Henty series

My dear lads: Although so long a time has elapsed since the great civil war in England, men are still almost as much divided as they were then as to the merits of the quarrel, almost as warm partisans of the one side or the other. Most of you will probably have formed an opinion as to the rights of the case, either from your own reading, or from hearing the views of your elders.

In my preface to By Pike and Dyke I promised in a future story to deal with the closing events of the War of Independence in Holland. The period over which that war extended was so long, and the incidents were so numerous and varied, that it was impossible to include the whole within the limit of a single book. The former volume brought the story of the struggle down to the death of the Prince of Orange and the capture of Antwerp; the present gives the second phase of the war, when England, who had long unofficially assisted Holland, threw herself openly into the struggle, and by her aid mainly contributed to the successful issue of the war. In the first part of the struggle the scene lay wholly among the low lands and cities of Holland and Zeeland, and the war was strictly a defensive one, waged against overpowering odds. After England threw herself into the strife it assumed far wider proportions, and the independence of the Netherlands was mainly secured by the defeat and destruction of the great Armada, by the capture of Cadiz and the fatal blow thereby struck at the mercantile prosperity of Spain, and by the defeat of the Holy League by Henry of Navarre, aided by English soldiers and English gold. - Preface.

The British Empire has had noteworthy success in the way it managed its affairs with the countries of the world, leaving them to their established customs and laws. But when these allowances caused cruelty and enslavement to other nations who were innocent of any knowledge of these particular practices, England sought to check their actions. An exception to such remarkable political behavior is seen in her blundering South African confrontation with the Zulus and the Boers. Even though the British armies were finally rallied to prevent further adversities, England decided not to fight but to permit the Boers possession of Transvaal. This historic situation occurs as the Humphreys bring their African farmland into production. 14-year-old Dick makes good an opportunity to involve himself with the protection of a trade route to supply their farm. In these ordeals he has difficulties with alligators, lions, bull elephants, and tzetze flies as he delivers feed for the herds of cattle and oxen. Dick's adventures allow his family the possibility of prosperity.Please Note: This book has been reformatted to be easy to read in true text, not scanned images that can sometimes be difficult to decipher. The Microsoft eBook has a contents page linked to the chapter headings for easy navigation. The Adobe eBook has bookmarks at chapter headings and is printable up to two full copies per year. Both versions are text searchable.