"The British and American navies had come to an arrangement whereby the Brazilian ships that are coming over to help us fight should join the American unit, not the British, as was at first proposed.

Washington telegraphed me that the British Minister at Rio was blocking the game by standing out for the first British idea--that the Brazilian ships should join the British.

It turned out in the conversation that the British Minister had not been informed of the British-American naval arrangement.

Mr.Balfour sent for Lord Hardinge.
He called in one of the private secretaries.

Was such a thing ever heard of?
"Did you ever know,' said the indignant Mr.Balfour, turning to me, 'of such a thing as a minister not even being informed of his Government's decisions ?' 'Yes,' I said, 'if I ransack my memory diligently, I think I could find such cases.' The meeting went into laughter!" Evidently the troubles which Page was having with his own State Department were not unfamiliar to British officialdom.
Page's letters sufficiently reveal his fondness for Sir Edward Grey and the splendid relations that existed between them.