Graybeard, the Sorcerer

This Beadle and Adams dime novel, *Graybeard, the Sorcerer; Or, The Recluse of Mont Royale* by C. Dunning Clark, depicts colonial Montreal in its early settlement period. A mysterious, embittered man of middle age—the titular Graybeard—watches the city from Mont Royale, nursing plans for vengeance against those who wronged him fifteen years prior. From hiding, he observes Colonel Victor Lefebre, a handsome French officer, ascending the mountain with Coralie Lavalle, a young noblewoman of unknown parentage who pursues a mission to discover her true father and regain her family name. When Lefebre attempts a romantic declaration, Coralie refuses him, explaining she cannot marry until her parentage is established. The Recluse suddenly emerges, cryptically accusing Lefebre of crimes including forged letters and the sacrifice of a noble man at Quebec, prophesying divine retribution and warning Coralie against the colonel before vanishing into the forest.