Biographical Notice 



which few of us were specially think- 

 ing at that time. And his prediction 

 was this : "If war is declared with 

 Spain, the first thing to happen will 

 be that George Dewey will go into 

 Manila harbor and sink the whole 

 Spanish fleet ! " If he had put that 

 day's talk in print, with what prophet's 

 glory it would have crowned him ! 

 Long after, he said to me, " I was a 

 little startled to have the thing so 

 quickly and completely come to pass ; 

 yet I made the remark upon good 

 reasons. I had lived with Dewey, 

 and knew him well ; I knew where he 

 was, and that he could not stay there 

 after a declaration of war ; if he had 

 to go somewhere, he would be sure 

 to go where the Spanish fleet was ; 

 and if he found it, he would sink 

 it ! You see, the argument was 

 complete ! " 



After all, the chief hindrance to 

 King's literary activity was the neces- 

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