26 APRIL 1884, Page 23

English Rambles, and Other Fugitive Pieces. By William Winter. (Osgood

and Co., Boston, U.S. ; Triibner, London.)—We are always pleased by what travellers from the other side of the Atlantic say about our country. To ourselves, they are not always complimentary; but England itself—the finish and neatness of its fields, the sump- tuous expanse of its parks, its unfailing greenery, due to causes which only a summer visitor can appreciate without any arriere pensJe —all these things supply the subject of an unfailing panegyric. The " English Rambles " of Mr. Winter are ten in number ; three of them being given to London, anclgone, of course, to Stratford-upon-Avon. Three of the pieces are given to Longfellow, one containing some very interesting " Personal Recollections." The poet had, it seems, like other famous men, some strange visitors. One addressed him in these words, " Mr. Longfellow, I have long desired the honour of knowing you. Sir, I am one of the few men who have read your Evangeline: " Another, who found his way into the study, pro- posed to give him a bottle of the Carminative which be sold if he would write some verses to be stuck on his wares; and a bottle, he assured him, was worth a dollar. The Elegy on Longfellow is a graceful piece of verse ; indeed, Mr. Winter has a special gift for writing " In Memoriam " verses, and even complimentary poems in general. We may mentiou that addressed to Lawrence Barrett.