The Brigantine

This issue of *Beadle's Dime Novels* contains two serialized narratives. The first, "The Heroine of Fort Laramie," by the author of "The Silver Bugle," presents a frontier romance centered on Fort Laramie, featuring conflict between settlers and the Sioux, with a heroine and themes of maternal devotion woven through the action. The second, "The Brigantine; or, Admiral Lowe's Last Cruise" by Decatur Paulding, U.S.N., is set in 1673 Dutch New Amsterdam. The narrative opens with historical description of early New York, then shifts to contemporary drama: Elvellynne Montford, a genteel woman, and Captain Vincent, a British naval officer, conduct a secret romance in the Dutch-controlled settlement. Captain Vincent visits her house on Princess Street; to avoid detection by Governor Colve's authorities, Elvellynne insists he wear a concealing cloak before departing to his ship, the Greyhound. The story develops their romantic tension against the backdrop of colonial occupation.