The evening times., 1899-04-29

from any foreigner assuTediy, seeing tina,
his nearest kinsfolk. the Mortimer, showed
jus. the same odd fancy. II may be traced
TO the popularity of the myth of Sigurd.
who slew the Dragon Fafnir. subject OF
which the Northern artists never tired.
1t is commonly said that the dragon Of
Wessex flew for the last time at Hastings.
Harold had his own standard-he was no
son of Cerdic. William of Malmesbury de-
scribes it-a man fighting. sumptuousiy
embroidered with gold and gems. The Con-
queror presented IL to the Pope. But the
dragon was certainly conspicuous. for ii is
figured on the BayeuX tapestry. Hastings
was not the last field in which Englishmen
marched to battle under it. Richard OF
Devices mentions that the terrible stan
dard Of the dragon was unfurled and borne
in front" when Occur de Lion attacked
Messina. Such illusions TO the flag of the
army in general are very rare in feudai
times. and 1t may well be that the ma
tional dragon was hoisted whenever the
King appealed to his English subjects.
Henry III. or more probably his sagac'ous
son. raised il at Lewes. "A dragon in man
ner of standard or ensign Of red sarcenet
embroidered with gold. the tongue OF the
dragon appearing as though continually in
motion. and eyes of sapphire. Perhaps
the tradition was growing dim by that
time for the chronicler says that this SYM
boil was interpreted to mean NO quarter
The fieur-de-lys is such hopeless puz-
zle that grave authorities regard it as the
corrupted figure of a frog, others recognize
Phallio emblem. others bee with wings
spread; this last view commended Itself
strongly to Napoleon There are serious
arguments and Illustrations in favor OF
each origin; the one fact toleI ably certain
is that Frankish kings bore cognizance
which has developed into the fleur-de-lys.
as soon as history gets a clear view OF
them. Almost certainly. however. that
cognizance was not flower of any sort in
the beginning.
The history of the double headed eagle
in Europe is known well enough. The Ger
man Emperor Conrad saw il at Constanh-
nople when crusading in 1l47. Learning
| that the device represented sovereignty
over east and west, he thought IL adapted
| to his own case, and annexed - The
Counts of Flanders were equally struck In
the next Crusade, and followed the same
course 1t was finally appropriated by the
House Of Austria in 1876; afterwards Prus-
sia and Russia yielded to the fascination
of its beauty. But when we Iuit thee
l modern inanities and seek the double
headed eagle in its native home, we are
| led into the very beginnings Of things.
Tracing the symbol upward. it is found as
a common ornament among the MaHiuss
of Egypt, evidently introduced by ths
Nesopotamian artists whom they favored
In the Museum at South Kensington are
several exquisite works Of that period
showing the double-headed eagle. II has
been suggested that Saladin bore it. H :
cognizance was certainly an eagle. but one
may think that Christian chronicler:
would have mentioned it had the bird beer
| double e-headed. But the device appears al
an earlier date on the coinage of the Prince
of Sinsar. in Mesopotamia also it wa:
/ sculptured on the walls of the city OF Amis
in that region. Passing an indefinite num-
ber of centuries, We find it upon the go der
ornaments Of Mycenae. But the original
is identified, SO far. among that most mys-
terious of peoples. the Hittites. With them
it was a very holy and powerful symbol
evidently, though the significance is not
yet ascertained. On the enormous mono
liths Of granite before the palace at Eyuk
double e-headed eagles are carved, holding
an animal So in that wondrous cave
| temple Of Borghas-Keui, where the gods
are upright on the procession, two OF them
| ride upright on the mystic bird. 1t is carv-
ed above the gates of cities and on theiI
massive walls. We shall know more
| doubtless, In good time.