LIVES OF ILLUSTRIOUS SHOEMAKERS BY WILLIAM EDWARD WINKS ૭ LONDON: SAMPSON LOW, MARSTON, SEARLE, & RIVINGTON, CROWN BUILDINGS, 188 FLEET STREET, E.C. [All rights reserved.] PREFACE. TIME out of mind The Gentle Craft has been invested with an air of romance. This honourable title, given to no other occupation but that of shoemakers, is an indication of the high esteem in which the Craft is held. It is by no means an easy thing to account for a sentiment of this kind, or to trace such a title to its original source. Whether the traditionary stories. which have clustered round the lives of Saints Anianus, Crispin and Crispianus, or Hugh and Winifred, gave rise to the sentiment, or the sentiment itself is to be regarded as accounting for the traditions, one cannot tell. Probably there is some truth in both theories, for sentiment and tradition act and react on each other. Certain it is, that among all our craftsmen none appear to enjoy a popularity comparable with that of "the old Cobbler" or "Shoemaker." Most men have a good word to say for him, a joke to crack about him, or a story to tell of his ability and "learning," his skill in argument, or his prominence and influence in |