Carrington, after painful reflection, could only guess that he wanted Ratcliffe's enemies to show their claws.

But how?
Mrs.Lee not long afterwards spoke to Ratcliffe of her regret at Gore's disappointment and hinted at his disgust.

Ratcliffe replied that he had done what he could for Gore, and had introduced him to the President, who, after seeing him, had sworn his usual granitic oath that he would sooner send his nigger farm-hand Jake to Spain than that man-milliner.
"You know how I stand;" added Ratcliffe; "what more could I do ?" And Mrs.Lee's implied reproach was silenced.
If Gore was little pleased with Ratcliffe's conduct, poor Schneidekoupon was still less so.

He turned up again at Washington not long after the Inauguration and had a private interview with the Secretary of the Treasury.
What passed at it was known only to themselves, but, whatever it was, Schneidekoupon's temper was none the better for it.

From his conversations with Sybil, it seemed that there was some question about appointments in which his protectionist friends were interested, and he talked very openly about Ratcliffe's want of good faith, and how he had promised everything to everybody and had failed to keep a single pledge; if Schneidekoupon's advice had been taken, this wouldn't have happened.
Mrs.Lee told Ratcliffe that Schneidekoupon seemed out of temper, and asked the reason.