IV.

THE LEGEND OF THE LADY KATHARINE.


I.

'Twas at a time now long past gone,
And well gone if 'twill stay,
When our good land seemed made alone
For lords and ladies gay;
When brown bread was the poor man's fare,
For which he toiled and swet,
When men were used as nowt or deer.
And heads were only worth the wear
When crowned with coronet.

There was a right good noble knight,
Sir Bullstrode was his name[A]--
A name which he acquired by fight,
And with it meikle fame.
Upon his burnished shield he bore
A head of bull caboshed
(For so they speak in herald lore),
And for his crest he aptly wore
Two bones of marrow crossed.

[Footnote A: A knight called Bullstrode, as having got his name
in the way set forth, is mentioned by Guillim; but whether he is