But when he found the Boys at Play, And Saw 'em dabling in their Clay; He stood behind a Stall to lurk, And mark the Progress of their Work; With true Delight observ'd 'em All Raking up _Mud_ to build a Wall; The Plan he much admir'd, and took The _Model_ in his Table-Book; Thought himself now exactly skill'd, And so resolv'd a _House_ to build. A _real House_, with _Rooms_ and _Stairs_, Five Times at least as big as Theirs; Taller than MISS'S by two Yards; Not a sham Thing of Clay, or Cards; And so he did: For in a while, He built up such a monstrous Pile, That no two Chairmen cou'd be found, Able to lift it from the Ground; Still at _White Hall_ it Stands in View, Just in the Place where first it grew; There all the little School Boys run, Envying to see themselves outdone. From such deep Rudiments as these, VAN is become by due Degrees, For Building Fam'd, and justly Reckon'd At Court, _Vitruvius_ the _Second_;[76] No wonder, since wise _Authors_ show, That _Best Foundations_ must be Low; And now the Duke has wisely ta'en him To be his _Architect_ at Blenheim: But Railery for once apart, If this Rule holds in ev'ry Art; Or, if his Grace was no more Skill'd in The Art of Batt'ring Walls, than Building, We might expect to find next Year A _Mouse trap_ Man, Chief Engineer. [Footnote 75: The same lady satirised in _The Reverse_.] [Footnote 76: Vanbrugh was Comptroller General of Works.] But should any reader wish to see good specimens of real Queen Anne's houses, I would recommend a visit to Nos. 10 and 11 Austinfriars. They are undoubtedly genuine (mark the date 1704 on the waterspout); and the staircase of No. 10, with its beautifully turned and carved balusters, and boldly yet easily carved soffits, is a real treat to see; and were it to be cleansed from its many coats of paint, and appear in its original state, it would be an almost matchless specimen of the domestic building of the time. The ceiling, too, at the top of the staircase is very beautifully painted, and was most probably the work either of Laguerre or Thornhill. It is good enough for either of them. No. 11 is inferior to No. 10, but were its neighbour away it would be looked upon as a very good type of a house in the reign of Queen Anne. See also an old house, now used as a Ward School, formerly the residence of Sir C. Wren, in a courtyard in Botolph Lane, Eastcheap.