27. Then there were no public conveyances of any kind, nor any way of making a journey, but on horseback, or on foot; and, as to stopping at the country towns, there was very little accommodation to be had there, for they were poor places, the houses in them being very little better than wooden sheds.
28. There were no shops, so that every thing was bought, as formerly, at the markets and fairs.
29. A great many merchants, from London, France, and Flanders, used to bring goods to the fairs for sale, and they were obliged to pay tolls and duties to the lord of the manor, which came to a great deal of money, because they brought a quantity of valuable merchandise, as the nobles themselves purchased their wearing apparel, jewellery, spices, and many other commodities, at the fairs, which sometimes lasted fifteen days.
30. The dress of the great nobility, in the fourteenth century, was very handsome, for they wore mantles of satin or velvet, with borders worked in gold, over jackets highly embroidered; and their velvet caps were often adorned with jewels.
31. The middle classes wore close coats of cloth, with leather belts round the waist, such as the Blue-Coat Boys now wear, and they had tight pantaloons, short boots, and cloth caps.
32. The clothing of the working people was made of very coarse wool, sometimes undyed, and all spun and woven at home by the women, who had nothing else for their own wearing, as there were no cottons or stuffs made in England then, nor any of the nice comfortable things that the poor people can get so cheap now.
33. The country towns were at this period inhabited chiefly by free artisans, such as blacksmiths, carpenters, and others, of different trades; but there were still a great many villeins and serfs, on all the cultivated lands, for slavery was never abolished in England by any act of parliament, but gradually died away with the feudal laws.
34. The armies were not raised then as they were at an earlier period, by feudal service, but soldiers were hired and paid by the day; but there was no standing army, as there is at present; for, as soon as the wars were over, the men were all discharged, which was a bad thing, as it often happened they had no homes or employment to return to, and so formed themselves into bands of robbers.
35. However, fighting men had plenty of occupation during the reign of Edward the First, of whose wars in Scotland I am now about to speak.
36. The king of Scotland died about this time, and as he left no son, and his grand-daughter and heiress, Margaret, died soon after, unmarried, there were two princes, who each thought he had a right to succeed to the throne; so they agreed to let the king of England decide the dispute, which he readily took upon himself to do. One prince was named Robert Bruce, the other, John Baliol.