I marked out with chalk the dimension of the entrance I wished to give to the cave; then my sons and I took our chisels, pickaxes, and heavy miner's hammers, and began boldly to hew the stone.
Our first blows produced very little effect; the rock seemed impenetrable, the sun had so hardened the surface; and the sweat poured off our brows with the hard labour.

Nevertheless, the efforts of my young workmen did not relax.

Every evening we left our work advanced, perhaps, a few inches; and every morning returned to the task with renewed ardour.

At the end of five or six days, when the surface of the rock was removed, we found the stone become easier to work; it then seemed calcarious, and, finally, only a sort of hardened clay, which we could remove with spades; and we began to hope.

After a few days' more labour, we found we had advanced about seven feet.