lly did happen,
and then he says, '_But_--suppose so and so had done this and that,
instead of such and such.' Then we pick up the dramatization at that
point, only we show it the way it might have happened. Like this thing
about Columbus; we'll show how it could have happened, and end with
Columbus wading ashore with his sword in one hand and a flag in the
other, just like the painting, only it'll be the English flag, and
Columbus will shout: 'I take possession of this new land in the name of
His Majesty, Henry the Seventh of England!'" He brandished
his drink, to the visible consternation of the elderly man beside him.
"And then, the sailors all sing _God Save the King_."

"Which wasn't written till about 1745," I couldn't help mentioning.

"Huh?" The plump man looked startled. "Are you sure?" Then he decided
that I was, and shrugged. "Well, they can all shout, 'God Save King
Henry!' or 'St. George for England!' or something. Then, at the end, we
introduce the program guest, some history expert, a real name, and he
tells how he thinks history would have been changed if it had happened
this way."

The conservatively dressed gentleman beside him wanted to know how long
he expected to keep the show running.

"The crossroads will give out before long," he added.

"The sponsor'll give out first," I said. "History is just one damn
crossroads after another." I mentioned, in passing, that I taught the
subject. "Why, since the beginning of this century, we've had enough of
them to keep the show running for a year."

"We have about twenty already written and ready to produce," the plump
man said comfortably, "and ideas for twice as many that the planning
staff is working on now."

The elderly man accepted that and took another cautious sip of wine.

"What I wonder, though, is whether you can really say that history can
be changed."

"Well, of course--" The television man was taken aback; one always seems
to be when a basic assumption is questioned. "Of course, we only know
what really did happen, but it stands to reason if something had
happened differently, the results would have been different, doesn't
it?"

"But it seems to me that everything would work out the same in the long
run. There'd be some differences at the time, but over the years
wouldn't they all cancel out?"

"_Non, non, Monsieur!_" the man with the book, who had been outside the
conversation until now, told him earnestly. "Make no mistake; 'istor