DBAGONS 



23 



hard pressed, he thrust his spear through the creatures' 

 hearts, and his battle ended in victory. A great banquet 

 was held in the palace ; Eagnar received at once his bride 

 and his nickname of ' Shaggy-Breeches,' as we have seen. 

 He did many other brave deeds', and was a successful 

 rover ; but was cruelly put to death by an English King 

 called Ella, who threw him into a pit full of snakes. 

 Eagnar's device of freezing himself into a suit of ice 



RAGNAR DOES BATTLE WITH THE SERPENTS 



armour recalls to us a similar plan adopted by a race of 

 monsters universally believed to have lived in Africa ; 

 nearly all the old writers of marvels allude to them, under 

 the name of ' Cynocephali,' wbicb means 'dog-headed,' 

 that is to say, their bodies were those of men and women, 

 but their heads were the heads of dogs. They lived upon 

 goat's milk ; but although that seems to mean that they 

 dwelt quietly amongst flocks and herds, they seem never- 

 theless to have been fond of a fight whenever there was 



