OF CHRISTENDOM. 431

enough left alive to bury the dead. For this reason the king
had made it known, that if any valiant knight would come for-
ward to fight with the fiery dragon, and kill him, be should re-
ceive the hand of the princess royal in marriage, and on the
king's death should reign over Egypt.

When St. George heard this, he declared that he would him-
self fight the dragon, for the sake of the princess and the whole
kingdom. Early the next morning, St. George set out to find
the fiery dragon. He had not gone far, before he saw the prin-
cess Sabra, with some of her women, who were loudly weeping”
‘Tor the cruel state of the count: Our hero rode up to them,
and told them he was resolved cither to kill the dragon or to
perich in the trial. The fair Sabra was struck with surprise on
finding that a stranger would engage in an attempt of so much
danger, which the stoutest of the Egyptian champions had
shrunk from with fear: but she thanked him in a proper man-
ner, and, by St. George's advice she went back to her father’s
palace, to wait for the issue of the great event. As soon as our
hero had reached the cave, the dragon sent forth such a dread-
ful roaring as seemed
to shake the earth ;
and at the first
onset St. George's
spear was broken to
pieces, and he him-
self was thrown
from his horse. He
then boldly drew
his sword, an
though almost sti-
fled by the mon-
ster’s breath, he