he king's daughter. The king in despair
offered his subjects gold and silver instead, but they refused saying
that it was his own law and must be obeyed. They gave her, however
(this, though from the lives of the saints, is sheer fairy tale, isn't
it?) eight days grace, in which anything might happen; but nothing
happened, and so she was led out to the dragon's lair.

As she stood there waiting to be devoured, S. George passed by. He asked
her what she was doing, and she replied by imploring him to run or the
dragon would eat him too. But S. George refused, and instead swore to
rescue her and the city in the name (and here the fairy tale disappears)
of Jesus Christ. The dragon then advancing, S. George spurred his horse,
charged and wounded him grievously with his spear. (On English gold
coins, as we all know to our shame, he is given nothing but a short
dagger which could not reach the enemy at all; Carpaccio knew better.)
Most of the painters make this stroke of the saint decisive; according
to them, S. George thrust at the dragon and all was over. But the true
story, as Caxton and Carpaccio knew, is, that having wounded the dragon,
S. George took the maiden's girdle and tied it round the creature's
neck, and it became "a meek beast and debonair," and she led it into the
city. (Carpaccio makes the saint himself its leader.) The people were
terrified and fled, but S. George reassured them, and promised that if
they would be baptised and believe in Jesus Christ he would slay the
dragon once and for all. They promised, and he smote off its head; and
in the third picture we see him baptising.

I have given the charming story as _The Golden Legend_ tells it; but one
may also hold the opinion, more acceptable to the orthodox hagiologist,
that the dreadful monster was merely symbolical of sin.

[Illustration: S. GEORGE AND THE DRAGON
FROM THE PAINTING BY CARPACCIO
_At S. Giorgio dei Schiavoni_]

As for S. George himself, the most picturesque and comely of all the
saints and one whom all the nations reverence, he was born in
Cappadocia, in the third century, of noble Christian parents. Becoming a
soldier in Diocletian's army he was made a tribune or colonel. The
Emperor showed him marks of especial favour, but when the imperial
forces were turned against the Christians, George remonstrated and
refused. He was therefore beheaded.

For broad comedy the picture of S. Jerome and the lion on the right wall
is the best. T