The flow was so great that Brunel ordered all to retire. The water rose so fast that when they had retreated a few feet it was up to their waists, and finally Brunel had to swim to the stairs, and the rush of water carried him up the shaft. Unhappily, about half-a-dozen lives were lost at this catastrophe, and those who were rescued—about a dozen in number—were extricated in an exhausted or fainting state. The roar of the water in the shaft made a deafening noise; the news soon spread, and the scene became very distressing as the relatives of the men arrived. Once more the hole in the bed of the Thames had to be stopped. Down went the diving-bell, but it had to descend twice before the gap was discovered. It was a hole some seven feet long, and four thousand tons of earth, chiefly bags of clay, were used in filling it. Again the tunnel was entered, and again the intrepid engineer found the work sound. But, alas, another difficulty had presented itself—one more difficult to conquer even than stopping up huge holes in the bed of the Thames. The tunnel was being cut by a Company, and its money had gone; nay, more, its confidence had well nigh gone also. Work could not proceed without money, and for seven years silence and desolation reigned in those unfinished halls beneath the river. Then the Government agreed to advance money, and work was again commenced. But it proceeded very slowly, some weeks less than a foot being cut, during others again three feet nine inches. The ground was in fact a fluid mud, and the bed of the river had to be artificially formed before the excavation could proceed in comparative safety. Further, the tunnel was far deeper than any other work in the neighbourhood, and all the water drained there—a difficulty which was obviated by the construction of a shaft on the other side of the river. The shield had also to be replaced. It had been so battered about by the flood that another was necessary. As it kept up the earth above, and also in front, the change was both arduous and perilous. But it was accomplished without loss of life. Three more irruptions of water occurred: the third in August, 1837, the fourth in November, 1837, and the fifth in March, 1838. But the engineer was more prepared for Father Thames’ unpleasant visits, and a platform had been constructed by which the men could escape. Unhappily, one life was lost, however, on the fourth occasion. A great rush of soil also occurred in April, 1840, accompanied by a sinking of the shore at Wapping over some seven hundred feet of surface. Happily this occurred at low tide, and the chasm was filled with gravel and bags of clay before the river rose high.