after returning home from his tour in early 1888, riley finished compiling his third book, titled "old-fashioned roses". arranged to appeal to british readers, it included only a few of his dialect poems and consisted mostly of sonnets. the book reprinted many poems riley had already published but included some new ones he wrote specifically for the book, including "the days gone by", "the little white hearse", and "the serenade." the book was riley's favorite because it included his finest works and was published by the prestigious longmans, green publishers with high quality printing and binding.