think nothing well without an edging." After this deserved satire, he showed clearly, at considerable length, that a balustrade was not in harmony with the general plan and unique combinations of the edifice; but his opinion was disregarded, and the balustrade was placed on the cornice.
THE GREAT FIRE IN LONDON.
While the discussions were going on whether St.
Paul's Cathedral should be restored, or the entire
edifice be rebuilt, the great fire in London, in 1666,
not only decided this question, but opened an extensive
field for the display of Wren's talents in various
other metropolitan buildings. One of his immediate
labors, arising from the conflagration, was a
survey of the whole of the ruins, and the preparation
of a plan for laying out the devastated space in
a regular and commodious manner, with wide
streets, and piazzas at intervals, which he laid before
Parliament; but his plans were not adopted, and
the new streets arose in that dense and intricate
maze of narrow lanes, which even now are but slowly
disappearing before modern improvements. Furthermore,
instead of the line of spacious quays
along the Thames which Wren proposed, the river
is shut out from view by wharfs and warehouses, to
such an extent as to render any adequate scheme
for the improvement of its banks hardly practicable.
London might have arisen from her ashes the finest
city in the world, had Wren's plans been followed.
