“So we should,” said his father. “Everyone who does good work helps the world along, whether he is paid for it or not.”
“But I shouldn’t want to be a shoemaker,” went on Wallace.
“Why not, Wallace?”
“Oh, I hardly know, father.”
“Shoemaking is very interesting, and it requires skill, my boy. Of course, the making of new shoes does not require the skill it did years ago because so much of the work is done by machines.”
“Did you ever hear of a shoemaker who became a great man?” asked Wallace.
“Oh, that is the question, is it?” said Mr. Duwell with a smile. “I have heard of several, and this evening I shall be glad to talk about them.”
II. Shoemakers Who Became Famous
That evening, when the family was seated around the library table, Mr. Duwell brought out a book and took up Wallace’s question.
“Here is a book,” he said, “that tells many facts about shoemakers who became noted men. Let me read about some of them.