DRAGONS
[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SIR,--That we have not said farewell to the romance of the dragon is evident from a recent news paragraph. The lady in charge of the sick Komodo dragon in the London Zoo has treated it so skilfully, that she has not only cured it of' canker, but so influenced it for good, that it has now got so perfectly tame that it has been allowed to run loose in the laboratory. To give it exercise, and to interest visitors, it is to be taken out on a lead on one of the lawns on fine afternoons. What a change from the day, a few months ago, when it was photo- graphed in the grip of several strong keepers, reluctantly submitting to the dressing of its jaw !
But this conversion, however striking, seems to be traditional with dragons. Has not M. Jules Lemaitre given us a graphic story of the tractableness of a famous Provençal monster, in one of the charming tales with which he adorns the flyleaves of old books (En Marge des Vieux Lirres)? After quoting from the Golden Legend an account of the savage behaviour of a dragon called the Tarasque on the banks of the Rhone, between Arles and Avignon, he goes on to tell us how one day the men of the nearest town set out noisily, a certain Tartar- inus at their head, fully armed, to kill the monster. St. Martha, who was at that time living in the neighbourhood, joined the dragon hunters, so as to be on the spot to attend to the wounded. Somehow she found herself separated from her friends, and face to face with the monster. Believing herself to be lost, Martha made the sign of the cross, whereupon the creature came up to her submissively. She put her girdle round its neck and led it out of the wood, and soon rejoined the hunting party. After giving us a fascinating account of these events, which recall the comments on life and character which we associate with the work of the illustrators of missals, M. Lemaitre goes on to tell us how Martha saved the dragon's life when the warriors wished to kill it. " Oh," said she, " this would not be right now that he has become harmless. You would do better to keep him in a corner of the public garden. He will be satisfied with rough rye bread and bran to eat, and you can charge admittance to travellers who want to see him, giving part of the money to the poor, and part to the church. In this way the Tarasque will amuse men and help to feed them instead of eating them." " You are quite right, pecaire," said the Christians of Taraseon.
Are there other instances of such taming of dragons ? For instance, how did the gnochi (whose portrait also appeared in The Times) come to be led in triumph through the streets of Verona ?—I am, Sir, &c., The Grange, Chew Magna, Bristol. FRANCES SHAW.
Previous page
