The first Napoleon gave an impetus to this branch of industry by insisting on gentlemen wearing gloves on State occasions and at festive gatherings, and the fashion spread through the countries of Europe with astonishing rapidity. CHAPTER IV. CURIOUS FOOT-GEAR. "A tasteful slipper is my soul's delight." --_Milman's "Fazio."_ A well-shaped foot has been considered from the earliest times one of Nature's kindest gifts, and sober history and fairy lore have combined to give us many interesting particulars respecting this portion of the human anatomy. The similarity of the foot-gear of both sexes makes it impossible to treat the matter separately, and as the subject is practically inexhaustible, I propose only to illustrate the most curious and notable examples. One of the finest collection of shoes in the world is that at the Cluny Museum, Paris, formed by the eminent French engraver, the late Jules Jacquemart. This was enlarged by the purchase of the collection of Baron Schvitter. The Queen of Italy has also acquired a large number of historical boots and shoes; and to Mr. Joseph Box, another enthusiastic collector, I am indebted for some of the drawings used for illustrating this article. A quaint story is told in a rare book, entitled "The Delightful, Princely, and Entertaining History of the Gentle Craft of Crispin, the Patron Saint of Shoe Makers, and his Brother Crispianus." According to this authority, they were the two sons of the King of Logia (Kent), and lived in the city of Durovenum, otherwise Canterbury, or the Court of the Kentish men. Having embraced Christianity, during the Roman invasion, they were in considerable danger, and at their mother's instigation, to conceal their identity, adopted humble attire, and devoted themselves to the modest craft of shoemaking, under the auspices of a shoemaker at Faversham, to whom they bound themselves for seven years. This industrious citizen appears to have received the appointment of shoemaker to the Court of Maximinus, whose daughter Ursula fell in love with Crispin. After removing the usual obstacles (which, even in those remote times, seem to have obstructed the paths of those who had fallen under the sway of Cupid), this energetic lady engaged the services of a neighbouring friar, and cut the gordian knot by marrying her faithful adorer.