UNITED STATES AND CANADA 201 



as it may, the attitude of the American plenipoten- 

 tiaries had undergone a marked change, and the 

 prospect of accompHshing anything looked as black 

 as the countenances of the negroes in the hotel. It 

 was at this crisis, early in January, that Mr. Chamber- 

 lain and I took a walk one morning towards the 

 Washington Memorial. He then told me of his 

 intention to make an announcement in the Plenary 

 Conference that afternoon, that further parley being 

 apparently useless, he had resolved to break off the 

 negotiations and return home. I suggested as an 

 alternative that we might utilise Sir Lionel West : 

 ** Get him to go and see Mr. Bayard at once, with the 

 gloomiest countenance he can assume. Let him 

 tell Mr. Bayard that your patience is exhausted, and 

 that you have concluded to go home if they cannot 

 see their way to granting the concessions we had 

 every reason to expect would be accorded. That 

 will give them time to think it over anyhow." 



Well, Mr. Chamberlain thought this a good idea, 

 and adopted it. West went and saw Bayard, with the 

 result that when the Conference met that afternoon, 

 a change had come o'er the spirit of the dream. 

 A strong disposition was evinced by the other 

 side to be more conciliatory ; by the next meeting 

 we had got all we wanted ; and thenceforward 



