Criterion [New York], 2 (31 May 1856), 74.

For a companion under the broad branches of an old elm in the hot summer days, when the light breeze ripples the dank hair, and just flutters the end of the white handerkerchief hanging over the knee, or for an after-dinner hour, keeping company with us to the borders of dream-land, and soothing the senses into repose, as with the sighings of distant music, or for any other odd corner of time into which a book, but only a first-rate one, will exactly fit, we recommend Mr. Melville's collection of Piazza Tales. The readers of Putnam should be glad to get these capital stories, or rather sketches, in such a compact form, and those who have not read them in that periodical, may herein find a consolation for the neglect, in additional present enjoyment. The volume contains The Piazza, an introduction; Bartleby, a quaint tale, based upon living characters; Benito Cereno, a thrilling, weird-like narrative, which, read at midnight, gives an uncomfortable feeling to a powerful imagination; The Lightning-Rod Man, that shows that Mr. Melville can, if he so chooses, write a very indifferent paper; The Encantadas, a series of charming descriptions; and The Bell Tower, which, when we read some time since, rang in our mind for days after.