palace which takes its name from a village about 15 miles north-west of Madrid, the capital of Spain. It is the largest and most superb structure in the whole kingdom, and perhaps one of the finest in Europe. It was begun by Philip II. in 1557, who was 22 years in building it. He called it St. Lawrence of the Escurial, because he had gained a battle over the French on that saint's day. It contains as many different buildings as are usually met with in a city; for there is a royal palace, a church, a college, a library, cloisters, shops for mechanics, lodgings for great numbers of people, fine walks, large alleys, a vast park, and gardens with water-works. It is built in a dry barren spot, surrounded with rugged mountains, inasmuch that every thing that grows there is owing to art. This place was chosen only for the sake of the stone wherewith it is built, which is got from a mountain just by, and is very durable. The way from the village to the Escurial, is along a walk planted with four rows of elm and lime-trees, about a mile and a half in length. There is a glacis round the building, which, before the front, is separated from the square by walls, through which there are gates to enter the square. The square is paved with stones of different figures, disposed into compartments. The structure itself is almost square, and is a little longer one way than the other; all the walls are constructed with grey stone, so well polished, that it looks like marble. This noble structure has 11,000 windows, 17 cloisters, 22 courts, 800 columns, a prodigious number of chambers, halls, saloons, &c.