145年前由热气球从巴黎寄出的信件现身A letter from a man to his mother flown out of Paris by hot air balloon during the Prussian siege in 1870 has turned up in Australia’s National Archives， which said Tuesday it was keen to discover the family’s fate。
一封在1870年用热气球从法国寄出的书信现身澳大利亚国家档案馆，这封书信是由一名法国男子在巴黎被包围时寄给自己母亲的。据澳大利亚国家档案馆16日的报道，其有意知道写信人及其后人的命运。
The Franco-Prussian War saw the Germans completely surround Paris for more than four months that year。
1870年普法战争期间，巴黎被德国军队围城4个多月。
Balloon mail was the only way communications from Paris could reach the rest of France， with dozens of flights made and hundreds of thousands of letters delivered。
用热气球传递书信便成为了巴黎民众与外界沟通的唯一方式。数十个热气球送出了千千万万封书信。
One has been discovered by the National Archives。 It was penned in French on December 6， 1870 by a man named Charles Mesnier （or Mesmier） to his mother， care of Monsieur Grussin （or Grossin） at 8 Place de la Ville， Pont-Audemer， in Normandy。
其中的一封出现在澳大利亚国家档案馆。该书信写于1870年12月6日的法国，是一个叫Charles Mesnier （或Mesmier）的人所寄出，由Grussin （或 Grossin）先生转交给他住在诺曼底蓬托德梅尔的母亲。
“It’s an intriguing human element to an important piece of history，” National Archives assistant director-general Louise Doyle told AFP。
澳大利亚国家档案馆助理馆长多伊尔告诉法新社的记者：“这是历史长河重要的一章非常有趣的人为因素引起的故事。”
“We’re not sure how it ended up in Australia， but it would be fascinating to know more。 If people see this it would be interesting to have more context in relation to this record。”
他说，“我们不确定这封信是如何辗转来到地球的另一端澳大利亚的，这样一件奇特而不平常的文件令人充满联想，让人想知道更多关于它的故事。”
The letter was transferred to the archive’s Brisbane office from the former Queensland Post and Telegraph Museum in 2001， but there is no information about its origin。 It came to light recently as part of a joint project between the National Archives of Australia and the Archives Nationales in France。 In the letter， which is full of fervor， the man assures his mother he is in good health。
据了解，这封信于2001年被前昆士兰邮局和电报博物馆转交给这家国家档案馆的布里斯班办事处，但它开始怎么来的仍是一个谜。最近在澳大利亚国家档案馆和法国国家档案馆的一个联合项目的推动下，它才公诸于众。在这封热情洋溢的信件里，他告诉母亲自己身体健康。
“We don’t have meat every day and when we do get some it is not very much， but we can easily get by as things are and no one in our household is complaining，” he wrote。
“我们不是每天都有肉吃，即使有也不是很多，但我们生活过得去，家里没有人抱怨。”
Mesnier added， “The desire to repulse the Prussians is right now the solitary concern of Paris。 Any suffering can be borne rather than opening the gates of the capital to them。”
Mesnier还补充说，“击退普鲁士是巴黎这座孤城现在唯一忧虑的事情。不管忍受多少煎熬痛苦，我们绝不会打开城门向敌人投降。”
The single-sheet letter is just 207 by 133 millimeters， folded into an envelope。
这张大小为207mm x 133 mm的单张信纸被折叠放在一个信封里。
Doyle said it was sent on December 7 and arrived in Pont-Audemer on the 16th。
据多伊尔介绍，这封信于12月7日寄出，9天后到达诺曼底蓬托德梅尔。
