" Of the taking down the vast Ruins of the Old Cathe dral, (St Paul's) and of the Foundations of the Old and New Structures.—The pulling down the walls, being about 80 feet high, and five feet thick, was a great and troublesome work. The men stood above, and worked them down with pickaxes, whilst labourers below moved away the materials that fell, and dispersed them into heaps. The want of room made this way slow and dan gerous, and some men lost their lives. The heaps grew steep and large, and vet this was to be done before the masons could begin to lay the foundations.
" The city, having streets to pave anew, bought, from the rubbish, most of the stone called Kentish rag, which gave some room to dig and to lay foundations ; which yet was not easy to perform with any exactness, but by this method : " The surveyor placed scaffolds high enough to ex tend his lines over the heaps that lay in the way, and then by perpendiculars set out the places below, from the lines drawn with care upon the level plan of the scaffold.
" Thus he proceeded, gaining every clay more room, till he came to the middle tower that bore the steeple. The remains of the tower being near 200 feet high, the labourers were afraid to work above, thereupon lie con cluded to facilitate this work by the use of gunpowder.
" He dug a hole of about four feet wide, down by the side of the north-west pillar of the tower, the four pil lars of which were each about fourteen feet diameter. When he had dug to the foundation, he then, with crows and tools made on purpose, wrought a hole two feet square, level into the centre of the pillar. There he placed a little deal box, containing eighteen pounds of powder, and no more. A cane was fixed to the box, with a quick-match (as gunners call it) within the cane, which reached from the box to the ground above ; and along the ground was laid a train of powder, with a match. After the mine was carefully closed up again, with stone and mortar, to the top of the ground, he then observed the effect of the blow.
" This little quantity of powder not only lifted up the whole angle of the tower, with two great arches that rested upon it, but also two adjoining arches of the aisles, and all above them; and this it seemed to do somewhat leisurely, cracking the walls to the top ; lifting visibly the whole weight about nine inches, which suddenly _lumping down, made a great heap of ruin in the place without scattering. It was half a minute before the heap, already fallen, opened in two or three places, and emitted some smoke. By this description may be ob served the incredible force of powder : 18 pounds only of which lifted up above 3000 tons, and saved the work of 1000 labourers.
" The fall of so great a weight, from a height of 200 feet, gave a concussion to the ground, that the inhabit ants round about took For an earthquake.
" Encouraged by this success, lie thought to proceed this way ; but being obliged to go nut of town in the king's service, he left the managunent of another mine begun to the care of his next officer, who, too wise in his own conceit, put in a greater quantity of powder, and neither went low enough, nor sufficiently fortified the mouth of the mint ; and though it had the effect, yet one stone was shot out to the opposite side of the church-yard, through an open window, into a room of a private house, where some women were sitting at work, without any harm done. This accident frightened the neighbours to that degree, that he was importuned to use no more powder, and was so directed also by his superiors, though, with due caution, it might have been executed without any hazard, and saved much time and money.
" lie then turned hiPthoughts to another method, to gain time, prevent much expence, and the endangering of men's lives ; and that was, to make an experiment of that ancient engine in war, the battering ram.
" lie took a strong mast, of about 40 feet long, arm ing the bigger end with a great spike of iron, fortified with bars along the mast, and fermis. This mast, in two places, was hung up to one ring with strong tackle, and so suspended level to a triangle prop, such as they weigh great guns with. Thirty men, fifteen on a side, vibrated this machine to and again, and beat in one place against the wall the whole clay. They believed it was to little purpose, not discerning any immediate effect. Ile bid them not despair, but proceed another day. On the second day, the wall was perceived to tremble at the top, and in a few hours it fell. The reason to be given for it may be this : It is not by any present violence the ram is able to overturn a wall of such bulk and compac ture, hut incessantly vibrating by equidistant pulses, it makes a small intestine motion through all the insensible parts of the wall, and by degrees loosens all the bond of the mortar, and moves every stone from its bed ; and though not the hundredth part of an inch every blow, yet this motion, once begun, bath its effects more and more, till at length it is quite loose, and falls. He made good use of this machine in beating clown all the lofty ruins, and pleased himself that he had recovered this not able engine, of so great service to the ancients in besieg ing of towns, though great guns have now put them out of use, as more expeditious, and requiring fewer men to manage.