Orleans independent standard. [volume] (Irasburgh, Vt.) 1856-1871, 1859-02-04
THE EscoRIkL.

rial is from the thira volume ofswil-
liam II. Prescott's History Of Philip
the Second. lsa.s 8
| Critics. have greatly differed from.
each other ina their judgement Of the
Escorial Few foreigners have been
found to aequiesce in the undilased pa
negyric OF those Casiiiians' who pro-
nounce it the eighth wonder Of the
/ world Yeta cannot be denied that few
foreigners are qualified to decide oa'4he
merits of a work, to jndge of whicttacor-
rectIy requires perfect understanding
Of the character OF tiie country ii Which
it was built, and of the monarch who
built it. The traveller who gazes on IFS
long lines of cold gray stone, scarcely
broken by an ornament, feels dreary
sensation creeping over him, while be
contrasts it with the lighter and more
graceful edifices to which his eye has
been accustomed. But he may read in
this the true expression Of the founders
character. Philip did not aim at the
beautiful, much less at the festive and
cheerful The feelings which he de-
sired to raise in the spectator were of
that solemn, indeed somber complexion.
which corresponded best with his own
religious faith.
Whatever defects may be charged on
the Escorial, it is impossible TO view it
from distance, and see the mighty pile
as it emcrges from the gloomy depths
u of the mountains, without feeling how
! perfectly it conforms in its aspect to the
wild and melancholy scenery of the
sierra. Nor can one enter the conse
Grated precintcs, without coulessing thC
genius of the place, and experiencing
i sensations of a mysterious awe as be
wanders through the desolate halls, wEicl
Ii fancy peoples with the solemn images o
1t the past.
2 The architect of the building wa
II embarrassed by more than one difficulty
Of every peculiar kind. 1t was no
$ simply a monastery that be was to build
II The same edifce, as we have seen, wa
e to comprehend at once a convent,
palace and tomb. 1t was no easy pro
blem to reconcile objects so discordan
and to infuse into them a common prin
ciple Of unity. 1t is no reproach to III
builder that he did not perfectly suecee
in this, and that the palace should in
pair the predominant tone of feelin
raised by the other parts of the structur,
looking in fact ike an excrescence, ratl
er than an integral portion of the ed
r fee.
~ Another difficulty of more whin
20 steal nature, imposed on the architeC
10 was the necessity of accommodating Il
nd plan of the building to the form Of
gridiron,-as typical Of the kind Of ma
;, tyrdom suffered by the patron saints
90 the Escorial. Thus the long lines
cloiscers, with their intervening court
served for the bars of the instrument
vs The four lofty spires at the corners
ans the monastery, represented its legs
verted and the palace, extending;
slender length on the east, furnished Il
he awkward handles.
.es, 1t is impossible for language TO co
ca vey any adequate idea of word Of a
or Yet architecture has this advantage ov
lis- the sister arts Of design, that the me
has statement of the dimensions helps
er- much in forming a conception of t
ou- work. A few of these dimensions "
ms serve to give an.idea Of the magnitu
to of the edifice. They are reported
'eet Us by Los Santos, Jeronymite MOI
who has left one Of the best accounts
the the Escorial.
oor. The man building, or monastery,
low estimates at seven hundred and 70
r. Castilian feet in length by five hund
lear and eighty in breath. Its greatest heig
the measured TO the central cross above
See dome of the great church, is three h
-pse dred and fifteen feet. The whole
ling conference of the Escorial, includ
hen the palace, he reckons at Two thous'
ion, nine hundred and eighty feet, or nea
the three-fifihs Of a mile. The patient
n to quirer tells US there were no less Il
and twelve thousand doors and window
Il in the building that the weight Of
you keys alone amounted to fifty arrobas
twelve hundred and fifty pounds
finally, that there were sixty-eiglt 70
beir tains playing in the halls and court
fleet this enormous pile.
eFef The cost Of IL construction and IN
or'n' ior decoration, we are informed by +.
are er Siguenea, amounted TO very near