One year ago the writer of the letters which follow, visited the Battle
Field of Waterloo. In looking over many relics of the combat preserved
in the Museum there, he was particularly interested in the files of
journals contemporary with the action. These contained the Duke of
Wellington's first despatch announcing the victory, the reports of the
subordinate commanders, and the current gossip as to the episodes and
hazards of the day.

The time will come when remarkable incidents of these our times will be
a staple of as great curiosity as the issue of Waterloo. It is an
incident without a precedent on this side of the globe, and never to be
repeated.

Assassination has made its last effort to become indigenous here. The
public sentiment of Loyalist and Rebel has denounced it: the world has
remarked it with uplifted hands and words of execration. Therefore, as
long as history shall hold good, the murder of the President will be a
theme for poesy, romance and tragedy. We who live in this consecrated
time keep the sacred souvenirs of Mr. Lincoln's death in our possession;
and the best of these are the news letters descriptive of his
apotheosis, and the fate of the conspirators who slew him.

I represented the _World_ newspaper at Washington during the whole of
those exciting weeks, and wrote their occurrences fresh from the mouths
of the actors. Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1865,

By DICK & FITZGERALD,

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the
Southern District of New York.