Quickly following on the royal warrant, the first stone was laid June 21, 1675, at the south east corner of the choir.[65] By 1685 the walls of the choir were finished, with the north and south porticoes, and the dome piers raised to a like height. When fixing the centre of his dome, Wren directed a labourer to place a stone as a mark. The man took a broken fragment of an old gravestone on which was inscribed the word _Resurgam_; and by many this was naturally taken as a favourable augury. In 1686 the old west end, hitherto left undisturbed in its ruins, was cleared away, and two years later the choir was ready for its roof; but shortly after, a fire at the west of the north choir aisle, in a room allotted to the organ-builder, caused a slight delay. Not until 1697 was the choir ready for divine service.
After long years of war, during which the country had suffered from the heavy burden of taxation, and her commerce had been impaired, the treaty of Ryswick was at length signed, sealed, and ratified; and Louis XIV. acknowledged William and Mary as the lawful sovereigns of these isles. The king returned from the Continent in November, 1697, and was received with the greatest enthusiasm. Stock almost rose, and gold almost fell, to par; and every prospect of a returning prosperity put the public, whatever their politics, in a good humour. A council at which William presided, resolved that the second day of December should be kept as a day of Thanksgiving; and the Chapter decided that the day of Thanksgiving should be the day for the consecration of the choir. William wished to attend himself; but it was represented that if he went in procession from Whitehall, the whole population would turn out, and the parish churches be empty; and he had to rest content with a service in his palace. At St. Paul's the civic representatives attended in full state, and Bishop Compton, Dean Sherlock, and the cathedral staff, occupied the new stalls of Grinling Gibbons. The temporary organ accompanied the chanting, and a special prayer incorporated into the Communion office ran: "We offer our devout praises and thanksgivings to Thee for this Thy mercy, humbly beseeching Thee to perfect and establish Thy good work. Thou, O Lord, dwellest not in houses made with hands; heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain Thee; but though Thy throne is in heaven, earth is Thy footstool; vouchsafe, therefore, we beseech Thee, Thy gracious presence in this Thy house to hear our prayers, and accept our sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving." Bishop Compton, who preached, took for his text, "I was glad when they said unto me, let us go into the House of the Lord." His sermon has not come down to us, but no doubt he reminded the clergy and congregation that the day of Thanksgiving had been selected because it was the dedication of their metropolitan temple to the public worship of the religion of the Prince of Peace; that after a lapse of thirty years, and in spite of the hardship and distress engendered by plague, fire, and war, London was raising another building on the spot consecrated by centuries of prayer and praise; and that as the result of the treaty of peace, their national religion was assured, while the metropolis might continue to extend her commerce without fear of disaster and bankruptcy.[66]