The author of this volume is guilty, as Pitt said of himself, “of the atrocious crime of being a young man,” and appears now for the first time before the public. But, though young, he has evidently seen and experienced more than most old men. His knowledge of life has been obtained from a residence in the Great West, and by a Campaign in Mexico. The present novel is one of much interest and power, indicating great freshness, quickness, and force of mind, and is particularly rich in promise. The scenes in Mexico, including the description of the battle of Buena Vista, and the whole trial scene toward the end of the volume, are especially felicitous. * * * * * _Caprices. New York: R. Carter & Brother. 1 vol. 12mo._ This volume of poems, we should say, was the production of a sensitive imagination and reflecting mind, gifted at present with more receptivity than original power, and having a greater experience of Tennyson, Emerson and Longfellow, than of actual or ideal life. The author has a wide command of language, no mean powers of description, and a tremblingly delicate sensibility for the beautiful and the grand, but his present volume is more the promise than the performance of a forcible and original poet. The very title indicates the fitful character of the pieces. * * * * * _The Daltons; or Three Roads in Life. By Charles Lever. New York: Harper & Brothers. Part I._ The author of “The Daltons” is so widely known for the heartiness and vehemence of his comic narratives that it is only necessary to announce his commencement of a novel to recommend it to attention. * * * * * FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS IN PREMIUMS. The proprietors of the “Dollar Newspaper,” in this city, offer five hundred dollars in premiums for the eight best stories written for that paper, and sent in before the 1st day of October next—the merits of the stories to be determined by a committee of literary gentlemen, whose names will be given when the award is made. Two hundred dollars is the premium for the best story; one hundred for the next best; fifty dollars each for the two next best; and twenty-five dollars each for the four next best. We have a long acquaintance with the proprietors of the “Dollar Newspaper,” and have not the slightest doubt that their proposition is made in good faith, and that all that they can do will be done to arrive at a just and impartial decision. No writer who is awarded a prize, could have any doubt of the prompt payment of the full amount awarded. The only condition imposed by the publishers is, that the scene of the story shall be American. Here’s a chance for the literati. * * * * * [Illustration: