Beadle's New York Dime Library No. 255

# Museum Catalog Note

This September 27, 1883 issue features "The Pirate Priest; or, The Planter Gambler's Daughter" by Colonel Prentiss Ingraham, a serial romance of mystery and adventure set on the Gulf of Mexico fifty years prior. The narrative opens with Bradford Carr, a Maryland tutor, discovered at a murder scene with his rival Soule Ravelle dead; he is arrested by Barton Keys despite protesting innocence. The story then establishes the Blue Anchor Inn, a seaside resort on Galveston Sound operated by retired Captain Jake Curtis, frequented by wealthy planters and merchants. Carr had previously saved planter Rufus Brandt from robbers in Baltimore, earning employment as tutor to his children. At the resort, Carr competes against Brandt's daughter Maud's other suitors—including the dissolute Ravelle—and wins all tournament prizes. Ravelle arrives and insults Carr; Carr strikes him, and Ravelle apologizes. Maud learns of the confrontation through her maid Ellizette and suspects Ravelle's intentions.