Page:Renowned history of the seven champions of Christendom (1).pdf/4



HE valiant St. George, having left the other ix Champions, as you have heard, after ome few months travel, arrived within the Egyptian territories, which country was at that time annoyed with a burning dragon, whoe hunger, if it were not every day appeaed with the body of a true virgin, he would breathe forth uch a tench from his notrils, as infected the whole country with a horrible plague, which for four and twenty years together continued, till there was not one virgin left but the King's Daughter only, and he ready next day to be offered up in acrifice to him, if the dragon in the mean time was not detroyed: wherefore the King, her father, proclaimed, that whooever would combat with the dragon, and preerve his daughter's life, in renown thereof hould have her to wife, and the crown of Egypt after his deceae; all which was made known to St. George, by a hermit of that country; whereupon he reolved to undertake the adventure, and lodging with the hermit that night, the next morning mounting his teed, he took his journey to a valley, whither the King's Daughter was leading by age matrons to be made a prey to the dragon's jaws, whom our Englih Knight accoting, returning her back to her father, promied to kill that enemy of Egypt's health, or loe his life in the encounter, and o, like a bold adventurous knight, rode to the place where the dragon had his reidence.

This horrible dragon, whoe montrous proportion would have frightened any body but only St. George, as oon as he beheld him, wallowed from her hideous den, and gave him a fierce aault with her wings