Many thousands of the readers of Graham’s Magazine, will be glad to welcome in this form this admirable sea novel, which was published in this Magazine in 1840. It was one of the most popular articles that ever appeared in this country, and now that the author avows himself, he will justly be placed among the foremost writers of the age for directness and energy of style, graphic force of description and skillful delineation of character. Cooper, in his palmiest days, never excelled the splendor of some of the descriptive passages of this writer. Many of the incidents we learn, for the first time, are taken from events that occurred during the war, and the whole story is drawn from the original log-book of a privateer of 1812, now in the possession of the author. It is refreshing to turn to the natural, patriotic tone of this work, after wading through the sea of indifferent books, which now-a-days make up the marketable cheap literature; and we thank Mr. Peterson, on this account, for allowing the Cruisings to appear. It will find a welcome and a response in the hearts of all pure men; and purchasers wherever a spark of patriotism lingers. It is sold at the cheap rate of twenty-five cents, and by the hundred at a still lower price. * * * * * Philadelphia Academy of Fine Arts.—We had hoped to be able to notice the Spring Exhibition of this Society, but cannot do justice to the splendid array of home and foreign talent on the walls of its Galleries, in the present number; our comments must, therefore, be delayed until next month. A large number of paintings have been received from Europe, in competition for the prizes offered by the Academy. Among these, we may enumerate the following: “Ahasuerus, King of the Medea and Persians, exalting Mordecai,” by P. Van Schendel, of Brussels; “Wrecking and Succour,” and “The Schelde in a fresh gale,” by P. T. Schotel, of Mendembled, Holland; “The Auspicious Moment,” and “The Recovery,” by Carl Hubner, of Dusseldorf; “An Auction Scene,” by A. W. Wedeking, of Bremen; two “Views in the High Alps,” by G. F. Diday, of Bremen; “Amphitrite and Diana,” after Moreto’s Spanish comedy, “El desden con el desden,” by J. Schoppe, of Berlin; “Ruins of Castle Teck on the Suabian Alps,” by H. Herdtle, of Stuttgard; “Judith and Holofernes,” by E. Jacobs, of Gotha; “The Marseillaise first song by Rouget de Lisle,” by Godefri Gaffens, of Antwerp; “A Lake Scene,” by Ildephonse Stoequart, of Antwerp; “Abraham receiving the Divine Promise,” by J. A. Kruseman; “Joseph and Potiphar’s Wife,” by François Vinck, of Anvers, Belgium; “Tobias Receiving his Wife,” and an “Italian Peasant Girl,” by Edward Ihlee, of Cassel; “The Judgment of Solomon,” by Jh. Van Severdonck, of Brussels; three panels, “Adam and Eve finding the dead body of Abel,” “Abel carried to Heaven by an Angel,” and “Cain in the power of Satan,” by Edward du Jardin, of Antwerp; “The Penny of Cæsar,” by Joseph