o sit down
weeping. The first thing was to rebuild their houses. This done there
would be time to consider the future. The Lord Mayor and the Aldermen
took counsel together how to rebuild the City. They called in Sir
Christopher Wren, lately become an architect after being astronomer at
Cambridge, and Evelyn: they invited plans for laying out the City in a
more uniform manner with wider streets and houses more protected from
fire. Both Wren and Evelyn sent in plans. But while these were under
consideration the citizens were rebuilding their houses.

They did not wait for the ashes to get cool. As soon as the flames were
extinct and the smoke had cleared: as soon as it was possible to make
way among the ruined walls, every man sought out the site of his own
house and began to build it up again. So that London, rebuilt, was
almost--not quite, for some improvements were effected--laid out with
the same streets and lanes as before the fire. It was two years,
however, before the ruins were all cleared away and four years before
the City was completely rebuilt. Ten thousand houses were erected during
that period, and these were all of brick: the old timbered house with
clay between the posts was gone: so was the thatched roof: the houses
were all of brick: the roofs were tiled: the chief danger was gone. At
this time, too, they introduced the plan of a pavement on either side of
smooth flat stones with posts to keep carts and waggons from interfering
with the comforts of the foot passengers. It took much longer than four
years to erect the Companies' Halls. About thirty of the churches were
never rebuilt at all, the parishes being merged in others. The first to
be repaired, not rebuilt, was that of St. Dunstan's two years after the
fire: in four years more, another church was finished. In every year
after this one or two: and the last of the City churches was not rebuilt
till thirty one years after the fire.

[Illustration: COACH OF THE LATTER HALF OF THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY.

(_From Loggan's 'Oxonia Illustrata.'_)]

[Illustration: WAGGON OF THE SECOND HALF OF THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY.

(_From Loggan's 'Oxonia Illustrata.'_)]

It was at this time of universal poverty that the advantages of union
was illustrated to those who had eyes to see. First of all, the
Corporation had to find food--therefore work. Thousands were employed in
clearing away the rubbish and carting it off so as to make the streets,
at least, free for t