At length his castle irksome grew,
He loathes his wonted home;
His native country he forsakes,
In foreign lands to roame.

185

II.

ST. GEORGE AND THE DRAGON.

The following ballad is given (with some corrections) from two ancient black-letter copies in the Pepys Collection: one of which is in 12mo. the other in folio.

Or Hector's deeds did Homer sing;

And of the sack of stately Troy,
What griefs fair Helena did bring,

Which was sir Paris' only joy:

And by my pen I will recite

St. George's deeds, an English knight.

Against the Sarazens so rude

Fought he full long and many a day;

Where many gyants he subdu'd,

In honour of the Christian way:
And after many adventures past
To Egypt land he came at last.

Now, as the story plain doth tell,

Within that countrey there did rest

A dreadful dragon fierce and fell,

Whereby they were full sore opprest:
Who by his poisonous breath each day,
Did many of the city slay.

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15

The grief whereof did grow so great

Throughout the limits of the land, That they their wise-men did intreat

To shew their cunning out of hand; What way they might this fiend destroy, That did the countrey thus annoy.

The wise-mer all before the king

This answer fram'd incontinent;

The dragon hone to death might bring
By any means they could invent:

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His skin more hard than brass was found,
That sword nor spear could pierce nor wound. so

When this the people understood,

They cryed out most piteouslye,

The dragon's breath infects their blood,
That every day in heaps they dye:
Among them such a plague it bred,
The living scarce could bury the dead:

No means there were, as they could hear,
For to appease the dragon's rage,

But to present some virgin clear,

Whose blood his fury might aswage;

Each day he would a maiden eat,

For to allay his hunger great.

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This thing by art the wise-men found,

Which truly must observed be; Wherefore throughout the city round

A virgin pure of good degree Was by the king's commission still Taken up to serve the dragon's will.

Thus did the dragon every day

Untimely crop some virgin flowr, Till all the maids were worn away,

And none were left him to devour: Saving the king's fair daughter bright, Her father's only heart's delight.

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Then came the officers to the king

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That heavy message to declare,

Which did his heart with sorrow sting;

She is, quoth he,, my kingdom's heir:

O let us all be poisoned here,

Ere she should die, that is my dear.

60

Then rose the people presently,

And to the king in rage they went;
They said his daughter dear should dye,
The dragon's fury to prevent:
Our daughters all are dead, quoth they,
And have been made the dragon's prey:

65

And by their blood we rescued were,
And thou hast sav'd thy life thereby ;
And now in sooth it is but faire,

For us thy daughter so should die.
O save my daughter, said the king;
And let me feel the dragon's sting.

Then fell fair Sabra on her knee,

And to her father dear did say,

O father, strive not thus for me,

But let me be the dragon's prey;

It may be, for my sake alone
This plague upon the land was thrown.

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75

Tis better I should dye, she said,

Than all your subjects perish quite;

80

Perhaps the dragon here was laid,

For my offence to work his spite:

And after he hath suckt my gore,
Your land shall feel the grief no more.

What hast thou done, my daughter dear,
For to deserve this heavy scourge

85

It is my fault, as may appear,

Which makes the gods our state to purge;

Then ought I die, to stint the strife,

And to preserve thy happy life.

90