The Press.
London, England, 1855-10-13 00:00:00

966

and of very small traits of littleness were
finely brought out while to gaping loons and
rustic admirers the Lord of the Manor held
forth from his carriage as if he were sovereign
lord of the public opinion of Europe. The
whole thing would have been perfectly
amazing if it had not been supremely absurd.
"It was arranged that the Corporation of
" Romsey should accompany Lord PALMERSTON
" to Broadlands, and that his Lordship should
" address the crowd from his carriage, and not
" from the platform." Ahem ! Was that in
tended as a sly cut at " platform politicians ?"
It is not the first time that such folk have
been snubbed by the Viscount, who can plead
the affectation of popular principles with the
haw-haw air of condescending arrogance better
than any living exhibitor of that peculiar
school. A bashaw concealing his enormous
egotism under a histrionic assumption of
" jollity" is the type of character seen in
Lord PALMERSTON ; and it never was more
forcibly shown than in the jovial way in
which, like a Little Pedlington Chatham, he
gasconaded before his lieges in the illustrious
town of Romsey.
But the speech itself was far worse than
ridiculous. It was mischievous, ill timed, and
arrogantly assuming. We need not quote it
in parts. We characterise it as tersely as
truly in saying that its logic was defiance, and
its rhetoric was the tautology of brag. As
usual, there was an exceeding quantity of
verbiage on the Viscount's lips, but there was
also a vehement chuckle about his manner on
this occasion, as if he meant to convey the
idea—"'Twas I did it all." It recalled to us
the Tory days of Lord PALMERI3TON'S youth,
when CANNING made such game of the Whig
Opposition, and applied to them the story of
Dennis, the critic at the play—" Zounds, sir,
" that's my thunder!" The fire from the
trenches was PAM'S ; ditto the capture of the
Malakoff; ditto the heroism of General
WINDHAM and the stormers. Yes ! it was Lord
PALMERSTON stormed Sebastopol, sunk the
fleet, blew up the magazines, smashed the
Czar of all the Russias, and utterly bam-
boozled the whole world of—Romsey. Amaz-
ing man ! Astonishing statesman ! Marvellous
Minister ! " Our own landlord, too !" PAM
and Brag for ever!
His Lordship forgot to recount who ap-
pointed General SIMPSON to the command of
the army, who had the whole management of
the Militia last year, and who—but, on
the blunders and dismal errors of official
personages he was silent. Even "Abby" was
never mentioned. He was responsible for
them, and he desired to leave them to oblivion.
He took for granted, what in some respects
is unhappily the fact, that the public has a
very short memory, though it has singular
fecundity of imagination. In Romsey the
Viscount beheld the mirror of opinion, and he
was content to swagger for a day as a mighty
British statesman Barnum-wise. He would
show Romsey and all the earth that though
the American " Woolly Horse " was as pure an
invention as fables about a Privy Councillor
commencing life with five shillings, that a
Pugilist Premier was a dreadful reality, and
that England must pay largely for such a
show.

And such is certainly the case. The tone
of Lord PALMERSTON'S Romney speech was not
above that of those adventurous athletes who
strive after a coarse celebrity as " fighting
men." It was " Boxiana " interleaved with
extracts from his own post-prandial orations.
Though Romsey was before him, with its old
market-place and quaint church, yet the
Viscount recollected Islington and its pot-
house deputations, and "judicious bottle-
holding" consequent thereon, and Reform
Club banquets to the invincible "Old Charley,"
and most injudicious bottle-emptying conse-
quent thereupon. (We recollect—SirJames!)
The Viscount would be "at it" again ; and
accordingly the First Minister gave us a mere
boxer's speech, full of chaff, swagger, and that
political slang which rolls with such fatal
facility from lips unequalled for lubricity.
At home we can afford to make merry over
such a characteristic display of rhodomontade,