Winter is in its element. The sky, the air, and the snow-shrouded earth are in happy sympathy. The revel of nature with ice-clad rivers, snow-capped hills, frigid atmosphere, furious winds, and sudden thermo metrical variations, has made the past week memorable. Those who supposed that these were storms of but limited extent as to the area of country and the quantity of snow fallen, were greatly mistaken.

 From the Canada's to the Border States, and between the oceans, nearly all the land has simultaneously been draped in white. Our own City has come in for its full share. The streets and avenues have more than a natural depth, from the immense amounts deposited either by the drift of the gales or by the shoveling off the roof-tops. There is always a spasmodic effort at riddance of the snow from house-tops, side-walks and alleys, and there is but one receptacle the street.

 Hence the knee-deep granulated mass through which horses tug and flounder, and pedestrians wade and worry. Nor is it any laughing matter, comical and mirth-provoking as the display frequently is. Life and limb, of man and beast, are constantly hazarded. This week has been full of such perils. Many valuable animals have been ruined, and innumerable casualties to human kind have occurred. These happenings are not unavoidable. There is a recklessness or malevolence on the part of many drivers that cannot be too severely censured.

Scenes On Broadway

The scenes on Broadway during a single hour are enough to satisfy the most craving appetite for excitement. Yesterday, between Fulton and Canal streets, a number of persons, in dodging and struggling across, slipped and fell, narrowly escaping being trampled under the horses hoofs, or crushed beneath huge cart or stage wheels, the drivers making little or no effort to stop their teams, yet shouting, cursing, or jeering at the hapless victims. One young girl was thrown down by a cart-pole and fell under the horses feet, the driver making no effort to check the progress of the team. But the same occurrences are frequent on the various car routes. It seems to be a common sentiment among the drivers that pedestrians have no rights that they are bound to respect. It is either "get out of the way, or be run over."

The peril of the sidewalks through the week has also been great. One can scarcely proceed a block without witnessing several ludicrous and painful falls. Every vault cover, and hard granite slab is a dangerous man-trap, their slippery surfaces being certain to send the feet of the unwary flying off, it may be upward, and the head and body downward with terrible force. One instance on Park-row was peculiar, inasmuch as the obese victim was hurled headlong into a gutter snow bank, where he remained utterly helpless, his nether limbs struggling fantastically in the air, until extricated by intensely amused spectators. An elderly gentleman fell in Nassau-street, near Fulton, and was severely injured.

Street Obstructions

The street obstructions are more extensive than have been known in several seasons.

Broadway is more generally quoted, because of its great tide of travel that suffers. But as much of the snow is ground away, and the meltage drained at the slightest thaw, and sometimes quantities of it carted away, it is by no means the worst specimen, although bad enough. The narrow streets in the lower part of the city are almost impassably blockaded; carts are over the hubs, and no considerable amount of load can be drawn through it. The railroad avenues, where the sweepers have done their work, have long ridges of hard-packed snow three or four feet high by six wide, on either side of the tracks. A number of accidents have resulted from passengers attempting to get on or off, and sliding down these embankments to be bruised, dragged or crushed alongside the car. The immense total of losses from injured vehicles, delays, disappointments, impossibility to ship goods, and make any kind of time, would go far toward the expense of carting away great quantities of snow at the worst places.

The Cars and Stages

The car and stage lines yesterday made a better average of running time than upon the previous days of the stormy week. The most provoking delays occur on the Bleecker-street route, between Chambers-street and Printing-house-square. Opposite Chambers-street the cars invariably are thrown from the rails by the huge snow-banks on the curb, which might be at least cut away at small expense, and avoid hours of delay and an endless amount of inconvenience to the traveling public. The same difficulty was experienced on the Third-avenue rails in Chatham street, until the Company carted away the most of the impediments. A gang of nearly 200 men and forty teams were employed in that enterprise. The Fourth, Sixth and Third-avenue lines are very regular in their trips. The others meet more serious difficulties in narrow streets, sharp curves and sudden grades, but the regularity of time is about as good as possible under the circumstances. The stages are very prompt and regular.

The Ferries

A great deal of heavy ice is in the rivers and Bay. The most troublesome route is that to Staten Island. The distance is great and the leverage of large ice-fields very powerful. If an accident should occur midway on the passage. It would be quite difficult to get timely aid. The boats are running with very commendable caution, which has insured perfect safety. The time of the trips is unavoidably uncertain, averaging fifteen minutes behind time. The East River ferries have had great difficulty, especially last night, when the wind drove up a large quantity of ice, choking up the slips and blocking the wheels. The North River ferries, having more powerful and heavy boats, conquered the many difficulties of tide, wind-storm, and ice, with less trouble. The obstructions will probably disappear in a short time, as the fields are composed of soft material and are even now breaking up into lesser parts.

The Liberty-street and Cortlandt-street Ferries are delayed only a few minutes each trip. The Hoboken boats are delayed from ten minutes to half an hour each trip, and the Chambers-street boats run only every half hour. The embargo is worse at the end of the ebb-tide. Should a strong westerly wind arise, driving the ice on the Jersey flats, and crowding it against the New York shore, the river would be rendered almost impassable.

The Ocean and Sound Steamers

Several of the steamers which were to sail for European ports yesterday have postponed their departure until the first of the ensuing week, from causes growing out of the stormy weather. The North German Lloyd steamer Deutschland alone keeps her appointment, and left her pier at Hoboken today for Bremen, touching at Grimsby on the coast of Scotland, for orders. She takes out eighteen cabin passengers and ninety-five in the steerage. A very small number of these go back to their native land to do military duty. The cargo of the Deutschland is quite complete, consisting entirely of provisions and produce, chiefly corn, tobacco, lard, cotton, and flour. She takes no munitions of war. The steam-ship Main, of this line, which left Bremen on the 15th inst., is expected in today.

The India, of the Anchor line, advertised to sail yesterday for Glasgow via Londonderry, has not yet arrived, being detained most probably by storms. The Britannia takes her place. She has ten or a dozen cabin passengers and between forty and fifty steerage. Her cargo consists of grain, provisions and cotton.

The City of London, of the Inman line, has postponed her departure until tomorrow, owning to her late arrival here on account of heavy weather.

The National Steam-ship Company's steamship Holland is also delayed in her departure, having been unable to discharge her cargo on account of heavy weather. She will not sail before Tuesday, and will take out a full cargo of provisions, grain and cotton. The Sound steamers experienced great difficulty in their passage last evening. The ice in the Sound between Fort Schuyler and Montauk Point is very heavy and extensive.

Another Fall of Snow

As if the storm-king sighed for more days to conquer and more fetters to bind upon all nature, there was another wintry demonstration yesterday. Early morning came with murky clouds and a moist atmosphere. At 3 P.M. the clouds again commenced to sift down fluttering snow-flakes. They were well-sized glistening crystals, and fell with a noiseless uniformity. No wind of any amount was stirring until after nightfall, when the north-east breeze sprung up, and increased in volume as the hours grew later. At midnight it howled and roared about the windows and roofs with a freezing sound, although the air was moderately tempered, and a thaw was in progress. About two inches of snow had fallen up to midnight. At 7 A.M. the thermometer stood at 25 degrees; at 12 and 3 P.M., 30 degrees; at 9 P.M., 28 degrees; at 11 1/2 P.M., 29 degrees. It is quite likely that this fall of snow will considerably obstruct the railroads today.

Cruelty to Animals

Yesterday, as those who were obliged to be on the streets must have observed, was the most disagreeable day we have had since the first snow-fall this Winter. The sidewalks had been pretty thoroughly cleaned, and, as is usual on Saturdays, the traffic on the streets was very great. The railroad tracks were, as a consequence, covered with a layer of thick, unyielding, "mushy" snow to the depth of four or six inches, and there was a greater necessity for the use of double teams on all the cars than there has been at all. Nevertheless, the Broadway and Seventh avenue Railroad Company, in utter disregard of the rights of horses or of passengers, hitched up single teams to drag heavy loads from Central Park to Barclay-street and back through such slush. A car which left the depot about noon got down to the Astor House about 1 o'clock, the horses walking nearly all the way from Fourteenth-street to Canal-street, and resting at times to take breath. When they arrived at the hill on Barclay-street and Church, the team was utterly exhausted, and stood still, unable to move. The passengers got out and reported the facts to a couple of policemen, who remonstrated with the driver and conductor, and threatened to arrest if they appeared again with a single team in that condition.

There had been about seventy passengers on the car from Thirty-fourth street, and nearly half that number when the car got to the stand below. The indignant passengers would have arrested and imprisoned every director of the Company had they the power to do so at the time, and all unanimously and heartily condemned it as an outrage upon man and beast. Other cars with single teams continued to run on this line until 3 or 4 P.M. The Ninth-avenue road had no cars running at all, but on every other line east and west and cross-town double teams were used on every car. A few men with shovels and brooms were employed on them all clearing away the snow, and on the Third-avenue salt was freely sprinkled and the tracks kept in good condition. This line ran its cars more frequently and on better time, yesterday, than any other line in the City. Had Mr. Bergh's agents been around the railroad depots and along the lines of travel they would have had work enough for one day, and made money enough in fines to repay them for their trouble and for the injury done to the stock and to passengers. Such outrages by railroad corporations should be prohibited by law, and be rigidly enforced by City or State authority. But as it is now these corporations are not amenable to any higher power than their own consciences, which, in public estimation, are very peculiar things.

The Sleighing

What an uninteresting object to look at is a sleigh when there is no prospect of a snowstorm, but how it looms up into importance when there is the slightest hurry of the white flakes. One turns away with contempt from the dilapidated, looking affairs on runners that we sometimes see in the streets labeled for sale, and we are inclined to laugh in our sleeves at the absurdity of the owners in presuming to think that they can find a market for them. A market is found, however, in good sleighing times, when there is no sleigh so poor that is not found to be good enough for service.

In days of yore, every stage line in this City had one or more mammoth sleighs to use in sleighing times; but as the City now pays a large sum annually to keep Broadway clear of snow, these conveyances are not brought into requisition, the snow being removed too soon after its fall to make it worth while. The Bleecker-street and Jersey Ferry line, however, ran several of their large sleighs on Friday, and they were crowded with passengers, who seized this opportunity of getting a sleigh-ride. The disappearance of these mammoth sleighs, with the exception noted, from the streets, when New York is covered with snow, has robbed the scene on Broadway at these times of much of its picturesque ness, and the speedy removal of the deposit from the thoroughfares has made Fifth avenue the great City drive during the sleighing carnival.

We will inform those who do not know how much a sleigh-ride will cost in New York City that an ordinary "cutter" can be hired for an afternoon, or for a visit to McComb's Dam or High Bridge for $8; a four-seat sleigh for $13, and a six-seat for $16. Stylish "turn outs" are more expensive, and livery-stable keepers vary in their charges. Gentlemen ambitious of possessing a sleigh and appurtenances of their own can buy something respectable for $20, and from that figure can go on upward through different gradations of prices, to $1,250 the price of a sleigh sold a short time ago, which was one of not more than a dozen of the kind in the City. Eight hundred dollars was the price of another magnificent sleigh by the same maker. The cost of what is considered a "knobby turn out" is as follows: Sleigh, $75; a string of thirty-six bells, $10; robes, $30; total,$115.

A sleigh-ride would be robbed of half of its enjoyment without the merry jingling of the bells. A good string can be bought for $5. A silver-plated string can be bought for $30; a gold-plated one for $50 and an oroide one from $8 to $10. Some wealthy citizens who have a taste for harmonious sounds, carry with them in their sleighing excursions pure gold or silver bells. Good sleigh-robes, generally buffalo or bear skin, can be bought for from $25 away up into the fancy prices. Fine robes made of the skins despoiled from the white bear of Russia, are sold for from $75 to $125. Many sleighing parties go as far as Yonkers.

The sleighing yesterday was excellent, and presented a surface that made the runners glide like "greased lightning," to use a vulgar though apt expression. Central Park, Harlem-lane and Bloomingdale road resounded with vocal melody, rolled from the throats of sleigh excursionists, on Friday and last nights, and the keepers of the road-houses reaped a rich harvest. Toll was exacted over the bridges in the Park from the fair companions des voyages by their gay cavaliers, and racing and an occasional upset was the order of the days and evenings, though the fun of a "dump" in a snow bank is not of as frequent occurrence as when the basket-sleigh was in vogue, there being more danger of breakages.

The Trains and Mails

The various railroads were considerably blocked by the wet packing of the snow, and all the afternoon and evening trains were between one and three hours behind time. The Boston mail, due at 11 P.M., arrived at 12 1/4. The New York Central, due at 10 P.M., arrived at 12.33. The great Southern, due at 11:10 P.M., arrived at 12:50. The Long Island, due at 3:40 P.M. arrived at 8 3/4.