_The Poets and Poetry of America to the Middle of the Nineteenth Century. By Rufus Wilmot Griswold. Tenth Edition, Revised and Enlarged. Philadelphia: Carey & Hart. 1 vol. 8vo._ The popular estimate of this work is indicated by its passing through nine large editions in seven years. The present, which is the tenth edition, is almost a new book. The editor has corrected faults of judgment and selection, which necessarily occurred in the first edition, and had availed himself of the benefit of the criticisms, friendly and unfriendly, which it called forth. The poetical literature of the country has also grown considerably during the last seven years, and Mr. Griswold has therefore added many exquisite pieces of Emerson, Longfellow, Whittier, Holmes, Lowell and Poe—excluded some poems, and put better ones by the same authors in their place—and introduced into the body of the book liberal selections from the new poets, Palmer, Lunt, Hoyt, Clarke, Parsons, Cooke, Fields, Wallace, Hirst, Mathews, Taylor, Boker, Read, Legare and Butler, are among the additions. The book, in its present form, gives a fair idea of American verse in all its varieties of individuality and style. It is still open to objections, and is doubtless capable of further improvement; but we think that the editor has more to fear from the anger of poets who suffer from the austerity of his taste, than from that of readers who sometimes suffer from its exceeding tolerance. As a whole, the book is very attractive, and we wish it another seven years of success, and a passage into edition twentieth. * * * * * _Poems. By John G. Saxe. Boston: Ticknor, Reed & Fields. 1 vol. 12mo._ This collection of metrical pieces, inspired by the muse of frolic and fun, is sure of popularity. The writer’s favorites among the poets, seem to be Pope and Hood, the bard of satire and the bard of puns; and his own poems are full of good specimens both of keen hits and felicitous word-twisting. The two satires, “Progress,” and “The Times,” show a vivid perception of the ludicrous in conduct and life, and “The Proud Miss Bride” puts words on the rack to good purpose. The author’s love of wit and humor amounts to poetical inspiration, and the volume contains much of the poetry as well as the versification of mirth. Mr. Saxe has not a bit of gall in his disposition, and his severity is as genial as it is gingerly. Buoyant spirits dance through his satire, and there is nothing waspish even in its sting. Nobody can read the book without envying the writer’s happy disposition, or without having some of it communicated to himself. * * * * * _Philo: an Evangeliad. By the Author of “Margaret.” Boston: Phillips, Sampson & Co. 1 vol. 12mo._