* * * * * _Tam’s Fortnight Ramble, and other Poems. By Thomas Mackellar. Phila.: Carey & Hart. 1 vol. 12mo._ The modest preface of this elegantly printed volume is enough to smooth the wrinkled front of criticism. The writer is, we believe, an intelligent printer, who has made verse the solace, not the occupation of his life. It would be hard to try his volume by any severe requisitions of criticism. It is hearty, earnest and genuine, and fairly expresses what is in the man. The little poem entitled, “The Editor sat in his Sanctum,” has been very popular. The principal fault of the author is his habit of disturbing the train of serious feeling which he often awakens, by some expressions which trail along with them ludicrous suggestions. * * * * * _Appleton’s Railroad and Steamboat Companion, being a Traveler’s Guide through New England and the Middle States. By W. Williams. New York: D. Appleton & Co. 1 vol. 12mo._ We allude to this book, not so much because it is the best and most complete traveler’s guide ever published in the United States, as for the information it contains respecting the cost and fares of railroads, and the sketches of every town and village they pass through. It is not until we see them all set down together in one book, that we appreciate the money expended, and the obstacles overcome in building them, and the vast impetus they have given to the productive energies of the country, and to civilization. * * * * * _Washington and the Generals of the American Revolution. With Sixteen Portraits on Steel, from Original Pictures. Philadelphia: Carey & Hart. 2 vols. 12mo._ These volumes contain upward of ninety biographies, varying in extent, according to the importance of the subjects and the means of obtaining accurate information regarding them. As a whole they are interesting, well written, and reliable. A book on so important a subject cannot fail of success.