Ashtabula weekly telegraph. [volume] (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1853-1873, 1859-11-19
Cleveland Correspondence.

CLEVELAND, Nov. 9, 1859.
FRIEND REED:-The winter solstice of
amusements in our city, may now he said to
have fairly set in. And consequently lee
lures, concerts, balls and festivals Of all
descriptions, are the order of the day, or
rather, of the night. The course of lectures,
under the auspices of the Young Mems
Christian Association, was begun week
or so ago by the Rev. Geo. B. Cheever, of
n. Y, and next Thursday the course before
the Library Association will be inaugurated
by lecture from the Rev. T. Starr King,
Of Boston. The Rev. DR.. Baird, of n.
Y, is now engaged in delivering highly
interesting course of lectures upon Europe.
The lectures were began last week, and
will be concluded the next. Two or three
being given each week. This will be by
far the most useful aud entertaining course
of lectures ever given in Cleveland, upon
any subject whatever, in my opinion, and
has so far given the highest satisfaction to
all who have attended The lecturer, as
some of your readers are aware, has re-
sided in different parts of Europe, during
large part of the last twenty-five years, aud
has during that time, Travelled very exten-
sively through all parts of it, and at many
different times, under the auspices of some
of the religious benevolent societies in this
country, and is considered by those that
know him, to be better informed in respect
to it, than any other man now living.
From his connexiou with the above So
cietes, among which is the American Bible
Society, and from other reasons, he has
had personal interviews, and has become
acquainted with nearly every sovereign in
EurOpe-intimately so with some of them,
and thoroughly understands the political,
social aud religious condition--both past
and present-of every country.
1t is really charming to hear one of his
conversational lectures-he is a rapid speak
er, with great deal of qniet humor, and
is as full of information as nut is of meat
And he has the power of giving that, which
is really tie most valuable, directing the
attention to those points, in the character
of the country, and the people and its po-
litical and religious associations, which are
of the most Importance to US to know, as
Americans.
As he well remarked, Europe should be
better understood here among US, than it is.
We are deeply interested in its history, its
welfare, and its people. We ourselves are
Europeans by descent, and we are contin-
ually receiving thousands of emigrants from
them among US. We have extensive and
growing commercial relations with its sew
eral countries, and our political interests
are becoming more and more connected
with them.
Besides all that, Europe and America
roles the world. Europe and America has
nearly all the civilization, the christianity,
the refinement, the wealth and the power
Of the globe. 1t behooves Americans,
therefore, to become more intimately ac-
quainted with the condition of the Euro
pean part of the old world, so that we may
more intelligently study the signs of the
times, aud learn to know what part we
should take in the reformatory movements
of the age, upon both that continent aud
this. The lecturer first takes up Europe
as whole, and then in the succeeding lee
lures, devotes the evening exclusively to
one, two or three countries. The lecture
upon Russia, that immense empire, that oc-
cupies half of Europe aud half of Asia,
was intensely interesting, aud that last night
upon Holland, Belgium and Germany, was
not less so.
'Tis amazing to see what wonderful
people these Hollanders are, aud have been
for q thousand years-more particularly
for the last few hundred years, since they
have had civil and religious freedom. Aud
to hear of their dykes, canals, aud wind
mills, and their great refinement and wealth,
and of their glorious history, leads US to
exclaim in the language OF one OF them,
"Te Dutch be great Beeples."
And then Germany, what an immense
empire and yet have singularly united to-
gether, one people nearly, and yet such
heterogous governments. They are like
rope Of sand, aud will sooner or later give