Stranica 295 [295]
so fond. It was to have flames
springing out all over it, presum¬
ably of gilt bronze. On the top
was to be an immense vase, from
which also flames were to rise,
and on the top of all was to be
a phoenix, with outspread wings.
Eventually, however, the design
was changed. A fluted column
Was substituted without flames,
and it was decided to put a
Statue of Charles II on the top.
some pieces of stone from the plat¬
form at the top. It was erected, as
everybody knows, to commemorate
the Great Fire of 1666; or, to speak
more strictly, to commemorate the
rebuilding of the city in an incredibly
short space of time after that prodi¬
gious calamity. Wren’s first sketch
represents an unfluted column of the
Tuscan-Doric order, of which he was
2 N UNLOADING BARGES AT A CITY WHARF