Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1873-04-16

Strict Police Arrangements and
Their Excellent Resuifs-Drtving
i'm the Streets. .
We have had some startling changes in
temperature during the last thirty six hours.
On Sunday afternoon the Thermometer stood
at six degrees below zero. Yesterday after
noon, at the same hour, IL was tdirty six
degrees higher, Standing within two degrees
of freezing point, while this morning it is
four or five degrees above freezing, and
the snow is rapidly acquiring pasty
consistency. During the severe frost
it lay in a fine dust, and the most hardy as
we'll as most mischieVous boy could scarcely
have formed it into snow-balls; but to-day
these might be made with ease and rapid
ty. -bslling, however, Is a game
which does not enter into the mind Of the
Russian youth. Snow is to him the nor
NAL state of things, as much so as mud is
to the London Arab, and happily it does
not occur to either 10 utilize the handy me-
dunn into weapon ofoffence or medium
of annoyance against passers-by. 1t Is
possible, indeed, that as the London Arab
delights in hurting the unaccustomed snow
ball, 80 the Russian gamin may make use Of
the unusual luxury of mud in the same way,
but imagine that the policeman is here too
omnipres mt TO permit of these playful out
bursts. The police system of st. Peters
burg is admirably managed and almost per-
feet in its efficiency. At almost every cross
road policeman is stationed. His duty is
to supervise the traffic, and inquire into and
report upon cases of collision. Other p0-
Ecemen walk about between these station
ary officials The whole police govern
ment is very paternsl aud very strict, but at
the same time very just. Do sledge driv-
ers come into collision, the driver who is in
the wrong is fined, perhaps Imprisoned. Is
there brOil in a cafe, the persons in the
wrong are discovered aud punished; If they
be foreign, they are ordered at once to the
frontier.
The system may be despotie, but at any
rate it has the advantage of working ex-
Iremely well. It is marvellous that more
collisions do not take place in the streets,
considering the immense number Of veai
Giles and the tremendous speed at which
most of them are driven. Horses are
never allowed TO gaIl0p in single or pair
harness, bat they are urged TO 60 at tbs
fastest psce which they can possibly reach,
and, as the horses in the private sic CHS are
generally fiEe animals. with great speed,
and the drsught of the sleigh is a mere
nothing, the pace at which they push along
is really alarming. A coachman in Lon
don, driving within four miles an
hour of the same rate Of speed, wouir-
be at once charged by the police with fud
ious driving. The absence of accidents is
the more surprising when it is remembered
that with all this throng of vehicles, many
of them driven at an apparently reckless
speed, there is an entire absence If sound.
The slaighs themselves are absolutely
noiseless, aud the powdered sn0 ' complete
" mufflss the horses' tread. This ahsolGte
silenca in so busy scene is, to neW
conner, in the highest degree impressive,
and gives it an unreal and shadOwy eff sct.
The English method of driving a pair Of
horses with pole is now almost universal
IL used with the private turnouts in st.
Petersburg, although, occasionally, in
the sleigh Of some staunch upholder of old
Russian customs, tEo horses may be
seen driven il the native fashion, that is,
with one horse trotting in the shafts and
The other cantering alongside. This hiss an
ugly and lop-sided appearance bat the
same system, as carried out in the troiks,
or three horse sleigh, is striking and effect
i've. Here the middle horse is in the shafts,
and Is never allowed 10 break his trot,
while those upon the other side Of him go
at canter. The great pecuiiarity, how
ever, is that tho outside horses 60 with
their heads upon one side. They are train
ed By being kept ia the stable with their
heads strapped srou d to one shoulder, ard
By being always driven SO, to keep their
head arched round SO that their nostrils
nearly touch their outside shoulder.
Unnatural as the position IS, they become
accustomed TO it, and it does not appear to
detracs from tine speed. The effect, when
the horses are coed, aud the trolka is driv-
en- at full speed, is striking, and not so I'M
natural as would be imagined. have said
in previous letters that the motion of an or
binary one-hoTse public sleigh is no more
exbilsrating and decidedly rougher than
that of London cab, but must own that
a drive in the country behind two really
fast horses is glorious. Such a drive had
two days since. The weather was fine and
clear, the cold far below zero, with a good
deal of wind, and as we dashed across the
News at fully 70 lrteea miles an hour, one
felt that it behoOved one to tske care of
ones ears. Indeed, my companion re-
quested me several times to tell him what
color his ears were, and the answer was
upon two occasions 80 UGfayorabls that
there was halt, and a good rub with
handful of snow. 1t was only, however,
when crossing the various arms of the river,
or when driving. as We did upon our way
out, directly in the face of the wind, that
the cold was really unpleasant; al other
times one was able to enter with unanoyed
pleasure upon the excitement of the easy,
rapid motion, and upon the great beauty of
the scene through which we were passing.
-COrTespOadsnL London Times