There are few buildings which would be considered of a permanent character visible from the railway train at the stations. They are generally built for the accommodation of some small town close at hand. Wood, generally to be found in the West before the prairie lands are reached, furnishes the material of which most public edifices and private habitations are constructed; and invariably there is to be seen, wherever a dozen such houses are placed together, one structure, generally the most important of all--the school; and a church and a printing office. These are great agencies. Nothing has perhaps done more to develop the energy of the American people than the amount of general intelligence which has been diffused by the State from the very outset of the Republic by the system of Common Schools, which dates far back, long previous to the successful assertion of their independence by the colonists, and which was grafted upon the institutions of the country. The line of rail regulates its course by the windings of the Kansas River for nearly 200 miles, and as we journeyed on the dim outlines of the Rocky Mountains could be discerned, and they gradually strengthened and grew high and broad as we sped westwards. Towns of which we had never heard rose up imposingly on the plain. Lawrence and Topeka, capital of the State (60 miles from Kansas City), and smaller settlements in a wonderful country. "What have these people done," exclaimed one of my companions, "that God should be so good to them?" And that was said more than once, I think, and would be felt far oftener by distressed agriculturists if they could see the country. All day long we ran through this land of fatness, conversing with our new companions, whom we found very intelligent and agreeable. There was a fresh "crew" on board our ship, but we found no reason to regret the change, loth as we had been to part with our late attendants. The sun set over the western slopes, night fell--our companions retired to their own carriages, and after a talk over our new experiences we followed their example.