Down The Rhine

Down The Rhine
by Oliver Optic (William Taylor Adams)

Down the Rhine, the sixth and last volume of the first series of "Young America Abroad," is the conclusion of the history of the Academy Squadron on its first voyage to Europe, with the excursion of the students and their friends into Germany, and down its most beautiful river. As in the preceding volumes of the series, brief geographical descriptions of the country visited are given, with a sketch of its history, and of whatever may be peculiar or interesting in its manners and customs. The travellers enter Germany by the way of Strasburg, and visit Freiburg, Schaffhausen, Constance, Friedrichshafen, Ulm, Stuttgart, Carlsruhe, Darmstadt, Baden-Baden, Heidelberg, Frankfurt, Mayence, Bingen, Bonn, Coblenz, Cologne, Dusseldorf, and Aix-la-Chapelle; but only the most interesting features of these places are noticed.

The story part of the volume relates mostly to a trip of the squadron from Havre to Brest, and the cruise of the Josephine up the Mediterranean, in which the writer has endeavored to show that even injustice is not to be redressed by resorting to evil deeds; and he is quite sure that the sympathies of his readers will always be with the members of the "Order of the Faithful."

As the author has before had occasion gratefully to acknowledge, the success of this series has far exceeded his anticipations; and in bringing the first series to a close, he again returns his thanks to his friends, young and old, who have so often and so earnestly encouraged him in his agreeable labors,—all the more agreeable because they are so generously appreciated. He intends, during the coming year, to make another trip to Europe, for the purpose of visiting all the countries mentioned in the titles of the second series; for he is not inclined to write about any country until he has seen it. If no unforeseen event intervenes to defeat his plans, the remaining volumes of Young America Abroad will soon follow.

About The Author :-

William Taylor Adams, American author better known and loved by boys and girls through his pseudonym Oliver Optic, was born July 30, 1822 in the town of Medway, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, about twenty-five miles from Boston.

After his first book Hatchie, the Guardian Slave brought only modest success, his next attempt, which was a collection of stories, was more successful. He then completed a book in 1855 for boys called The Boat Club. This book was so well received he followed it with five more in the Boat Club Series, after which many other series quickly followed.

Extensive travel abroad and the events of the Civil War, along with his personal knowledge and experience with boats, farming and practical mechanics, provided William massive quantities of material for his works, and nothing could stop his writing. Over a million copies of his books, alone, were sold. His motto in writing was "First God, then Country, then Friends."

Mr. Adams writing ceased only when death came quietly in his home in Dorchester (Boston) on March 27, 1897 at the age of seventy-five. His works, however, live on throughout time, with many continuing to be republished even to this day.