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Anecdotes of Painters, Engravers, Sculptors and Architects and Curiosities of Art (Vol. 3 of 3) by Shearjashub Spooner
page 31 of 325 (09%)
reached above his chin; and the elder, taking me up in his arms as I
would a child, placed my feet on the other's shoulders, and my body flat
on the smooth surface of the stone. In this position, we formed an angle
with each other; and here I remained for upwards of two minutes, till
the older man went round, and by some other means, contrived to get over
the projection, when, creeping along the line of junction of the casing,
he took my hands, drew me up to where he was above me, and then letting
down his girdle, assisted to mount up the younger, but less daring and
less active of the two. We then proceeded much as follows. One of them
got on the shoulders of the other, and so gained the joining of the
stone above. The upper man then helped me in a similar action, while the
lower pushed me up by the feet. Having gained this row, we had after to
creep to some distance along the joining, to where another opportunity
of ascending was offered. In this way we proceeded to the summit; and
some idea may be formed of my feelings, when it is recollected that all
of these stones of such a span are highly polished, are set on an angle
of little less than 45°, and that the places we had to grip with our
hands and feet were often not more than two inches wide, and their
height above the ground more than 400 feet. A single slip of the foot,
and we all three must have been dashed to atoms long before we reached
the bottom. (This actually happened to an English traveler in 1850.) On
gaining the top, my guides gave vent to sundry demonstrations of
satisfaction, clapping me on the back, patting me on the head, and
kissing my hands. From this I began to suspect that something wonderful
had been achieved; and some idea of my perilous situation broke upon me,
when I saw some of my friends beneath, waving their handkerchiefs and
looking up with astonishment, as we sat perched upon the top, which is
not more than six feet square. The apex stone is off, and it now
consists of four outer slabs, and one in the centre, which is raised up
on the end and leans to the eastward. I do not think human hands could
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