m 
 
 ^01 
 
 
 
 SIS 
 
 
 THE SURPRISING ADVENTURES OF 
 
 THE SEVEN CHAMPIONS 
 
 OF 
 
 A fiery dragon, whose infectious breath 
 Had spread o'er Egypt pestilence and death, 
 The brave St. George of England dared to meet, 
 Nor feared the fatal danger of defeat! 
 Boldly he rnsh'd up to the hideous beast, 
 And plung'd his trusty sword into its breast. 
 
 O 
 
 '4 
 
 m 
 
 IkrJ 
 
 BBVONFOBT: PRINTED AND SOLD BY S. Ss J. KBTS. gc^ 
 
 |5iff|3i5*S9»^ 
 
THE 
 
 SEVEN CHAMPIONS 
 
 OF 
 
 t Wk .« a; 
 
 
 Sl^® 
 
 <% 
 
 In the remote ages of the world, when en- 
 chanters committed all sorts of cruelties, an 
 orac e declared that seven champions would ^rise 
 in Christendom, whose renown for valiant deed<. 
 should resound throughout the earth. The I st 
 was St. Dennis of France ; the 2nd, St. Jam'es 
 
 4^^!'"/ ^^' ^"^' ^'- ^""'°"y of Italy ; the 
 4th S . Andrew of Scotland; the 5th, St. Patrick 
 
 1 7^""^' .*' ^'^' ^'- D^^-i °^ Wales; and 
 r! ' /"n- T\^ renowned, the valiant St. 
 <jeorge of England. 
 
SEVEN CHAMPIONS 
 
 Calyba, a powerful enchantress, dispatched 
 the evil spirits under her command to steal six 
 of these heroes, while in their cradles, and bring 
 them to her brazen castle. St. George, who was 
 born in Coventry, and son to the lord high 
 steward of England, she determined to secure, 
 for she was greatly afraid of him, St. George 
 having, at the time of his birth, the marks of a 
 green dragon on his breast, a red cross on his 
 right arm, and a golden garter on his left leg. 
 
 Calyba, entering the nursery, bore away the 
 lovely babe, leaving his distracted parents to die 
 of grief. 
 
 Calyba detained these youths in her castle till 
 they grew to be men ; when the beauty of St. 
 George's person so won upon the enchantress, 
 that she resolved to exert all her arts to induce 
 him to marry her. 
 
 One day she led him into a lofty stable, as 
 magnificent as a palace. In seven stalls, made 
 of cedar wood, inlaid with silver, stood seven of 
 the most beautiful horses. One of them, finer 
 than the rest, Calyba presented to St. George. 
 The name of this horse was Bucephalus, the 
 famous horse of Alexander the Great. She then 
 conducted him into a fine armoury, where she 
 buckled a beautiful corslet on his breast, placed 
 a helmet, with a lofty plume of waving feathers, 
 upon his head, and gave him a fine tempered 
 sword. St. George, thus armed for conquest, 
 looked so handsome, that Calyba knew no 
 bounds to her admiration ; and putting into his 
 hand the silver wand, with which she performed 
 all her enchantments, she told him to use her 
 power as he pleased. St. George, detesting the 
 practices of Calyba, received the wand with 
 
OF CHRISTENDOM. 3 
 
 pleasure, and when Calyba had retired to a cave 
 in a rock, to feast upon the bodies of murdered 
 infants, he waved the wand three times, when 
 the rock closed on the wicked enchantress for 
 ever. 
 
 He then departed, in company with the six 
 champions, towards Coventry, and erected a 
 magnificent monument to the memory of his 
 parents. 
 
 Early in the ensuing spring, the seven heroes 
 bade each other farewell, and took every one a 
 different road, in quest of adventures. St. 
 George travelled to Egypt, a country reduced to 
 a most calamitous situation, by a tremendous 
 fiery dragon, which tainted the air with his in- 
 fectious breath, in such a manner, that a pestilence 
 raged all over the land. The King then made 
 a proclamation, that if any valiant knight would 
 slay the fiery dragon, "he should marry the 
 princess royal, and succeed to the sovereigntv 
 of Egypt. 
 
 St. George resolved to fight the dragon, but no 
 sooner had he reached the cave, than the dragon 
 set upon him : St. George's spear was shivered 
 to pieces, and he was thrown from his horse. 
 He then drew his sw^ord, and soon felled his 
 enemy. The dragon then spread out his wings 
 to fly away ; but St. George, seeing a vulnerable 
 part, immediately stabbed him to the heart. The 
 monster expired, and the victor went in triumph 
 to the palace. 
 
 The King of Morocco then sent twelve armed 
 men to assassinate him. But St. George soon put 
 them to flight, and was received most graciously 
 by the princess Sabra, who presented him with 
 a diamond ring as a token of her affection. 
 
SEVEN CHAMPIONS 
 
 H' 
 
 The King of Morocco, although thwarted in 
 the plan he had devised for the destruction of 
 St. George — a plan in which he had the utmost 
 confidence, as he could not for a moment con- 
 ceive that it was possible for St. George to with- 
 stand the power of twelve such valiant men as 
 he had selected to put him to death — still felt an 
 unquenchable desire to be the instrument of St. 
 George's overthrow. In order to put this instru- 
 mentality in force, he bethought himself of a 
 scheme to inflame the breast of the King of 
 Egypt with an hatred against St. George no less 
 deadlv than that which reigned in his own heart. 
 Accordingly he persuaded the King that St. 
 George was an enemy to the Egyptian religion, 
 and that he would certainly endeavour to establish 
 the Christian Doctrine, and that the consequent 
 results would be the entire upsetting of the peace 
 and good order of his whole dominions ; that 
 devastation and bloodshed would ensue ; that he 
 would be dethroned, and doubtlessly become the 
 object of inveterate rage. The King of Egypt 
 knew not how to proceed ; he could not doubt 
 the veracity of so distinguished a personage as 
 the King of Morocco, and, therefore resolved to 
 annul his intentions respecting St. George. The 
 Egyptian King could not, however, in considera- 
 tion of the praiseworthy deed St. George had 
 accomplished in destroying the dragon, which 
 had restored health, cheerfulness, and felicity to 
 his people, believe him to be so base a man as 
 represented by the sovereign of Morocco; he, 
 therefore, would not order the punishment of 
 death (which is the law of the country for such 
 an offence as that with which St. George was 
 charged) to be put into execution upon the hero, 
 
1 
 
 OF CHRISTENDOM. ^' 
 
 the king considering that if he was slain within 
 his territories, of which he might justly term 
 him the saviour, no one else having fortitude 
 sufficient to attack the monster which by his 
 boldness had become extinct, his death might 
 be attended with an irremediable curse upon the 
 country ; but despatclied him with a letter to the 
 Sultan'^of Persia, desiring that prince to put the 
 bearer to death. 
 
 St. George departed with the letter : on his 
 arrival in Persia, he, to his astonishment, was 
 made prisoner, and put into a deep dungeon. 
 Two hungry and fierce lions were then put into 
 the dungeon ; but St. George, praying to heaven 
 for strength, burst his bonds, and finding an old 
 broken sword in the corner of the dungeon, he 
 laid both the lions dead at his feet. 
 
 The sultan was astonished at his prowess, but 
 spared his life, resolving to detain him in close 
 confinement, where we shall leave him at present, 
 to follow the other Champions of Christendom. 
 
 St. Dennis of France travelled into Arabia, 
 and being, one day, very weary, sat down under 
 a mulberry tree ; being very hungry, he plucked 
 some of the fruit ; but scarcely had he tasted it, 
 when he was suddenly transformed into a stag. 
 This dreadful change filled him with great 
 anxiety; he lifted up his eyes to heaven, 
 imploring relief; he cast himself on the grass in 
 despair. His faithful horse seemed to pity his 
 unfortunate master, and even tore down some 
 branches from the neighbouring trees, to shield 
 him from the heat. 
 
 In this manner seven years passed away ; at 
 last St. Dennis's horse climbed a steep rock, and 
 brought down in his mouth three full blown roses. 
 
6 SEVEN CHAMPIONS 
 
 He immediately ate one of them, and in a few 
 minutes was restored to his proper shape. He 
 was returning thanks to heaven for his deliv. 
 erance, when a plaintive voice issued from a 
 mulberry tree, entreating for liberty ; St. D«nnis 
 at one blow, felled the tree to the ground, when 
 a beautiful lady appeared, a daughter of the Kin» 
 of Thessaly, whom a magician had confined in 
 the tree. St. Dennis placed her behind him, 
 conveyed her to the court of Thessaly. 
 
 St. James of Spain meanwhile, passing into 
 Sicily, had a dreadful combat with a fiery griffin; 
 it lasted seven nights, and at last he proved 
 victorious. He then travelled to Jerusalem. At 
 the time of his arrival the trumpets were sounding, 
 and the king and his nobles were preparing to hunt 
 with wild beasts, and a magnificent reward was 
 to be given to him who should kill the first boar, 
 
 St. James instantly rode to the forest, and be- 
 fore the king and his nobles arrived he had slain 
 one of the largest boars that had ever been seen. 
 The king praised him greatly, and was about to 
 give him a reward, when, hearing he was a 
 Christian, he sentenced him to die. He was to 
 be shot by a virgin. 
 
 The Spanish champion was bound to a tree, 
 but all the virgins refused to become his ex- 
 ecutioner. The princess royal, in particular, was 
 so sensibly affected by his bravery, that she im- 
 plored her father to revoke his cruel sentence. 
 The king yielded to her request, but solemnly 
 protested that he should be put to death if he 
 should again enter Palestine. The princess un- 
 bound St. James, and presented him with a 
 valuable diamond ring. He afterwards quitted 
 the dominions of the Inexorable King. 
 
OF CHRISTENDOM. « 
 
 After riding some miles, he dismounted to rest 
 in a forest, and then began to think he should 
 not have deserted a princess who had saved his 
 life. He accordingly returned in disguise, and 
 was taken into the service of the princess, and 
 discovering himself at a convenient opportunity, 
 the two lovers fled into Spain. 
 
 Meantime St. Anthony of Italy journeyed on- 
 ward till he came to a strong castle, inhabited by 
 a giant whom no man durst encounter. In this 
 casde were seven daughters of the King of 
 Thrace, six of whom were changed into swans, 
 and the other was obliged to sing the enchanter 
 to sleep. St. Anthony slew the giant, and re- 
 turned to Thrace to tell the king respecting the 
 captivitv of his seven daughters. 
 
 St. Andrew of Scotland, in the course of his 
 travels, came at last to this castle, and found the 
 King of Thrace calling upon his gods in behalf 
 of his princesses. He told the king if he would 
 embrace Christianity they should be restored to 
 their own forms. Enraged at this proposal, he 
 commanded his knights to attack the stranger ; 
 but he performed prodigies of valour, and soon 
 compelled all to submit; the king consenting to 
 call upon the Christian's God, the princesses 
 were restored to their former shape. The kmg 
 returned to his palace, and the six princesses set 
 out to follow St. Andrew. 
 
 These princesses travelled to Ireland, where 
 they met with thirty cruel satyrs, who brutally 
 ill-treated them. St. Patrick, being in that part 
 of the country, heard their cries, and fahmg upon 
 the satyrs with resistless fury, he slew many of 
 them, and compelled the rest to fly. He then 
 assisted them in finding the champion of Scotland. 
 
8 SEVEN CHAMPIONS 
 
 St. David of Wales went to Tartary, but 
 happening to slay the Emperor's son in a tourna- 
 ment, he was sent to an enchanted garden, to 
 bring the head of Ormandine, an enchanter. He 
 there found a sword fastened to a rock, inscribed, 
 " He that can lift me up shall conquer all." He 
 seized the sword, but in a moment fell by en- 
 chantment into a profound sleep. 
 
 St. George of England, after seven years' con- 
 finement, broke out of his dungeon, and arrived 
 at the garden of Ormandine. He perceived the 
 sword, and pulled it up, when the castle instantly 
 vanished, and the enchanter was carried away by 
 the furies. St. David being released, set out for 
 Tartary, and St. George went to Barbary in 
 search of his beloved Sabra. 
 
 St. George on his arrival put on a hermit's 
 gown, and mixed with the poor people who were 
 receiving alms from the beauteous Sabra. He 
 contrived, when his turn came to be relieved, to 
 slip the diamond ring into her hand. She in- 
 stantly knew him, and the same evening contrived 
 to escape from the palace, and joined our champ- 
 ion, accompanied by a Moorish servant. They 
 travelled until they came to a forest, and being 
 faint and hungry, St. George left his lady under 
 the protection of her servant, and went into the 
 forest to kill a deer. Upon his return he found 
 the Moor torn to pieces by two lions, and the 
 animals asleep in Sabra's lap. He boldly slew 
 them, and then made a repast of his venison. 
 
 St. George and his lady proceeded to Constan- 
 tinople. Here they met the other six champions 
 of Christendom, who also had arrived at Constan- 
 tinople with their beauteous ladies. They joined 
 in combat with the knights of Greece, Hungary, 
 
OF CHRISTENDOM. 9 
 
 and Bohemia The last day of the tournaments, 
 St. George entered the field on a beautiful steed 
 most superbly attired. He overthrew all opposed 
 to him, and was crowned with the garland of 
 victory. 
 
 -The christian heroes and their ladies now 
 quitted Constantinople, and repaired to their own 
 countries, where they were received as miracles 
 of valour. The ensuing spring they raised an 
 army of 50,000 men, to war against the Pao-ans 
 who also had raised an immense army to oppose 
 them, but quarreling among themselves, they 
 combated with such terrible fury, that the rivers 
 ran with blood. 
 
 St. George arrived with the army on the 
 frontiers of Egypt: but the monarch of that 
 country, accompanied by his nobles, soon made 
 their submission, and implored mercy. St. 
 George forgave the king, on conditi-on that he and 
 his nobles became christians; and that St. George 
 and Sabra should succeed to the throne. 
 
 But news was brought that Sabra, who had 
 been left in England, was condemned to be burnt 
 at a stake, unless some champion should appear 
 to espouse her cause against her accuser, the 
 Baron of Chester. 
 
 St. George transferred the command of the 
 army to St. David, and sailed for England with 
 expedition. 
 
 Meanwhile the dreadful day of Sabra's ex- 
 ecution arrived, and no champion had appeared 
 to vindicate her innocence. The King, seated 
 on the throne, caused the heralds to summon her 
 accuser. The defendant was then summoned by 
 sound of trumpet, but no person appeared, and 
 orders were given to kindle the funeral pile. 
 
10 SEVEN CHAMPIONS 
 
 At this moment a banner of defiance was seen 
 waving in the air, and St. George rode forward, 
 demanding the liberty of the princess, or to 
 combat in her defence. 
 
 The charge was sounded and the combatants 
 engaged, their spears were at the first onset 
 shfyered to pieces, and both horses and men 
 were thrown to the ground. The Baron of 
 Chester leaping up, struck so furious with his 
 falchion, that he cleft St. George's shield asunder: 
 but the noble champion, in his rage, smote off 
 the Baron's right arm, so that he sank to the 
 earth, and expired with a terrible groan. The 
 beauteous princess was relieved from her peril, 
 and St. George embarked with her for Greece, 
 and afterwards travelled towards Persia. Having 
 crossed the mountains, they entered a country 
 where all the trees were withered, the fruits 
 spoiled, and the houses deserted. But at last 
 they came to a fine pavilion, where sat a beautiful 
 virgin, with several others seated around her, all 
 in deep affliction. St. George addressed the 
 one who, by her diadem, appeared to be the 
 superior, and inquired the cause of her dejection. 
 The fair lady replied, " Brave knight, I am 
 Queen of the Amazons, and because I refused 
 to marry a wicked necromancer, he has raised 
 an enchanted castle out of the earth, filled with 
 spirits, and has destroyed my country." 
 
 The brave St. George assured the Queen he 
 would venture his life to finish the enchantment, 
 and recommending Sabra to her care, he rode 
 towards the castle. He entered the castle, when 
 he was opposed by a monstrous giant. He 
 boldly fought the monster, and smote him to the 
 ground, and was about to strike off his head, 
 
OF CHRISTENDOM. 11 
 
 when the giant promised to reveal the secret of 
 the enchantment. He said that in a cave, below 
 the foundation of the castle, there was a magical 
 fire springing out of the earth, which occasioned 
 the desolation of the Amazonian country, and it 
 could only be quenched by a fountain of black 
 water, that was guarded by a host of evil spirits. 
 
 St. George descended a dark flight of stairs. 
 On opening a door at the bottom, there issued 
 out smoke and an intolerable heat that almost 
 stifled him ; but when the smoke dispersed, he 
 perceived a fire spouting out of the earth. Close 
 by he beheld the water guarded by several ugly 
 fiends, who desperately assaulted him. He drove 
 them away, and taking up some water in his 
 shield, extinguished the fire ; upon which the 
 castle vanished amidst a storm of thunder and 
 lightning, and the sun appeared with unusual 
 splendour. He then returned to the pavilion, 
 and spent several days with the Queen in 
 festivity, and afterwards resumed his journey. 
 
 After many diflficulties they arrived in Egypt, 
 and were crowned King and Queen of that 
 country. 
 
 The six champions were fighting against the 
 Persian Sultan, who was assisted by the necro- 
 mancer, Osmond ; but the banner of the cross 
 was displayed, and the Persians were driven from 
 the field of battle. 
 
 Osmond then raised an enchanted pavilion, 
 and transformed several hideous spirits into the 
 forms of beautiful virgins, to ensnare the six 
 champions; but St. George rushed into the 
 pavihon, cut it into pieces with his sword, and 
 the spirits vanished with a terrible noise. 
 Osmond, the enchanter, was bound to a withered 
 
12 SEVEN CHAMPIONS OF CHRISTENDOM. 
 
 tree with fetters of adamant : his magical power 
 left him, and he remained mourning and gnawing 
 his flesh, till some evil spirits carried him off in 
 a storm of thunder and lightning. 
 
 After completing the conquest of Persia, and 
 extirpating those detestable pests of mankind, 
 the champions returned to their respective 
 countries, and were received with that estimation 
 due to their exalted characters; resting from 
 their glorious labours ; after their deaths, their 
 names were enrolled among those of the saints 
 of Christendom. 
 
 J3EV0NP0RT ; PRINTED BY SAMUEL AND JOHN KEYS. 
 
CHILDREN'S 
 
 SCHOOL BOOKS, 
 
 PUBLISHED BY S. & J. KEYS, DEVONPORT, 
 
 WHOLESALE AND BETAIL* 
 
 The IMPROVED CHILD'S mSTRUCTOR, intended as a 
 First and Easy Introduction to Spelling and Reading. Price 
 One Penny. 
 
 The FIRST STEP TO LEARNING; or, Parents' best Gift to 
 their Children; containing Words from One to Four Syllables* 
 To which are added Easy Reading, Spelling, and Fables, the 
 whole of the Church Catechism, Select Poetry, &c. Price 
 One Penny. 
 
 The CHILD'S OWN SPELLING BOOK, containing a variety 
 of instructive Reading Lessons, Spelling, Natural History, 
 Poetry, Tree of Dissipation, &c. Price One Penny, 
 
 A new ARITHMETICAL TABLE BOOK, for the use of 
 
 Schools, enlarged and improved, containing 32 pages. Price 
 One Penny. 
 
 The UNIVERSAL PRIMER; or, Child's Guide to Learning, 
 Price One Penny. 
 
 The YOUTH'S INSTRUCTOR; or, Reading and Spelling 
 Book, containing Religious and Moral Lessons. Also, 10,000 
 Easy Words of One and Two Syllables. Price Two-pence. 
 
 The CHILD'S FIRST BOOK; or, English Primer, containing 
 a quantity of Spelling and Reading Lessons ; to which are 
 added several Pieces of Select Poetry, the Church Catechism, 
 &c. ; embellished with Engravings. Price Four-pence. 
 
 A new READING MADE EASY; containing a great variety 
 of Easy Spelling and Reading Lessons, Moral Stories, Poetry, 
 &c. Price Four-pence. 
 
 The UNIVERSAL SPELLING BOOK; or, a New and Easy 
 Guide to the English Language, containing a greater quantity 
 of Spelling than any other Edition ever publisned. Price Gd. 
 
 kOi2 The largest assortment of History and 
 Toy Books in the Kingdom. 
 
 K^ A variety of Six-penny and Three-penny Song Books always 
 
 on sale. 
 
 Publishers of upwards of Twenty Sorts 
 of One Penny Song Books. 
 
 All Orders executed at the shortest notice. 
 
 m 
 
 a 
 
 ®