New-York daily tribune., 1858-11-02


all he can make /. is BOT to be wondered at,
however, that the receipts OF the road last year
exceeded the exIeUditures By lew thousand
rutles only
The fact il. even yet, the road does not appear
10 be conducted with view 10 profit. The way
traffic and travel which railroad companies else
where make u point rs oeucouragr s here entirely
NEGLECTED. There are none but through train.,
ana but q single passenger tram daily Besde
this no freight is taken 1T the way stations, unless
there should happen to be = little room to spare,
after the through freight is cared for. Tver,
through which the road passfs, Is at tie head of
navigation on the Volgs, and, after MINI Noygorod,
TIE chief center Of trade with TIE regions watered
b, that mighty river, as far ss the Caspian Sea;
yet, an informed there is no special provision
made Tor afording the facilities Of communication
which this place go much needs.
Russia, however, is sOon to be covered with
general system of railroad communication, which,
when com pleted must exercise vast influence on
her productive aud commercial activity. road
from Moscow to Mini NoygorOd the Volga,
where the grand annual fair Is held, has been com
menced, AID will probably be finished in from three
TO Eve years. The distance is about 2jU miles, and
The estimated expense $4,000 per mile. The road
from st. Petersburg TO warsaw little over 700
miles in ength--has been in progress for some
wears past, and will be finished it is said, by the
close Of the year 1850. in September 1t VIII be
orened as far as Pskoy German, "Pleskow J. at
the head Of Lake Pcipus, and TO Dwinaburg,
whence branch road to Riga is now building, in
tie course of next year. Near KOvno II will be IN
tersected by another branch from K0nigsburg via
Tilsit ard GumbinDeu, whereby there VIII be
direct communication between 81. Petersburg and
Berlin.
The other projected roads, the building of which
has been contracted for by French company, but
not set commenced, are from Libau, on the Baltic,
eastery through Witepsk and SmOlcnsk to the
large manufacturing town Of Tula, ll2 miles south
of Moscow; and another from the latter city to
Charkof ill the Ukraine, with branches to Odessa
and the Crimea. The former Of these viii be
nearly 200 miles in length, and the latter at least
LOCO The cheapest plan for the Russian Govern
uent TO build railroads. would undoubtedly be,
to permit the formation OF private companies for
that purpose In Middle and Southern Russia, the
cost Of construction would certainly be no greater
than in Illinois, where if / remember rightly, the
roads are built for half the amount of the lowest
estimate have heard here. The effect OF these
improvements upon the internal condition OF Rus
sa can hardly be overvalued. They are III fact but
the commencement of still grander system OF
communication, which, little by little, will thrust
its iron feelers into Asia, and grapple with the
inertia of four thousand years.
To return to our journey. Tie halts at the
way stations were rather Ong-6ve, ten, fifteen
minutes, and at Tver, where we arrived at 5
o'clock half an hour for dinner In this respect
as in every other, the arrangements were most
convenient and complete. We had good meal at
a reasonable price, and were allowed a rational
time to est it, At every one of the other stations
there was neat booth provided with beer, qvass,
soda water, lemonade, cigars and pastry. Most of
the passengers got ont and smoked their cigarettes
at these places, as the practice is not allowed in
side the cars. There is seccnd-class carriage es-
pecially for smokers, but is obliged to take out
a license 10 smoke there for which he pays
ten rubles. The Russians are nearly all smokers,
but tie custom is very strictly prohibited in the
lagos.
The country, slightly undulf ting in the neghbor-
hood of Moscow, becomes level you approach
the Volga. The monotOny of which have spoken
in prevous letter is its prevailing characteristic
Great stretches of swamp or Of pasture ground,
fields of rye and barley, and forests Of fir and birch,
succeed one another in unya!ing sameness. Now
o,d hey lie al
green sea, streaked with rosy foam-drifts of flow
ers-a luxurant Summer-tangle of copse and
woodland or white village church, with green
domes rising over silyery lake Of rye; and these
pictures beautiful in themselves, DO not become
less so by repetition The Volga is certainly the
most interesting object in the whole course Of the
Journey Tyer, a city Of 81, 900 inhabitants on its
night bank, is conspicuous from the number of its
spires and domes Along the bank lie scores of
fat -bo,toned barges, RATS and vessels of light
draft The river here is scarcely so large the
Hudson at Albany, flowing in sandy bed, with
frequent shadows. But, like the Danube at Ulm,
il is not the smsness of the stream which occupies
your thoughts. You follow the waters, In imaei-
nation. to the old towns Of Yaroslsv and MINI
Novcorod. to the Tartar Kazan and the ruins Of
Bulgar, through the steppes of the CosSacks and
Krehzes, to the Caspian Sea and the foot of an
cient Caucasus.
The sky was heavily overcast, so that in spite Of
our high latitude, the night was dark. therefore
did not see the Valda hills, which We passed
toward midnght-the only real hills in Russia
proper, west of the Cra Mountains Itwss among