each Series. 16mo. Illustrated.

_First Series._

I. _OUTWARD BOUND;_ OR, YOUNG AMERICA AFLOAT.

II. _SHAMROCK AND THISTLE_; OR, YOUNG AMERICA
IN IRELAND AND SCOTLAND.

III. _RED CROSS_; OR, YOUNG AMERICA IN ENGLAND AND
WALES.

IV. _DIKES AND DITCHES_; OR, YOUNG AMERICA IN
HOLLAND AND BELGIUM.

V. _PALACE AND COTTAGE_; OR, YOUNG AMERICA
IN FRANCE AND SWITZERLAND.

VI. _DOWN THE RHINE_; OR, YOUNG AMERICA IN
GERMANY.

_Second Series._

I. _UP THE BALTIC_; OR, YOUNG AMERICA IN DENMARK
AND SWEDEN.

II. _NORTHERN LANDS_; OR, YOUNG AMERICA IN
PRUSSIA AND RUSSIA.

III. _VINE AND OLIVE_; OR, YOUNG AMERICA IN SPAIN
AND PORTUGAL.

IV. _SUNNY SHORES_; OR, YOUNG AMERICA IN ITALY
AND AUSTRIA.

V. _CROSS AND CRESCENT_; OR, YOUNG AMERICA
IN GREECE AND TURKEY.

VI. _ISLES OF THE SEA_; OR, YOUNG AMERICA HOMEWARD
BOUND.

PREFACE.

DIKES AND DITCHES, the fourth of the "YOUNG AMERICA ABROAD" series, is a
continuation of the history of the Academy Ship and her consort in the
waters of Holland and Belgium. As in its predecessors, those parts of
the book which lie within the domain of history and fact are intended to
be entirely reliable; and great care has been used to make them so. The
author finds his notes so copious, and his recollections of the Low
Countries so full of interest, that he has felt obliged to devote a
considerable portion of the work to the geography and history of the
country, and to the manners and customs of the people; but there is so
much that is novel in the region itself, and so much that is stirring
and even "sensational" in the history of the sturdy patriots of Holland,
that he hopes his young friends will not complain of the proportion in
which he has mingled his material. It would be a very great happiness to
him to have excited a sufficient degree of interest in these countries
to induce the boys and girls to read Mr. Motley's inimitable works, "The
Rise of the Dutch Republic," and "The History of the United
Netherlands." The writer is confident that young people will find these
volumes quite as attractive as the story books of the day.

DIKES AND DITCHES has its independent story of the adventures of the
students. Though the Academy Squadron has thus far been remarkably
fortunate in the character of its instructors, Professor Hamblin proves
to be an exception, and the crews of the ship and her consort a