wicked and weak, for Richard was the better and the abler man, but for the reason that the decision was in Richmond’s favor on Bosworth Field.  The only difference between Catiline and Caesar, according to an eminent statesman and scholar, is this:  Catiline was crushed by his foes, and Caesar’s foes were crushed by him.  This may seem harsh, but we fear that it is only too true,—­that it is in accordance with that irreversible law of the world which makes success the test of worth in the management of human affairs.  If Mr. Lincoln and his confidential officers would have the highest American places in after-days as well as to-day, let them win those places by winning the nation’s battle.  They can have them on no other terms.  That is one of the conditions of the part they accepted when they took upon themselves their present posts at the beginning of a period of civil convulsion.  If they fail, they will be doomed to profound contempt.  In the words of the foremost man of all this modern world, uttered at the very crisis of his own fortunes,—­Napoleon I., in the summer of 1813,—­“To be judged by the event is the inexorable law of history.”

HOW TO CHOOSE A RIFLE.

To the Editors of the ATLANTIC MONTHLY.

Some thirty years ago, a gentleman who had just returned from Europe was trying to convey an idea of the size and magnificence of St. Peter’s Church to a New-England country-clergyman, and was somewhat taken aback by the remark of the good man, that “the Pope must require a very powerful voice to fill such a building.”

The anecdote has been brought to my mind by the unexpected position in which I am placed, as the recipient of such a multitude of letters, and from such widely separated portions of the country, elicited by my article on Rifle-Clubs in the “Atlantic” for September, that I find myself called upon to address an audience extending from Maine to Minnesota.  Fortunately for me, however, the columns of the “Atlantic” afford facilities of communication not enjoyed by the Pope, and through that medium I crave permission to reply to inquiries which afford most gratifying proof of the wide-spread interest which is awakened in the subject.

Almost every letter contains the inquiry, “What is the new breech-loading rifle you allude to, and where is it to be had?”—­but a large proportion of them also ask advice as to the selection of a rifle; and with such evidence of general interest in the inquiry, I have thought I could not do better than to frame my reply specially to this point.

The rifle above alluded to is not yet in the market, and probably will not be for some time to come.  Only three or four samples have been manufactured, and after being subjected to every possible test short of actual service in the hands of troops, it has proved so entirely satisfactory that preparations are now making for its extensive production.  Thus far it is known as the Ashcroft rifle, from the name of the proprietor, Mr. E.H.  Ashcroft of Boston, the persevering energy of whose efforts to secure its introduction will probably never be appreciated as it deserves, except perhaps by those who have gone through the trial of bringing out an idea involving in its conception a great public benefit.