The Sun.
London, England, 1856-09-01 00:00:00

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communicate with the guards betwee IF - jt.
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they consist eaeh of inunense coin ial 1 part _ ' .
GO or 100 persons may be placed. These ' ITsickk ./,
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and front to the engine, the travellers sit thigoppfil S
site each other, but net so close that their knees
sometimes meet, as upon some of our rail ways.
Then the doors are not at the sides at all, but at
the end of this long compartment, down the whole
length of which there is a spacious gangway, open-
ing left and right into each pair of opposing seats,
which, besides, have side rails or supports for the
arms. Thus when a passenger enters he neither
inconveniences, nor even touches, anybody as be
proceeds up the longitudinal central gangway, in
starch of the place that may suit him, -on either
hand .If he is tired, Or wishes to change his seat,
or to breathe a little fresh air on the exterior land-
ing, or to stretch himself; or even to take a little
walk, he can of course do so with the same im-
munity from annoyance on the part of the rest. If
he wishes to sleep, nobody will knock against him
to disturb his rest. There are no sudden draughts,
no banging of doors, no discomforts. Another very
remarkable difference exists. People may be taken
seriously ill in various ways during a long stage.
On no Eni,lish railway, and on no European rail-
way excspt this new one from St. Petersburg to
Moscow, is any provision made for such a contins
geucy. Here, without being more specific, I may
say that the trains contain, to a certain degree, the
same resources as au hotel or a ship. Finally, such
a thing as a quarrel, an assault, or misconduct on
the part of one pas,enger towards another, is pos-
sible, and has frequently occurred. Under such
circumstances it is surely an immense advantage
to be able to communicate with the guard. I leave
out of the question etses of general danger to the
whole train, as from fire. In short, we may learn
even from the Russians. Last in the field, they
avoid some of our absurdities. Thus it was with
their northern capital which, in its sedileship,
and the sanitary plan of its streets, as well as
in their regularity and commodiousness, surpasses
all cities. Thus, again, it is in the structure of their
railway carriages, which are, so far, as superior to
ours as civilisation—experience at other people's
'cost—and
consequent forethought are to barbarism,
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first attempts, and improvidence. The commum- !'iss.s.`„,il4-&::;1L.,
cation I have mentioned between passengers and
guard extends all through the train—the landing
of each long carriage, where the officer stands, being
also the landing of the next, and so on from the
rearmost tender to the engine.
The stations between the two capitals are 20 in
number, viz., beginning with the most northern,
Kolpina, Tosuina, Luban, Pomerania Tchudor,
Volkoff, Maloareetchen, Okuloff, Valdai, Bologod-
skoi (hero the government of St. Petersburg termi-
nates, and that of Moscow begins) Vechee•oslocholc,
Speerovskoi, Ostashkovskoi, Tverskoi, Zaverdov-
skoi, Podvolnetenoi, Krukovskoi, Caimskoi, and
Moskovskoi, or Moscow. None of the intermediate
stations are considerable as towns. Most of them
are wooden villages. Close to the railroad is a large
dome-like building, where the wood is chopped,
the water boiled, &c., for the service of the line.
The stations themselves are very large, convenient,
and fine. Most people breakfast before they come
to the St. Petersburg station ; yet the train stops
20 minutes for breakfast at Pomeranie. It stops
again for 15 minutes' lunch, again half-an-hour for
dinner, again 15 minutes for tea, again 20 minutes
for supper. The expense of each meal is according
to what one takes. A cup of coffee with a rusk is
eightpence (25 copecks). Dinner to a hungry
person cannot be less than a rouble under the
mildest circumstances (i. e., 3s. 2d.) His tea will not
stand him in less. His supper will be equal in cost
to his dinner ; and, in the down journey superior
to it in quality. -Where no set meals were prepared,
refreshments, nevertheless, could always be ob-
tained. Even where no regular rooms for the par-
pose adorned the station, rows of tables, spread
with " passmeutee," and common, ancient, national
Russian dainties, even at night, twinkled under
their little lamps, and under a brilliant moon, at
every halting-place. The halt, moreover, is sel-
dom for less than 10 minutes. It is these continual
and prolonged stoppages, and not the rate of speed,
which make the journey last 22 hours. It is
considerably under 700 versts—.and there are nearly
four versts to the English mile. The distance from
Paris to Strasbourg is nearly as great, and the jour-
ney is performed in 12 hours. The distance from
Paris to Bordeaux requires but 11 hours, and yet
from St. Petersburg to Moscow 22 hours are con-
sumed, although the speed, when the train is in
motion, averages 30 miles an hour. At every sta-
tion everybody seemed to me to eat everything, to
drink everything, and to smoke everything. The
train was full of Russian officers. I found them
as I have always found them, and as all agree that
they are, singularly intelligent and singularly
polite. One of them, an aide-de-camp of the Grand
Duke Michael, whenever I asked him what station
this or that was, replied at first with a jocular de-
scription as correct as that with which he imme-
' diately rectified it. "Where are we now ? Now
we are at breakfast ; now we are approaching lunch
—you see it yonder over the forest. Now you can
sec dinner behind that lake. The green roofs in
the moonlight are tea. That spire which glitters
upon the banks of the river is supper. Ali ! this
village with the booths ranged in a semicircle
down the bank is the first meal between ;
that village, looking just like the other, with
booths and tables and bottles just like the other
is the second meal between." Every place
wore a uniform, and resembled every other
along the line—not in the accidents of the scenery,
or the aspects of the landscapes, which formed their
backgrounds—but in the arrangements close to the
railway. The same blue lamps, the same tents,
booths, tables, laid out in the same mannere—bot-
ties and jugs in the open air, shaped in the same
manner, placed in the same order. An immense
round bottle to the right of the row—a small one
next it. Thirty miles further you thought you be-
held them again glittering in the bright starlight
on the self-same table. Military discipline seemed
to have got hold even of the vessels wherein vodki
and quass were sold. If the little flask presumed
to leave its rank, you felt sure the big one would
put it under arrest. By the time we had travelled
into the hours of a magnificent moonlight, almost
all the Russians who did not wear uniforms were
gay with wine, beer, and spirits. A young broad-
faced, good-humoured individual, "at supper,"
assured 150 people that he had the previous day
divorced his wife ; and, catching some words of
English which I had spoken to a friend, he addressed
me in that language, which he said he had learnt in
six weeks during a visit to London, and told me
that he was a " Russian King." As I looked
astonished, he said, " Yas, oh, yas, king—prince."
People seemed to pay him considerable attention,
and he proceeded to harangue them about the du-
ties of wives till the boll rang. The country from
St. Petersburg to Moscow is a. dead level; not a
single tunnel the whole way. There are two or
three very fine viaducts, one over the -Volga, where
it is still young and small, about 100 versts to the
north of Moscow. As you proceed south, the
dreary expanse of alternate forest and morass
changes into noble pastures and preposterous-look-
ing farms of enormous extent, still girdled in the
distance with the belt of low forest. The timber is
small, and almost wholly some variety of the fir
tree. At St. Petersburg, on the day I left (Mon-
day), the officers of the St. Jean d'Acre were to be
presented to the Emperor at Peterhof':

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Tug Rossucx TXSTIMONIAL.—A meeting of the
above committee has been held at the Councill-ball,
Sheffield. Ald. W. Fisher, jun., occupied the chair,
and there were present W. Fisher, Esq., sen., Aid.
Dunn, W. Smith, Esq., Dam House ; Mr. M. Beal,
Mr. R. J. Gainsferd, and other gentlemen. It wail
stated that the subscription to the testimonial amounted
to nearly 1,4001. ; and it was resolved that a thousand,
guineas be presented to Mr. Roebuck, and the remain-
der devoted to the purchasing a portrait of the hon. gen.
tleman, if it was agreeable to him that this course
should be adopted. The presentation will take place on
Wednesday next, at the Music-hall, Sheffield, at seven
o'clock. The portrait will be placed in one of the public
buildings,

INAUGURATION OE THE WELLINGTON STATUE AT MAN.
CHESTER. —The statue of the late Duke of Wellington,
erected in front of the Royal Infirmary, at Manchester.
was inaugurated on Saturday. The area in front of the
infirmary, which a few years ago was mainly occupied by
a sheet of water, has now been converted into a spacious
flagged promenade, with fountains rising from two basins
of water, so placed as to leave a space between them for
a central statue, while the statues of Peel and Wellingtoe
occupy sites of about equal magnitude to therightand left
of the fountains. It is intended that the central space shall
some day be occupied by a statue of the Queen. The eta-
tue of Wellington is a full-length bronze figure, 13 feet
high, designed by Mr. Noble, the sculptor, .tending
upon a square granite pedestal, 19 feet high, with sub-
ordinate figures at each of the four angles—one repro-
senting Valour, and the others Wisdom, Victory, end
Peace. The figure represents the noble Duke in the
character of a senator, and the likeness is a very truth-
ful one. The ceremony of the inauguration drew to-
gether an immense concourse of people. The mayor and
corporation walked in procession from the Town•ball to
the Infirmary, accompanied by the Bishop of Manchester
and the principal subscribers to the statue, which has
cost about 7,000/. Lieut.-General Sir Harry Smith and
his staff were also present, with troops of the 7th Dra-
goon Guards and 25th Infantry, to aid the police in
keeping the lines. The authorities having taken their
places on a platform provided for the occasion, an ad-
dress was delivered by Mr. Alderman Barnes, who nar-
rated the circumstances connected with the erection of
the statue, and in the name of the subscribers handed it
over to the mayor and corporation of Manchester. The
mayor having, on behalf of the corporation, accepted
the statue, commanded it to be unveiled, which was done
amid loud cheering, the band playing the national
anthem, and the fountains beginning to play simultane-
ously. Addresses were afterwards delivered by the
Bishop of Manchester and Sir Simi% and the pro.
ctediDgq teralivatocl,