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carts, drawn by oxen, and laden with hewn stone, and other heavy articles. In some cases, were fifty or sixty of these teams together; for in Spain, men move in crowds, not so much for the sake of company, as for mutual protection against robbers. Almost every one who is mounted, too, has a gun slung to his saddle, a fact rarely witnessed in Portugal, where the women do most of the marketing from the country; and all that one sees gives an impression, that both life and property are there far more secure than in Spain.

The towers of the Escurial, elevated as it is, upon the side of the mountain, are in sight most of the way from Madrid. The main structure consists of a church, a convent, and palace, and owes its origin to a vow made by Philip the Second, in consequence of his victory over the French, at the battle of St. Quentin, in the year 1557. As this event took place on the day sacred to St. Lorenzo, and as that worthy was broiled to death on a gridiron, that instrument, inverted, was adopted as a model for the Escurial. A wing connected with the royal apartments, represents the handle; the buildings which divide the court, are the bars; and the towers which rise at the corners, are the legs of the gridiron. Its site is on the side of the Guadarrama mountains, and the lofty cliffs which overhang it, lessen the effect which its vast size and proportions would otherwise produce. The edifice is built. almost entirely of hewn granite. Its length is 744 feet, breadth 530 feet, height to the cornice, 62 feet; on the front corners are two towers, more than 200 feet high. The interior consists of three principal divisions. In the central is the main entrance, opening into the "Court of the Kings," which is 230 feet long, by 136 broad; while beyond this is the church. On the right of this division, which occupies the whole diameter from east to west, are four small cloisters for monks, and one large one; while on the left, connected with four small courts, are two colleges; and adjoining the large court are the palace, and the small cloister attached to it, representing the handle of the gridiron. The Escurial was twenty-two years in building, and cost $50,000,000. The vastness of the structure, its thick and massive walls, its compact arches, sustained by an immense number of huge columns, all of solid granite, and giving to the whole an air of firmness and durability, are scarce surpassed by the pyramids of Egypt, and seem to defy earthquakes and the ravages of time. The Escurial has 15 gates of entrance; 63 running

fountains, and 13 which are not used; 12 cloisters; more than 80 stair-cases; 73 statues of bronze and other costly materials; (the statue of St. Lawrence, formerly there, weighing 450 pounds of silver, and 18 of gold, disappeared during the war with France ;) 4 statues of marble; 6 colossal ones of granite, one of which is 15 feet high; an infinite number of bass reliefs; two libraries, with more than 24,000 volumes and 2,000 manuscripts, many of which are old and very valuable; 13 oratorios; 8 organs; 16 courts; 51 bells, of which 31 are so arranged as to chime; 14 porches; and more than 10,000 windows. The jewels and precious relics are numerous; and the domes, arched ceilings, and walls of the church, the spacious halls and cloisters are painted with splendid frescos, by the first artists of Spain and Italy. To these we may add the collection of paintings, one of the choicest and most valuable in Europe, consisting of 566 originals, by the first painters in the world, and 261 copies. Such is the Escurial and its contents, which the Spaniards call, and hardly with exaggeration, the eighth wonder of the world. The royal family and court spend part of the months of October and November here; and the convent is now occupied by about 80 Hieronomite monks. There were formerly 200 of them; and there are cells for two or three times that number. Their annual income was $130,000, derived from lands, and from 36,000 merino sheep pastured at a distance, besides a flock of 1,200 kept in the vicinity, from which they supplied their table.

When I presented myself at the door of the Escurial, one of the servants called for Father Antonio, a monk, who waits on strangers, and shows them the wonders of the place. He is a tall, venerable looking man, about sixty years of age, with thin gray hair, an oblique cast to one eye, and an intelligent and peculiarly amiable and benevolent expression of countenance. His manners had an air of ease and kindness, which made one feel perfectly at home with him. He took me down a long stair-case, enclosed on each side and above with highly polished marble, to the Pantheon, or burial-place of the Spanish kings. It is a room of eight sides, is thirty-six feet in diameter, and thirty-six high, from the pavement to the centre of the dome. Rows of shelves, or niches, extend round the walls, rising one above another, occupied by twenty-six richly carved coffins of porphyry, in the shape of a casket, and with feet, and a plate for inscription, on the front,

both of bronze. All but nine of these coffins are occupied by the remains of Spanish kings, beginning with the Emperor Charles the Fifth, and by such of the queens as have given birth to sovereigns. The pavement, walls, and arch above, are all of highly polished marble, jasper, and alabaster, richly ornamented with sculptured bronze, and other materials of a showy and tasteful kind. Beckford, speaking of this resting place of the dead, closes thus: "This graceful dome, covered with scrolls of the most delicate foliage, appeared to the eye of my imagination, more like a subterranean boudoir, prepared by some gallant young magician, for the reception of an enchanted and enchanting princess, than a temple consecrated to the king of terrors.' In the vicinity of the Pantheon, is another apartment, where are the remains of some fifty or sixty children of kings of Spain. The deceased sovereigns of Portugal, and other members of the house of Braganza, the present reigning family, occupy a long narrow room beside the high altar of the convent church of St. Vincent.

The next morning, we examined more minutely the church. It is in the form of the Greek cross, and is 320 feet long, by 230 broad. Its height, from the pavement to the top of the noble dome, is 330 feet. The dome is supported by four lofty, gigantic columns, which are square, and more than twenty feet in diameter. There are four organs, and forty altars, besides numerous paintings, images, and other costly

ornaments.

Of the numerous splendid paintings in the galleries of the Escurial, the Pearl of Raphael is the most celebrated. It once belonged to the royal family of England, and was sold by them, two or three centuries since, for 2,000 pounds sterling. It represents the Holy Family, consisting, as usual, of Joseph, Mary, John the Baptist, and Christ. In this case, the two latter are apparently four or five years old; and, to say nothing of the heavenly beauty of the Virgin, there is, in the face and eyes of that son of her love, as, with excited interest and affection he looks up to her, an expression of pure and radiant intelligence, scarce equalled by the most vivid scenes of real life.

Cambiaso, a celebrated Genoese painter, was living at the time the Escurial was built. Having formed a passionate attachment for his sister-in-law, as a dispensation from the Pope was necessary before he could marry one thus related

Such was

to him, he used all the influence he could command, to secure this favor, but in vain. At length he made a journey to Rome, with a view to press his suit in person. his fame as an artist, that the Grand Duke of Tuscany came forth to meet him, with a royal retinue, and entertained him as his guest, when passing through his dominions. On reaching Rome, Cambiaso prostrated himself at the feet of the Pope, and with tears and earnest entreaty, besought a dispensation, but without effect. Soon after this, Philip the Second, of Spain, sent to Cambiaso, requesting him to come and adorn with frescos, the walls of the Escurial. The artist, knowing the great influence of that monarch with the Court of Rome, repaired to Spain, with the hope of so pleasing him as to secure his aid in effecting the object which lay so near his heart. One day, as the stern and gloomy sovereign was watching the splendid creations of the artist, he sketched the face of a young and beautiful female, and then, with a dash or two of his pencil, changed it, as if by magic, to a haggard and weeping old woman. So sudden was the transformation, that a smile of wonder and delight played upon the stern and rigid features of the king, when the artist, thinking that the long-sought moment had arrived, fell upon his knees, and earnestly besought of Philip to use his influence with the Pope, in favor of the cherished object of his life. The haughty monarch turned away in moody silence; and the artist, with blighted hopes and broken heart, the self-same day left for Genoa, where he entered a convent, and died there. In viewing his portrait afterwards, in the Royal Gallery at Florence, I fancied that his sad and trying history had deeply stamped its impress of woe upon his noble but gloomy and careworn countenance.

The Escurial was formerly quite rich in precious relics, but when the infidel French used its deserted halls for barracks, they showed but little respect for the treasures of the church. When Beckford was there, the monks showed him, among other things, an immense quill, or feather, some three or four feet long, said to have fallen from one of the wings of the angel Gabriel, when he came to announce the birth of Christ, to the shepherds of Bethlehem. It was laid on a silken cushion, richly perfumed, and was regarded with the highest veneration. How this feather reached the Escurial, and what has now become of it, I neglected to inquire. Such as I have here described it, is the Escurial, the palace-convent of Spain, the eighth wonder of the world.

"A lofty pile, where bigot pride
And superstition, side by side,
O'er rugged hill and wasted plain,

In stern and solemn grandeur reign."

In returning from the Escurial, I left the main road, with a view of reaching Madrid by a shorter route, but learned, to my cost, the truth of the old adage, "The furthest way around is the nearest way home." After wandering through fields and villages for several hours, I found myself, at sundown, on the main road again, about four leagues from the city. There was no moon, and it had long been dark when I reached the Peurta de Hierro, or Gate of Iron, near a league from Madrid. I had hardly passed through the gate, when, suddenly, two coarsely clad vagabonds, whom I had seen hanging over a fire in the toll-house, as I passed, rushed upon me, bawling aloud in a noisy, angry manner. Not understanding their jargon, I told them I was English. This, however, only enraged them the more; and suspecting, from their manner, as well as from the hour and the place, that their object was robbery, I put spurs to my mule, and with my cane defended myself from the violent attempts made to stop and seize me. They first shouted for a gun, but as I was beyond its reach, the next cry was for a horse. Not apprehending further trouble, and hoping soon to reach the gates of the city, where were those who would protect me, I kept on my way for a mile or more, when a man on horseback rode hastily up, and asking no questions, drew a two-edged horseman's sword, and commenced cursing and beating me in a furious manner. This was no joke: and not choosing to be hacked to pieces in such style, I parried his sword with my cane, and then tried its virtues, with effect, on his head and shoulders. He tried his utmost to stab me, by making constant thrusts with his sword, but as he was not skilled in fencing, I easily parried his blows, until finding he could do nothing in front, coward-like he rode round me, and tried to reach my back. I then leaped upon the ground, where I could better turn to defend myself at all points. Just at this moment, he called upon two peasants who were passing, in the name of the queen, to assist him; whereupon one of them seized me, telling me at the same time, "He has force," meaning that as he was armed, resistance would be useless. On this point, however, I held a different opinion, and so, freeing myself from his grasp, I again threw myself on my reserved rights.

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