The Sun.
London, England, 1845-03-03 00:00:00

NEW MONTHLY MAGAZINE.

Let the lovers of "mirth and marvels" rejoice—
Thomas Ingoldsby is again in the field, and opens
the present number of the New Monthly, with " A
Lay of St. Romwold." It is so • long since we have
had anything from the pen of Thomas Ingoldsby, that
we were afraid he had retired to some
" Sacellum or cell,
In which chronicles tell,

Saints and anchorites erst were accustomed to dwell,
as he himself singeth in the " Lay of St. Romwold,
but we rejoice to say that he has arisen, " like a gian
refreshed," and is as quaint, as mirthful, and as mar-
vellous as ever. The Lay is followed by a continua-
tion of the "Talleyrand Papers," containing the history
of Cerutti, the coadjutor of Alirabeau and Talleyrand
in starting the first popular journal ever published
in France, the Feuille Fillageoise. Cerutti had been
in early life a Jesuit, having been entrapped into becom-
ing a member of the society by a series of the most un-
principled and heartless intrigues ever recorded. their
object in inveigling Cerutti was to get possession of
his estates, and in order to secure the possession they
murdered his brother Cesario. After reading the re-
velations of Cerutti we cannot help thinking that
the fears of assassination entertained by Al. Ville-
main are not altogether so ill-founded as we in Eng-
land have been led to suppose. This is followed by
a continuation of " Lights and Shades in the Life of a
Gentleman on Half-pay," from the pen of the
author of " Stories of Waterloo." " D'Arcey's Visit
to a Circassian Chief," " The excursion up the
Oronooka," and " The Roberts's on Travels"
are continued in the present number. From this
latrer work we extract the following sketch of a
class of English travellers, who are the pest of the
continent. Mrs. Trollope has been often charged ,
with caricature and exaggeration ; we can, however,
from our personal knowledge, vouch for her strict
accuracy in the present instance, and are rejoiced to
find that she remarks—
" The fast class are, on their native soil, of littte im-
portance to us compared with the injurious effect they
produce on the reputation of their countrymen abroad.
There is not a capital in Europe, to say nothing of spas,
baths, wells, and so forth, where a knot of these frolick-
ing, rollicking Englishmen may not be found, not only
doing pretty nearly every thing that they ought not to
do, but doing it with such audacity of display, as of ne-
cessity brings all eyes upon them ; while by thus thrust-
ing themselves and their noisy impertinence perpetually
on the foreground, they contrive very effectually to keep
the better class of English travellers comparatively out
of sight, leaving their own precious sayings and doings
to be quoted by all the nations of the earth, a.s the moral
and intellectual type of the British people.
" This is a pity, and cannot fail to be much lamented
by the patriotic English both at home and abroad; for
the class is perfectly well known at home, and the effect
they produce when on their travel is guessed at without
much difficulty. But although the class of men denomi-
nated fast men may be perfectly well known in Eng-
land, and sufficiently studied without leaving it, there is
another class sent forth by our overflowing population,
which can only be seen in perfection abroad, namely,
that awful portion of the travelling tribe, properly deno-
minated ' fast ladies.' Of this class, the women of Eng-
land who remain at home have, I really hope and be-
lieve, no idea whatever; and were it not that these too,
from the noisy audacity with which they bring them-
selves forward, are frequently pointed out as specimens
of English women of fashion, it would be desirable to
leave them in the shade in which their insignificance at
home would naturaly place them; but as it is, it may
be useful to raise a voice, however feeble, just to tell all
whom it may concern, that the fast young ladies who are
led about by their papas and mammas, from kingdom to
kingdom, and from city to city,_flirting and frolicking
in a style peculiarly their own and with such freedom
from all ordinary young lady-like restraint, as entitles
them to the said epithet of fast, are not specimens of the
gentlemen's daughters of England."
" We laugh at our French neighbours for the blunders
they make with our titles; but the Sir Bulwer and the
Sir Scott, does greatly less discredit to their quickness
than the judgments which they pass so freely upon the
deficiency of grace in English manners. Not only the
French, however, but all other nations of Europe, be-
fore they can justly appropriate to themselves the merit
of discernment while passing this judgment, must rouse
their acuteness to the task of not mistaking a bad speci-
men for a good one."

The " Frog and the Fox" is a history of the career
of a parish demagogue, b 7 Peter Priggins, and
" Born under the Dog Star, is a lively sketch of the
career of a thorough mauvais sujet, from the pen of
one of the most rising of our young writers, Angus
B. Reach. The Number concludes with a sketch of
the literary career of poor Laman Blanchard, the most
amusing of authors and the most kind-hearted of men.

COLBURN'S UNITED SERVICE MAGAZINE.
Our friend Major Muffin continues his amusing
conversations in the present Number. " The Re-
miniscences of a French Prison" are also continued.
These reminiscences increase in interest as they proceed.
We are sorry to take leave of the Naval Chaplain,
who concludes his " Note Book" this month, but we
hope soon to meet with him again. The remainder
of the articles are of a strictly professional character.