏秋冬。

Bill Clinton is nothing if not persistent. He sets goals, and I was one of them. He asked me to marry him again, and again, and I always said no. Eventually he said, 'Well, I'm not going to ask you to marry me any more, and if you ever decide you want to marry me then you have to tell me." He would wait me out.

比爾若不執(zhí)著，那就不是比爾·克林頓了。他已經定下好些目標，而我就是其中之一。他一再向我求婚，我也一再拒絕他。最后他說：“我不會再向你求婚了，如果哪天你決定要嫁給我，請你務必告訴我。”他會等到我點頭為止。