(I can't keep 'em so, if this sort of thing goes on.) Now the State Department seems (as it touches us) to be utterly chaotic--silent when it ought to respond, loquacious when it ought to be silent.

There are questions that I have put to it at this Government's request to which I can get no answer.
It's hard to keep my staff enthusiastic under these conditions.
When I reached the Chancery this morning, they were in my room, with all the morning papers marked, on the table, eagerly discussing what we ought to do about this publication of my dispatch.

The enthusiasm and buoyancy were all gone out of them.

By their looks they said, "Oh! what's the use of our bestirring ourselves to send news to Washington when they use it to embarrass us ?"--While we are thus at work, the only two communications from the Department to-day are two letters from two of the Secretaries about--presenting "Democratic" ladies from Texas and Oklahoma at court! And Bryan is now lecturing in Kansas.
Since I began to write this letter, Lord Cowdray came here to the house and stayed two and a half hours, talking about possible joint intervention in Mexico.

Possibly he came from the Foreign Office.