Before leaving St. Petersburg you have to give two or three days' notice, so that your name may appear in the Gazette, and thereby ensure the due discharge of claims upon you. You are also furnished with a new passport, instead of viseing the one you brought with you, thereby supplying a few extra fees to the officials, which I consider to be the chief object in keeping up this abominable system. We left St. Petersburg in a small steamer, and embarked at Cronstadt in the "Vladimer," a Russian steamer, very beautifully fitted up, with two cabins on deck, one for the captain and the other for the use of the passengers; the bulwarks, rather too high, and so obstruct the view, but at the same time protective in foul weather. The accommodation was very good, and the supply of provisions most ample, but not all suited to the English palate. In the evening we had a glorious sunset, and the following day passed a lighthouse built upon a rock jutting out of the sea; then Reval, situated on a high coast, and in three days arrived at Stettin, having had a most enjoyable passage. Among the passengers was a young Russian count, an officer in the army, and, though only 27, had been in several severe engagements without receiving a single wound. He was a most intelligent young man, well acquainted with the history of most of the countries in Europe, and free in his remarks upon the faults of his own, so much so that I did not fail to remind him of Siberia. Approaching the Prussian coast, I observed the first star since entering the Baltic. A few miles before landing we were boarded by a number of custom house officers, a very good arrangement, saving much time and inconvenience. The search was in no way strict after declaring that we had no tea or leather. Having to wait three or four hours for the train to Berlin, we walked about the town, viewed a very remarkable statue of Frederick the Great, and also entered an old church containing a very ancient organ and pulpit wonderfully ornamented. The railway carriages, like most others on the Continent, greatly excel ours; the 1st class have three spacious seats, the 2nd two double seats, and the 3rd much like our 2nd. It is a good line, and I should think made at a moderate cost, there being few cuttings or embankments, and not many bridges; the rails appeared to be about seven yards long. On both sides we observed extensive fields of grain, and many women among the reapers. The city of Berlin is situated on a level sandy plain, and has many wide streets and numerous public buildings, boulevards and other delightful walks. The king's palace, though very extensive, has a shabby appearance. The state apartments are decorated with good paintings, tapestry, and large chandeliers of solid silver; and there is a beautiful chapel, with the floor ornamented with various marbles; also a library containing 500 Bibles in different languages and editions.