12 OCTOBER 1889, Page 44

Winter Sketches from the Saddle. By John Codman. (Putnam's Sons.)—Mr.

Codman is a septuagenarian equestrian who writes some very delightful sketches of his wanderings in Westchester County, New York. A cultivated and intelligent observer, he knows exactly what his readers would probably like to know, and never bores us with travelling details. That a septuagenarian's sketches should partake of a past generation, need not surprise us. But Mr. Codman goes still further, for at his various halts he gleaned historical matter of the War of Independence, which gives a romantic flavour to his reminiscences. He tells us some stirring and realistic stories of Andre, Arnold, Smith, and Washington, which haunted the old inns of New York State. Winter Sketches is very pleasant reading, and takes the reader along without an effort. There is, indeed, but one fault, a rather sudden step from a Capital and Labour discussion to a storm at sea. For the rest, it is a charming and neat little volume.