ent to Ireland with an
imposing retinue, to sue for the maiden's hand and to escort her safely to
Cornwall.

On landing in Dublin, Tristan immediately became aware that the people were
laboring under an unusual excitement. Upon questioning them he learned that
a terrible dragon had taken up its station near the city, that it was
devastating the country, and that the king had promised the hand of Iseult
to the man who would slay the monster. Tristan immediately concluded that
by killing the dragon he would have the best chance of successfully
carrying out his uncle's wishes, so he sallied forth alone to attack it.

"This dragon had two furious wings,
Each one upon each shoulder;
With a sting in his tayl as long as a flayl,
Which made him bolder and bolder.

"He had long claws, and in his jaws
Four and forty teeth of iron;
With a hide as tough as any buff
Which did him round environ."
_Dragon of Wantly_ (Old Ballad).

[Sidenote: Tristan and the dragon.] In spite of the fearful appearance of
this dragon, and of the volumes of fire and venom which it belched forth,
Tristan encountered it bravely, and finally slew it. Then, cutting out the
monster's tongue, he thrust it into his pocket, intending to produce it at
the right moment. He had gone only a few steps, however, when, exhausted by
his prolonged conflict, stunned by the poisonous fumes which he had
inhaled, and overcome by the close contact with the dragon's tongue, he
sank fainting to the ground. A few moments later the butler of the Irish
king rode up. He saw the dragon dead, with his conqueror lifeless beside
him, and quickly resolved to take advantage of this fortunate chance to
secure the hand of the fair princess. He therefore cut off the dragon's
head, and, going to court, boasted of having slain the monster just as it
had killed a strange knight. Iseult and her mother, well aware that the man
was a coward, refused to believe his story, and hastened off to the scene
of the conflict, where they found the fainting Tristan with the dragon's
tongue in his pocket.

To remove the poisonous substance, (which they, however, preserved,) convey
the knight to the palace, and restore him by tender care, was the next
impulse of these brave women. Then, while Iseult the younger sat beside her
patient, watching his slumbers, she idly drew his sword from the scabbard.
Suddenly her eye was caught by a dint in the blad