he rendered it infamous. He accumulated wealth by the basest arts of fraud and corruption; but his malversations. were so notorious, that George was compelled to escape from the pursuit of justice."

He afterwards embraced Arianism, then the prevailing opinion, and "the choice of the prevailing faction promoted George of Cappadocia to the throne or bishopric of Athanasius of Alexandria. Here he continued his malpractices, and under the reign of Constantine was expelled by the fury, or rather, the justice of the people; and it was not without a violent struggle that the civil and military powers of the state could restore his authority, and gratify his revenge. The messenger who proclaimed at Alexandria the accession of Julian, announced the downfall of the archbishop. George, with two of his obsequious ministers, count Diodorus, and Dracontius, master of the mint, was ignominiously dragged in chains to the public prison. At the end of twenty-four days, the prison was forced open by the rage of a superstitious multitude, impatient of the tedious forms of judicial proceedings. The enemies of gods and men expired under their cruel insults; the lifeless bodies of the archbishop and his associates were carried in triumph through the streets on the back of a camel; and the inactivity of the Athanasian party was esteemed a shining example of evangelical patience.

The remains of these guilty wretches were thrown into the sea; and the popular leaders of the tumult declared their resolution to disappoint the devotion of the Christians, and to intercept the future honours of their martyrs, who had been punished, like their predecessors, by the enemies of their religion. The fears of the Pagans were just, and their precautions ineffectual. The meritorious death of the archbishop obliterated the memory of his life. The rival of Athanasius was dear and sacred to the

Arians, and the seeming conversion of those sectaries introduced his worship into the bosom of the Catholic Church. The odious stranger, disguising every circumstance of time and place, assumed the mask of a martyr, a saint, and a Christian hero, and the infamous George of Cappadocia has been transformed into the renowned George of England, the patron of arms, of chivalry, and of the Garter."

So far Gibbon, whose story is, perhaps, not more real than the legend of the dragon.

Still another legend tells us, in the city of Alexandria was a place where the heathen had been accustomed to offer human sacrifices. George commanded that it should be cleared, and a Christian church erected. In doing this, an immense subterranean cavern was discovered, where the heathen mysteries had been performed, and which contained many human skulls. These skulls, with other articles which they found there, the Christians brought out and exposed to ridicule. The Pagans, being enraged at this exposure, armed themselves, and suddenly rushing on the Christians, slew many of them with their weapons, and strangled or crucified many others. This deterred the Christians from proceeding in clearing away the temple; and the heathens, pursuing their advantage, seized the bishop in his church, and threw him into prison. The next day they killed him; and, fastening the body to a camel, it was dragged about the streets all that day, and in the evening they burned the body and the camel. Sozomen, a learned Greek author, observes that George owed his fate partly to the haughtiness he displayed while in favour with the emperor Constantius; while some say that the friends of Athanasius were concerned in the murder; but he chiefly ascribes it to the inveterate hatred of the Pagans, whose idolatries the bishop had been very active in abolishing.

These are the principal and most

plausible accounts of St. George; but it is still open to every one to believe or reject as his reason may dictate, as it has never yet been positively proved that such a personage ever existed.

Yet there must have been some foundation for the reverence in which he is now held, either as a warrior or as a saint, or both; as he has for ages been highly venerated throughout Armenia, Muscovy (now more generally called Russia), and all those countries where the ritual of the Greek Church prevails.

Indeed, the legend of a saint or a deity spearing a dragon, seems to have been known all over the Eastern hemisphere.

The Russians in special were fond of this device, and whether they received it from the Greeks or (as some have thought) from the Tartars, is now immaterial; but certain it is, that his figure, represented in the usual manner, is common in all their churches; that this device forms part of the Russian arms, and is impressed on several of their coins; and that the saint and the dragon were adopted for armorial bearings, and stamped on their coins, by the grand dukes of Muscovy, long before they ever had any connection with England.

Our native land has, therefore, no further pretensions to the patronage of St. George, than its inhabitants may found on having adopted him as their tutelar; and this they must be content to share with Portugal, where the same has been done.

Some English historians, eager for the honour of giving to their mother country the first claim to the saint, have supposed that Ivan Vassilievitch II., Czar of Muscovy, was created a Knight of the Order of the Garter by Queen Elizabeth, and that he thereupon assumed the George and dragon for his arms, and ordered it to be stamped on his coinage. But there is no proof that

he ever was a knight of that order, and the above conjecture is groundless, because a despatch, which Ivan Vassilievitch sent, in 1554, to Queen Mary, who reigned before Elizabeth, was sealed with a seal" much like the broad seal of England, having on the one side the image of a man on horseback in complete harness fighting with a dragon." And this is merely corroborative of the certainty that this device was used by the Muscovian monarchs long before they knew England or its usages..

St. George became patron saint of England under William the Conqueror. The reason for which is said to be that while Robert his son was besieging Antioch, and was in difficulties, St. George, it is said, suddenly appeared coming down from the hills, attended by an innumerable army, all clad in white, and having a red cross on his banner, to reinforce the Christians. This apparition so terrified the infidels, that they fled, and left the Christians in possession of the city.

In 1222 the council of Oxford commanded the feast of St. George to be kept as a holiday of the lesser rank. In 1345, under the name and ensign of the saint, the victorious Edward III. instituted the most noble order of knighthood in Europe, which has since been denominated the order of the Garter. Of this institution a detailed account will be found in another article.

Anciently "St. George" was the warcry of the English. An old treatise on the art of war contains this direction :"Item, That all souldiers entering into battaile, assault, skirmish, or other faction of armes, shall have for their common cry and word, St. George forward, or, Upon them St. George, whereby the soldier is much comforted, and the enemie dismaid by calling to mind the ancient valour of England, which, with that name, has so often been victorious."

Also, in Shakespeare's tragedy of Richard III. he makes Richmond's

watchword, "God and Saint George, Richmond and victory," while King Richard too mentions, "Our ancient word of courage, fair Saint George."

Henry VII. prohibited the Irish from using their ancient battle cry of Aboo or Aber, and strictly enjoined them to call on St. George, or the name of their sovereign lord, the king of England, etc.

On the whole, we must consider that much of what is related of this celebrated saint is either fabulous or confounded with the adventures of some other worthy. All is uncertain, and indeed legendary lore is ever untrustworthy-a statement of which the foregoing story is a striking example, though history presents us with many such.

HIS order was instituted by Edward III. in the year 1345, although some writers affirm that at the siege of Acre, in 1191, Richard I. caused twenty-six knights, who stood firmly by him, to wear thongs of blue leather about their legs, and that he then first devised the order, which Edward III. perfected.

A common account of its origin is, that at a ball the countess of Salisbury happening to drop her garter, the king took it up, and presented it to her, at the same time saying, "Honi soit qui mal y pense;" that is, "Evil be to him who evil thinks ;" and that from this, it being the manner of the times to mingle matters of war and gallantry together, the order and its motto arose.

But this tradition has no proof to support it; and the institution of the corporation must be attributed to a nobler circumstance.

Some authors assert that, at the celebrated battle of Cressy, Edward ordered his garter to be displayed as a signal for battle; and that, in commemoration of the glorious victory he then obtained, he

instituted the order of St. George, which was its original name, and made the garter its principal ornament, as well as a symbol of the indissoluble union of the knights; while others assign this interesting occurrence to the siege of Calais, where they affirm Edward first invoked St. George to aid his arms.

Equal discrepancy also seems to prevail as to the date of its institution; but it seems to be most probable that the institution of the order was perfected in 1345.

King Edward VI., in 1551, made some alterations in the order, and ordained that it should thenceforth be called the Order of the Garter, instead of that of St. George, which was its original title; and that, instead of the picture of St. George, which was worn suspended from the collar, should be substituted that of a cavalier, bearing a book on the point of his sword, with the word protectio (protection) graven on the sword, and verbum Dei (the word of God) on the book; with a buckle in the left hand, with the word fides (faith) on it.

Originally the number of the knights companions of the Garter was twentysix; but on account of the increase of the royal family, six more were added, in 1786. The knights are generally princes or peers, and the king of Great

Britain is chief or sovereign of the order. The order is a college or corporation, having seals; and a prelate, chancellor, register, king at arms, usher of the black rod, a dean, twelve canons and petty canons, vergers, and twentysix pensioners or poor knights. The order is dedicated to the patronage of the renowned Saint George of Cappadocia, the tutelar saint of Englan 1.

Its college is held at Windsor Castle, in the chapel and chapter-house of St. George, which were erected for that purpose by Edward III.

The bishop of Winchester is always prelate, and the bishop of Salisbury chancellor of the order. The latter keeps the seals. The register is, by his oath, bound faithfully to enter upon the registry, the scrutinies, elections, penalties, and other acts of the order. The king at arms is entitled Garter king at arms. Garter, and king at arms, are two offices united in one person. His duties as garter consist principally in carrying the rod and sceptre at the feast of St. George, the patron, when the sovereign is present, in notifying the election of knights, and other similar

duties.

enamelled on gold, and set with diamonds, suspended from a blue ribbon which crosses the body from the left shoulder. They are liable to a penalty of 6s. 8d. every time they may appear abroad without the garter.

The following is the manner of electing a knight-companion into this most noble order, and a description of the ceremonies of investiture:

The chancellor of the order draws up the letters of election, which are then signed manually by the king, and sealed with the signet of the order, and sent by garter principal king at arms to The contents are the knight elect. generally to this effect :-"We, the companions of our most noble order of the Garter, assembled in chapter, holden this present day at our castle at Windsor, considering the virtuous fidelity you have shown, and the honourable exploits you have done in our service, by vindicating and maintaining our right, etc., have elected or chosen you one of the companions of our order. Therefore, we require you to make your speedy repair unto us, to receive the ensigns thereof, and be ready for your installation upon the day of this present month," etc.

At the investiture, the garter for the new knight is presented, on a velvet cushion, by garter king at arms, to the sovereign, from whom it is then received by two of the senior companions, and by them buckled on the left leg of the knight elect, while the chancellor reads the following admonition to him :-"To the honour of God omnipotent, and in memorial of the blessed martyr, Saint George, tie about thy leg, for thy renown, this noble garter; wear it as thy symbol of this most illustrious order, never to be forgotten or laid aside; that thereby thou mayest be admonished to be courageous; and having undertaken a just war, in which thou wilt be engaged, thou mayest stand firm, valiantly fight, and successfully conquer."