It appears that
they have been always addicted to exploits, since we read of one of
them, soon after the Christian era, encountering a giant, who ran upon
him with a tree which he had snapped off for the purpose, for it seems
giants were not nice in the choice of weapons; but the chronicler says,
"The Lord had grace with him, and overcame the giant," and in
commemoration of this event the family introduced into their arms the
ragged staff.

It is recorded of another of the race, that he was one of seven children
born at a birth, and that all the rest of his brothers and sisters were,
by enchantment, turned into swans with gold collars. This remarkable
case occurred in the time of the grandfather of Sir Guy, and of course,
if we believe this, we shall find no difficulty in the case of the cow,
or any thing else.

There is a very scarce book in the possession of a gentleman of Warwick,
written by one Dr. John Kay, or caius, in which he gives an account of
the rare and peculiar animals of England in 1552. In this he mentioned
seeing the bones of the head and the vertebrae of the neck of an
enormous animal at Warwick Castle. He states that the shoulder blade was
hung up by chains from the north gate of Coventry, and that a rib of the
same animal was hanging up in the chapel of Guy, Earl of Warwick, and
that the people fancied it to be the rib of a cow which haunted a ditch
near Coventry, and did injury to many persons; and he goes on to imagine
that this may be the bone of a bonasus or a urus. He says, "It is
probable many animals of this kind formerly lived in our England, being
of old an island full of woods and forests, because even in our boyhood
the horns of these animals were in common use at the table." The story
of Sir Guy is furthermore quite romantic, and contains some
circumstances very instructive to all ladies. For the chronicler
asserts, "that Dame Felye, daughter and heire to Erle Rohand, for her
beauty called Fely le Belle, or Felys the Fayre, by true enheritance,
was Countesse of Warwyke, and lady and wyfe to the most victoriouse
Knight, Sir Guy, to whom in his woing tyme she made greate straungeres,
and caused him, for her sake, to put himself in meny greate distresses,
dangers, and perills; but when they were wedded, and b'en but a little
season together, he departed from her, to her greate hevynes, and never
was conversant with her after, to her understandinge." That this may not
appear to be the resu