“ A second volume of lyrics, The Inn of Strange Meetings, was issued in 1871; and in 1872 he produced his longest and best sustained poem, The British Birds, a communication from the Ghost of Aristophanes. He also wrote several capital novels, the best of which is perhaps Sweet Anne Page (1868) . Some of his lyrics, in their light grace, their sparkling wit, their airy philosophy, are equal to anything of their kind in modern English. On his second marriage in 1868 he settled at Knowl Hill, Berkshire. Collins was an athlete, an excellent pedestrian, and an enthusiastic lover of country life ”