| Show WHEN DEWEY MET BANCROFT little incident that illustrates the tha natures of two great and well loved americans in ili the late seventies of tile the last century admiral dowey then commander dewey was stationed at washington where wh ere lie was serving his term of shore duty as naval secretary of the lighthouse board with the passage of time lie he says in ills his autobiography I 1 had lost none of a vermonters Ver fondness for good horseflesh and riding was my favorite exercise on my afternoon tio nals I 1 often came up with a flue fine looking walte ehlt bearded old gent gentleman lemaU who always wore a german cap sometimes as I 1 overtook him I 1 would draw rein and we would pass tho the time of day then as I 1 liked to go faster th than an he did I 1 would draw ahead of him film always receiving the polliet bow in exchange for my own he struck me as n most delightful person and I 1 concel conceived a real liking for him one day I 1 asked the watchman filtch at the gate of the soldiers ho homo m 0 who this gentleman was lie answered ills name is bancroft and lie Is from berlin from that I 1 knew that he be was the historian and former secretary of the navy and that lie he must have acquired a liking for german caps when ho he was our minister to germany the nex nest t time I 1 met him when I 1 was riding I 1 introduced myself and said As an officer of the navy who owes so much to the naval Acad academy elnY th that t you established I 1 want to thank you I 1 could see that he liked the cor comell nall ment with its reference to a service that many of that generation had forgotten so we became good friends I 1 was at dinner later when both ho he and general sherman were present menus were passed round with a request for autographs general sherman wrote rote ills his and underneath it 0 word that mr bancroft could not make out what Is it mr bancroft asked general answered sherman mr bancroft who had already written his autograph asked for the menu back find and under ills his name he added octogenarian one day when I 1 was walking with admiral porter and we passed bancroft I 1 heard his valet say to him lift your hat that Is admiral porter por it was a custom in washington to lift your hat to the admiral mr bancroft obeyed the valets military direction find and porter said to me here he is told to lift his hat but to me when alien I 1 used to salute him as a sul superior 11 I 1 porter had bad lifted his own ha hatin a mariner magner that showed the 0 old feeling of a a junior officer la in the presence or a former secretary of the navy had not passed youths youtha s companion |
