Page:A short history of social life in England.djvu/231

Rh into a soldier, the young farmer became a dragoon with carbine and pistol. There was no uniform as yet, for there was no standing army. Cavaliers fought in buff coats shining with gold and silver embroidery, in large Spanish hats with drooping feathers, their long hair floating over their shoulders; they were for the most part gentlemen's sons, men of honour, courage, and resolution, fighting for King and Church against the splendid middle class of the country, the Roundheads of Cromwell, "men of religion" as they called themselves, Puritans, who allowed no drinking, blasphemy, or impiety in their ranks. There were great men on either side ready to lay down their lives for "The King" or "The Cause." Women, too, rose to meet their responsibilities with a capability and courage that stands out brightly in our social history. To pay the necessary expenses, the wealthy brought their bags of gold and silver, the poor their smallest offerings, "a thimble, bodkin, and spoon," until Cavaliers jeered at the "thimble and bodkin" army of the zealous sisterhood.