Books with author Oliver 1822-1897 Optic

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CONTENTS. PAGEChap. I.—The Plantation of Redlawn 11Chap. II.—The Edith goes down to Green Point 21Chap. III.—Master Archy receives an Unlucky Blow 31Chap. IV.—Dandy determines to "watch and wait." 41Chap. V.—The Tragedy at the "Dead Oak." 51Chap. VI.—A Vision of the Promised Land 62Chap. VII.—The Isabel is prepared for a Cruise 73Chap. VIII.—The Departure of the Young Fugitives 84Chap. IX.—The Fugitives reach Lake Chicot 95Chap. X.—Breakfast on board the Isabel 107Chap. XI.—The Bay of the Bloodhounds 117Chap. XII.—Quin, the Runaway 128Chap. XIII.—The Night Chase on the Lake 139Chap. XIV.—The Battle for Freedom 152Chap. XV.—The Fate of the Slave-Hunters 164Chap. XVI.—In the Swamp 176Chap. XVII.—Cyd has a Bad Fit 187[Pg 8]Chap. XVIII.—The Affray on the Lake 199Chap. XIX.—Lily on the Watch 211Chap. XX.—Preparing for the Voyage 220Chap. XXI.—Down the Lake 229Chap. XXII.—The Isabel runs the Gantlet 241Chap. XXIII.—Colonel Raybone changes his Tone 252Chap. XXIV.—The Young Fugitives make a Harbor 264---THE PLANTATION OF REDLAWN.One soft summer evening, when Woodville was crowned with the glory and beauty of the joyous season, three strangers presented themselves before the Grant family, and asked for counsel and assistance. The party consisted of two boys and a girl, and they belonged to that people which the traditions of the past have made the "despised race;" but the girl was whiter and fairer than many a proud belle who would have scorned her in any other capacity than that of a servant; [Pg 12]and one of the boys was very nearly white, while the other was as black as ebony undefiled. They were fugitives and wanderers from the far south-west; and the story which they told to Mr. Grant and his happy family will form the substance of this volume.The plantation of Colonel Baylie Raybone was situated on one of the numerous bayous which form a complete network of water communications in the western part of the parish of Iberville, in the State of Louisiana. The "colonel," whose military title was only a courtesy accorded to his distinguished position, was a man of immense possessions, and consequently of large influence. His acres and his negroes were numbered by thousands, and he was largely engaged in growing sugar and rice. The estate on which he resided went by the name of Redlawn. His mansion was palatial in its dimensions, and was furnished in a style of regal magnificence.[Pg 13]The region in which Redlawn was situated was a low country, subject to inundation in the season of high water. The sugar plantation was located on a belt of land not more than a mile in width, upon the border of the bayou, which, contrary to the usual law, was higher ground than portions farther from the river. The lower lands were used for the culture of rice, which, our young readers know, must be submerged during a part of the year....

CHAPTER I.IN WHICH PHIL COMES HOME WITH PLENTY OF FISH."Hollo, Phil!"That was the name to which I answered, especially when it was spoken as decidedly as on the present occasion."I'm coming," I replied, at the top of my lungs.I had been a-fishing in a stream which flowed into the Missouri about a mile above my home. I had been very successful, and had as many fish as I could carry. I was gathering them up, after I had fastened my bateau to the stake, and intended to convey them to the Castle, as our log hut was rather facetiously called by its owner."Phil! Phil!" repeated the voice above the bluff of the river.It was Matt Rockwood who called; and as he was the only master and guardian I had ever known, I always obeyed him—when I could not help doing so. His tones were more imperative than before, and I proceeded with greater haste to gather up my fish, stringing them upon some willow twigs I had just cut for the purpose.Crack went a rifle. The sound startled me, and, dropping my fish, I ran up the steep bank of the river to the summit of the bluff on which the Castle was located."What's the matter?" I asked, when I reached the spot by the side of the house where Matt stood."Don't you see?" he replied, raising his rifle again, and taking aim.I looked in the direction towards which his weapon was directed, and saw two Indians, mounted, each of whom had a led horse."Them pesky Injuns hes stole our hosses," added old Matt, as he fired his rifle the second time. "'Tain't no use; I might as well shoot at the north star."The two Indians, with their animals, disappeared in the forest beyond the clearing, and Matt's last chance was gone. A few years earlier in the life experience of the old squatter, the thieves would not have escaped so easily, for Matt was a dead shot before the rheumatism took hold of him. Now he hobbled about a little on a pair of rude crutches I had made for him; but his eyes were rather weak, and his arm was unsteady. His rifle was no longer unerring, and the thieving savages could plunder him with impunity.

The second volume of the Woodville Stories contains the experience of Richard Grant, "in school and out." We are sorry to say that Richard had become a bad boy, and was in the habit of getting into the most abominable scrapes, some of which are detailed in the first chapters of this book. But he is not what is sometimes called a vicious boy, for he has many good qualities, which redeem him from absolute condemnation. There is something noble in his character, which is the germ of his ultimate salvation from the sins which so easily beset him.

NORTHERN LANDS, the second volume of the second series of "YOUNG AMERICA ABROAD," describes the varied experience of the juvenile tourists of the Academy Squadron in the Baltic, and during their journeys in Russia and Prussia, and their voyages between the different ports in these countries. Compared with most other countries of Europe, but little has been written about Russia, and the greater portion of this volume related to that interesting nation. The author writes from his own notes and recollection, so far as scenery, manners and customs are concerned, but he has made diligent study and use of all the material within his reach, including much that was gathered abroad. Perhaps the young people will vote that this is the dryest book the author has ever presented to them, because it contains the most useful information; but he hopes they will not neglect the historical part, which is sometimes stranger than any fiction.

However much the author of "WATCH AND WAIT" may sympathize with that portion of the population of our country to which the principal characters of the story belong, he is forced to acknowledge that his book was not written in the interests of the anti-slavery cause. His young friends require stirring incidents of him, and the inviting field of adventure presented by the topic he has chosen was the moving spring which brought the work into existence; and if the story shall kindle any new emotion of sympathy for the oppressed and enslaved, it will have more than answered the purpose for which it was intended, and the writer will be all the more thankful for this happy influence.

"TAKEN BY THE ENEMY" is the first of a new series of six volumes which are to be associated under the general title of "The Blue and the Gray Series," which sufficiently indicates the character of the books. At the conclusion of the war of the Rebellion, and before the writer had completed "The Army and Navy Series," over twenty years ago, some of his friends advised him to make all possible haste to bring his war stories to a conclusion, declaring that there could be no demand for such works when the war had come to an end. But the volumes of the series mentioned are as much in demand to-day as any of his other stories, though from their nature the field of their circulation is more limited.

William Taylor Adams (July 30, 1822 – March 27, 1897), pseudonym Oliver Optic, was a noted academic, author, and a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives. Adams became a teacher in the Lower Road School in Dorchester, Massachusetts in 1843, he resigned from his position as master of the school in 1846 in order to assist his father and brother in the management of their new hotel in Boston, the Adams House hotel. Adams decided that he preferred teaching so in 1848 he returned to teaching this time at the Boylston School in Boston. In 1860, Adams was promoted to the position of master of the Boylston School. When the Bowditch School was founded, Adams transferred to that school as its master, a position he held until he resigned from teaching in 1865. This experience naturally brought him closely into contact with boys, and he learned much of what interested them, which had a good deal to do with his eventual success as an author. Extensive travel abroad and a deep knowledge of boats, farming, and practical mechanics were other factors that gave his works reality.