of the winds. Rushing up as he crashed to the earth, Sir
Bedivere struck off the hideous head, grinning in death, to be a show
to those in the tents below.

"But let them behold it in silence and without laughter," the King
charged Sir Bedivere, "for never since I slew the giant Ritho upon
Mount Eryri have I encountered so mighty an adversary."

And so they returned to their tents with daybreak.

_A Doubting Thomas_

It is strange to think that Brittany, one of the cradles of Arthurian
legend, could have produced a disbeliever in that legend so early as
the year of grace 1113. It is on record that some monks from Brittany
journeyed to England in that year, and were shown by the men of Devon
"the chair and the oven of that King Arthur renowned in the stories of
the Britons." They passed on to Cornwall, and when, in the church at
Bodmin, one of their servants dared to question the statement of a
certain Cornishman that Arthur still lived, he received such a buffet
for his temerity that a small riot ensued.[60] Does not this seem to
be evidence that the legend was more whole-heartedly believed in in
the Celtic parts of England, and was therefore more exclusively native
to those parts than to Continental Brittany? The Cornish allegiance to
the memory of Arthur seems to have left little to be desired.

_Arthur and the Dragon_

The manner in which Arthur slew a dragon at the Lieue de Greve, and at
the same time made the acquaintance of St Efflam of Ireland, is told
by Albert le Grand, monk of Morlaix. Arthur had been sojourning at the
Court of Hoel, Duke of Armorica, and, having freed his own land of
dragons and other monsters, was engaged in hunting down the great
beasts with which Armorica abounded. But the monster which infested
the Lieue de Greve was no ordinary dragon. Indeed, he was the most
cunning saurian in Europe, and was wont to retire backward into the
great cavern in which he lived so that when traced to it those who
tracked him would believe that he had just quitted it.

In this manner he succeeded in deceiving Arthur and his knights, who
for days lingered in the vicinity of his cave in the hope of
encountering him. One day as they stood on the seashore waiting for
the dragon a sail hove in sight, and soon a large coracle made of
wicker-work covered with skins appeared. The vessel grounded and its
occupants leapt ashore, headed by a young man of princely mien, who
advanced toward Arthur and saluted