There had previous to the Restoration been some attempt to introduce uniform dress for soldiers quite apart from the sovereign's special guards, who, after the fashion of retainers, wore his livery. For instance, the Duke of Norfolk, in the reign of Henry VIII, issued instructions that every soldier should wear a blue coat guarded with red, the right hose to be red, the left blue, and a red stripe three fingers broad down the outside of each leg. The archers are described as wearing white gaberdines, at one time in this reign, while in 1576 those belonging to Ireland had a cassock of blue cloth with two small white guards. Red coats as well as others of blue or white were worn by the English troops in Turenne's army in 1657, and examples of the last two colours are by no means extinct in the army to-day. Red, blue, grey, and green, it may be added, were all worn during the Civil War on both sides. It must not be forgotten, however, that gay uniforms are now only used at home in times of peace, for we have learnt a lesson from the lower animals, many of which are protectively coloured, and the service uniform to-day is one calculated to render its wearer as inconspicuous as possible. Before the time of firearms which could be used with precision, and when hand-to-hand combats played a great part in war, it was necessary for two adversaries to be able to see one another, but now each tries to hide himself. [Illustration: FIG. 147.--A reversion in military equipment. One of Cromwell's Ironsides (1679), from a print. A Cavalryman sketched at Aldershot in 1901. Copied, by permission, from the _Daily Mail_.] Some years ago a sketch, which was made from a cavalry man at Aldershot, was given in the _Daily Mail_; side by side was shown another taken from a print representing one of Cromwell's Ironsides, and the likeness between the two is almost exact. (See Figure 147.) Ornamental epaulettes may also be looked upon as the last remnant of armour, though the modern kind probably came from a shoulder-knot of Charles II's time, as they were originally intended to protect the shoulders from sword-thrusts. At the present day, though they are worn in the English Navy and are common on the Continent, they have practically disappeared from the Army. The officers of the Yeomen of the Guard, whose uniform is that which was worn in the Peninsular War, still wear epaulettes, as do the Gentlemen-at-Arms and the Lords-Lieutenant of Counties. As we have said, there is a fine field for the study of survivals in uniforms proper, and from time to time many of these have attracted the notice of popular writers.[35 & 36] Additional interest is given to this subject by the fact that besides the variations which have gradually evolved, there are special features which have suddenly appeared often in connection with some important battle, which we might liken to the curious sports and freaks which sometimes occur in the natural history world.