Mr. Osborne made one of his jocose political speeches to
his Nottingham constituents on Monday night: It was rather forced, and not always very courteous pleasantry. He began by saying that
his colleague Lord Amberley was at that moment "amongst the Shakers in America, and probably in danger of being prosely- tized,"—which does not strike one as humorous, and does strike one as rude. The session had-Aeen a hard one, he said, the seats were too narrow for men who rejoiced in "broad beam," and "it killed off a great many of the old ones,'—at Which there was "a laugh," as Mr. Osborne intended. The conversion of the Conservatives by Mr. Disraeli had not been rivalled "since the conversion of the Poles from paganism to Christianity in one day by the influence of one leader their Duke." He called Lord Derby "the supple and reckless acrobat, who is not satisfied without throwing somer- saults in the dark," somersaults which ended with a good, roll in the mud. Lord Derby was like the Curtius who filled up a hole in the Roman forum by a "leap in the dark," but with this differ- ence, that he never turned up again, while Lord Derby did. Mr. Osborne was very complimentary to Mr. Disraeli whom he evidently profoundly admires, and did his best to be loyal against the grain to Mr. Gladstone, who is of the very opposite pole from himself. He chaffed the Tories for "straining at the Gladstonian gnat and swallowing the Disraelite camel," and so on through a variety of banter, which made the speech something like a pendant to one of Mr. Byron's or Mr. Burnand's extrava- ganzas. Mr. Osborne did not seem to be very cordially received by his constituents, though one would suppose Nottingham "lambs" as willing to be present at a burlesque, gratis, as most men. They called out he would have to take Sir Robert Clifton as his col- league, if he were returned again,—which Mr. Osborne said he did not object to,—not perhaps quite sincerely. After all, Mr. Bernal Osborne is the style of man who needs to be somewhat choice of his political associates. Lord Amberley—Shaker or not —is a more convenient colleague for him than Sir K. Clifton.
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