The Sun.
London, England, 1849-01-02 00:00:00

NEW MONTHLY.

An individual bearing the unattractive appellation
of Soapey Sponge promises to afford much amuse-
ment to the readers of the New Monthly. " Soapey
Sponge's Sporting Tour" is one of the first articles in
the present number. Of the sporting tour itself we
as yet know nothing, the first chapters merely in-
troduce us to the chief characters who take part
therein. The portrait of the hero is most elaborately
drawn, and may boast of more than one living pro-
totne, e g. :
" Mr. Soapey Sponge was a good-looking, rather vul-
gar-looking, fellow. At a distance—say ten yards—his
height, figure, and carriage gave him somewhat of a
commanding appearance, but this was sadly marred by
a jerkey, twitchey, uneasy sort of air, that two plainly
shot% ed he was not the natural, or what the lower orders
call, the real gentleman. Not that Soapey was shy.
Far from it. He never hesitated about offering to any
lady, after a three days' acquaintance, or in asking any
gentleman to allow him to go or send a horse to him
over-night, with whom he might chance to come in
contact in the hunting-field. And be did it all in such a
cool, off-hand, matter-of-course sort of way, that people
who would have stared with astonishment if any body
had hinted at such a proposal, really seemed to come
into the humour and spirit of the thing, and to look upon
t rather as a matter of course than otherwise. Then
his dexterity in gating into people's houses was only
equalled by the difficulty of getting him out again,
but this we must waive for the present in favour of his
protraiture."

We first encounter our hero in one of " those am-
biguous and tortuons streets that, appearing to lead
all ways at once and none in particular, land the
explorer, sooner or later, on the south side of Oxford-
street." Mr. Sponge takes an omnibus—" he had,
wonderful to relate, never been entrapped into a six-
penny fare when he meant to take a threepenny one,"
and proceeds to visit a Mr. Buckram, a horse dealer
of his acquaintance, from whom he hires two horses
for his " sporting tour," with the option of buying
them provided he could sell them for more than he
would have to give Mr. Buckram, exclusive of the
hire." These horses are as great "characters" in
their several ways as their new master, as their por-
traits will show. The one is named Hercules :
" Whether Hercules was called Hercules on account
of his amazing strength, or from a fanciful relationship
the famous horse of that name, we know not, but his
strength and his colour would fave;ur either supposition.
He was an immense, tall, powerful, dark brown horse,
standing full sixteen hands high, with an crehed neck
and crest, well set on, clean jowled head, and loins that
1 ,oked as if they could shoot a man into the next coun-
try just as a t,kilful player could shoot a shuttlecock
along a room. His condition was perfect. His coat lay
as close and eve n as satin, with cleanly developed
muscle, and altogether he looked as hard as a cricket-
bail. He had a famous switch tail, reaching nearly to
his hocks, and making him look less than he would other-
wise have done.

" Mr. Soapey Sponge was too well versed in hore-
flesh to imagine that such an animal would be in pos-
ssion of such a third-rate dealer as Buckram, unless
there was something radically wrong about him, and as
Sam and Leather were paying the horse those stable at-
tentions that always precede a show out, Mr. Sponge
settled in his own mind that the observation about his
requiring a horseman to ride him; meant that he was
vicious. 1•1(,r was he deceived in his anticipations, for
not all Leather's whiatlings, or Sam's endearings, and
watchings, could conceal the sunken, :,cowling eye, that
as good as said, you'd better keep clear of me.'"
The other is Multum-in- Parvo—a name suggested by
an "Eton gent," and thus abbreviated by Mr.
Buckram

" All then was hurry, scurry, and scamper to get this
second prodigy out. Presently he appeared. Multum
in Pavo certainly was all that Buckram described him.
A lengthy, low, clean-headed, clean-necked, big hocked,
chestnut, with a long tail, and great, flat, white legs,
without mark or blemish upon them. Unlike Hercules,
there was nothing indicative of vice or mischief about
him. Indeed, he was rather a sedate, meditative look.
ing animal ; and instead of the watchlid, arms'-length
sort of way L-ather and Co. treated Hercules, they
jerked and punched Pavo about as if he had been a cow.
" Still Multum in Pavo had his foibles. He was a
resolute, head-strong animal, that would go his own way
in spite of all the pulling and haulieg in the world. II
he took it into his obstinate head to turn into a particu-
lar field, into it he would be ; or against the gate-poet'
he would bump the rider's leg in a way that would make
him remember the difference of opinion between them.
It was not a fiery, hot-headed spirit, with object or rea-
son for its guide, but just a regular downright pig-
headed sort of stupidity, that nobody could account for.
He had a mouth like a bull, and could walk clean through
a gate sometimes rather than be at the trouble of rising
to leap it ; at other times he would hop over it like a
bird. Ho could not beat Mr. Buckram's men, because
they were always on the look out for objects of conten-
tion with sharp spur rowels, ready to let into his sides
the moment he began to stop ; but a weak or a timid
man on his back had no more chance than he would on
an elephant. If the horse chose to carry him into the
midst of the hounds at the meet, he would have him in
—nay, he would think nothing of upsetting the master
himself in the middle of the pack. Then the provoking
part was, that the obstinate beast after having done all
the mischief, would just set to to graz. as if nothing
had happened. After rolling a sportsman in the mud,
he would repair to the near, $t hay-stack or grassy bank,
and be caught. He was now ten years old, or a lade
more perhaps, and very wicked years some of them had
been. his adventures, his sellings and his returning,
his lettings and his unlettinge, his bunarings and spill-
ings, his smashing and erashings, on the read, in the
fief, in single and in double harness, would furnish a
volume of ti ene,elves ; and in default of a more able
historian, we propose blending his future fortune with
that of Eccules, in the service of our hero Mr. Sonpey
Sponge, and his eecemplished groom, and undertaking
the important narration of them."
With this promise closes the first instaln:ent of "Mr.
Soapy Sponge's Sporting Tour." The memoirs of the
painter Collins and Theodore Hook form the subjects
lOf two most interesting biographical articles. These
very attractive reminiscences of Theodore Hook are
appropriately introduced in th e.ATew Monthly Magazine,