Whenit was over, the islanders said, "Some one of the mighty has passed away."VIIMERLIN THE ENCHANTERIn one of the old books called Welsh Triads, in which all things areclassed by threes, there is a description of three men called "The ThreeGenerous Heroes of the Isle of Britain." One of these--named Nud orNodens, and later called Merlin--was first brought from the sea, it isstated, with a herd of cattle consisting of 21,000 milch cows, which aresupposed to mean those waves of the sea that the poets often describe asWhite Horses. He grew up to be a king and warrior, a magician and prophet,and on the whole the most important figure in the Celtic traditions. Hecame from the sea and at last returned to it, but meanwhile he did greatworks on land, one of which is said to have been the building ofStonehenge.This is the way, as the old legends tell, in which the vast stones ofStonehenge came to be placed on Salisbury Plain. It is a thing which hasalways been a puzzle to every one, inasmuch as their size and weight areenormous, and there is no stone of the same description to be found withinhundreds of miles of Salisbury Plain, where they now stand.The legend is that Pendragon, king of England, was led to fight a greatbattle by seeing a dragon in the air. The battle was won, but Pendragonwas killed and was buried on Salisbury Plain, where the fight had takenplace.
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