Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1855-07-27
WASHINGTON NEWS AND GOSSIP.
Kenneth RaYnsr,a Mares Nest.-The fact

Kenneth Rayner's Mares Hest.-The fact
that Kenneth Rayner was the author Of the
printed and spouted version of Barrinyer's
Pope s-Nuncio-story, If nothing else, was suf-
fcient to lead us to discredit it from the start.
Rayner was once in Congress, where he earn
cd the reputation Of being an exceedingly
/" scattering" man in his system of warfare on
his opponents, and passed for as unscrupulous
partizan in melee on the floor, about, as
any man 90 far sent from any State to the
House Of Representatives of the United States.
He dealt largely in hyperbole, tho habit being
an incident to his mental organization, for
which he could hardly be said to be response
be; as it was, as it is to this day, part of his
nature to see mountain in every mole hill
on the surface of the acts or policy of those to
whom he is opposed, and mole-hill only in
every mountain excrescence that disfgures his
own side.
We knew at a glance, that however mon
strous Barringer's original story was, Rayner
had stretched it wonderfully that it was
''agin his nstur' to retail it without dressing
it up in the mask and skin of "raw-head
has fixed on him the fact that be did So The
UiuOn's emphatic denial Of the story, n
founded altogether In fiction, if not mali:c,
and the Baltimore Republicans scorching re-
buke of the mendacity of attempting to eIee-
tioGeer by means OF the circulation of such
barefaced and inexcusable falsehoods, have
together forced Barringer out of his hole The
ex-edtor of the Organ (who, when figuring a..
the heal of newspaper, loved nothing SO
well as to devote his columns to the dissemina-
tion of foul eggs from mares nests, which were
so silly on their face as to make men of COM
mon sense laugh over his want of practical
brains, as illustrated in his apparently firm
belief that the community were such fools a.
to be gulled with any and everything wonder
ful in his Pierce and Forney stores,) having
repeated in his fourth of July Grafton Ray
ner's utterly untrue version Of what Barringer
told him, initiated the investigation which
proves that the stcry--lOr which all of them.
originator and retailer, Nos and 2, are re-
sponsible-is utterly untrue; false in its origin,
false in Its details, false in all its elements, as
the Union said of it. The result of this in
dustrious gentleman's labors was the extrac-
ton of letters from Rayner and Barrinper to
him. in which Rayner admits that Barringer
refuses to substantiate what he retailed a.
coming from him, and from Barringer letter,
which he quotes "a follows:
8 You arc mistaken as to the purport of the
remarks made to me by the representative of
the rope at Madrid. Itwas not that he knew
beforehand that Dir. Campbell would be an
pointed, and as member of the Catholic
church, or that he knew anything about it be-
fore the appointment was actually made What
L have said, and what IreJ,eut IS, that before
md any certain nears Of tic formation of
the CABINET, ard sghiie Its constitution rms
stsH en- doubt, aud TIE subject of conjecture
W ne pHa'e m1tnsd IF Madrid, lie toll me
that Hr. Camp5sN tcas appointed, and that
he sras q Catholic, rhich mus the first iufor-
nation l kad Of either J;sei."
The reader will perceive. from what Karin.
ger says, that Rayner's version of the story
was regular ten thousand cats'' one.
1t seems that, If Barringcr is to be believed
III such case, the Nuncio was first to inform
him of Judge Campbell's appointment to the
Postmaster Generalship-that's all though he
does not say whether this took place FIVE min-
utes, one hour. one day, or one week before
he learned the fact through his American let
ters or newspapers, or how long before it was
known to all In Ma1rid who took interest in
American public affairs. Those who know the
customs and the perfection OF the diplomatic
arrangements of the governments of Europe
are well aware that, except in particular emer-
Geneies, the dispatches OF Spain, France, Eng
land. &c, DC, are sent between London and
Madrid, or Vienna, or Berlin, and return dis.
patches received III the time it takes those of
the United States. (often sent to save expense.
by struggling America IN tourists who stop along
the way to see the sights to reach Madrid.
Vienna, OF Berlin, or any other European
capital TO be named. So it was the most nat
uTal thing In the world that nearly every diplo-
matist In Madrid (of whom the Nuncio was
one) should know the composition of the Cabi-
net Of President Pierce before Barringer did
more especially as be speaks no language but
the English and that indiferently we'll, ex-
cept, it may be, the dialect of Cherokee, spoke n
in his younger days by the real Native Amer
cans indigenous to his section of North Care.
lima.
Barringer served long in Congress, and is
as we'll known in Washington, almost, as the
town pump. Thus he is well known to have
been congressional slow coach; that is
thick-skulled man-though a correct and
weli-meaning gentleman. lie was also famous
as Monsieur 1rop Tarct-a man prone to
be little late in every thing. Readiness
never was an attribute of his, and never will
be- and it Is extremely likely that all the
rest Of the diplomatists in Madrid knew whom
President Pierce had selected for his cabinet
ofi'ers from twenty -four hours to a week be-
fore Mr.. Barringer became possessed of like
rfprm atinn 10 ba Co. NJ