By William Long, Esq. 121 



see that there is no real objection. Whoever they were that dug 

 that wide dyke, and threw up that high bank, must have had abun- 

 dance of labour at command ; and though Mr. Goodman's fourteen 

 horses could not move one of the Grey Wethers, long levers very 

 probably could. As Dr. Johnson says in Rasselas, ' The master of 

 mechanics laughs at strength ; ' and Archimedes had said long before 

 him, ' Give me a place to stand on, and a lever, and I will move the 

 world.' . . . Trunks of oaks bound with iron, and pierced with 

 holes for levers would furnish rollers to propel the stones to very near 

 their ultimate destination. It is also necessary to suppose the site 

 of Stonehenge occupied by a mound, either natural or artificial ; the 

 ascent being by an easy incline from the quarter whence these stones 

 were brought. On the top of the mound we must suppose as many 

 holes dug as there were upright stones to be placed. On the arrival 

 of each stone, it would be dropped into its hole ; and when all were 

 thus placed, there would only remain the more easy task of laying 

 on the imposts, each end of which evidently has been mortised on to 

 the perpendiculars. The earth would then be dug away, leaving 

 the structure complete ; and if this earth must be accounted for, we 

 may think it probable that we see it in the numerous barrows near, 

 that still exist on Salisbury Plain." 



^-^r^^^^^-^N 



