Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 07.djvu/237

* ESCOLAR. 205 ESCRIBED CURVE. Atlantic in deep water, and well known in the Meriterranean, where it is called by the Italians 'roveto' or 'ruvetto.' It is not much valued in Europe, but is highly regarded in the Antilles, and especially in < tabs. w here the fishermen make a business of catching it between the disappear- ance of the spear-fish and the coming of the red snappers. Its extreme oiliness and its rough skin has caused it to be called 'oilfish' and 'scowrfish' along the Gulf Coast. The term 'escolar' is applied by ichthyologists to the whole family (Gempylida?) which this fish represents. ESCORIAL, Span. pron. es-ko-ri-al' ( Sp., from escoria, slag, from Lat. scoria, Gk. cKwpia, sl.i'iria, slag). A celebrated monastery and palace in Spain (El real monasterio de .Suit Lorenzo del Escorial). In gratitude to Saint Laurence, on whose day (August 10, 1557) the victory of Saint Quentin had been gained, Philip II. of Spain erected the Escorial, which to the present day squats with its monotonous, savage, granite walls on a bleak height some 27 miles to the northwest of Madrid. Fanci- fully designed to resemble the famous gridiron on which Saint Laurence was martyred, the Esco- rial is a huge parallelogram. 7S0 feet by 623, with tall towers at the angles, symbolic of the feet of the gridiron, immense interior courts representing the intervals between the bars and a protruding line of buildings on the east, indicat- ing the handle. The Escorial comprises a mag- nificent church, a royal palace, a royal tomb, a college and a monastery. The principal entrance to the Escorial is in the middle of the western facade, and opens only to admit the King on his first visit to the place, and a second time to receive his body in death. The church is a noble structure 340 feet in length by 200 in width, with a cupola 60 feet in diameter towering 320 feet in the air. Its interior was formerly rich with marble figures and bronzes, and masterly frescoes by Giordano and Pellegrini. Most precious of all is a life-size image of Christ on the cross, done in ivory by Benvenuto Cellini. Very interesting is a little royal chamber open- ing on the choir, where Philip on his sick-bed and on his death-bed heard through an open door the mass intoned. Below the high altar of the church is the Pantheon or royal tomb, an octagonal chamber with niches containing black sarcophagi in which rest the bodies of all the kings of Spain since the Emperor Charles V., with the exception of Philip V. and Ferdinand VI. The palace of the Escoria] was rich in treasures of painting, and contained works of Raphael. Rubens. Velasquez, Titian, and Tinto- retto. The library, which was under the care of the monks of Saint Jerome (driven out by the French), comprised 30.000 volumes and 4500 manuscripts, concerned mostly with Arabic litera- ture. The Escoria] was begun in 1563 and took twenty years in building. Its original designer, Juan Bautista de Toledo, died in the interval, but the work was completed by his pupil Juan Her- rera. It has been repeatedly added to or repaired, until it represents to-day an outlay of over $10,- 000.000. Fire and lightning have frequently vis- ited it. the French in 1808 plundered it, but it. still stands a monument to its original builder, Philip II. Consult: Santos. Deseripci&n del real monasterio de San Lorenzo del Escorial (Madrid, 16S1 i ; Rotondo, Bistoria del monasterio dt San Lon in,, i Madrid, L856 61). ESCORT (Fr. escortc, II. scorta, guide, from scorgere, to guide, from Lat. c.r, out + corrigere, to correct, from con, together 4 regere, to direct). In the United States Army, escorts are nt two kinds — escorts of honor, and funeral escorts. Escorts of honor arc picked bodies of troops, detailed to receive and escort personages of high rank, civil or military. The troops 8 signed for Ibis duty may be composed of cavalry, artillery, or infantry, but arc invariably selected for their soldierly appearance and superior dis- cipline. An officer is als,> detailed to attend the personage escorted, and bear c munications from him to the commander of the escort, The strength and character of such escort is largely determined by the status of the personage es- corted. Funeral escorts are bodies of troops in numbers appropriate to the rank and grade of the deceased, detailed to attend and escort the funeral cortege, as may be ordered. The United States Army Regulations order that for the funeral escort of the Secretary of War, or Gen- eral of the Army, a regiment of infantry, a squadron of cavalry, and two batteries of field artillery form the detail; for the lieutenant-gen- eral, a regiment of infantry, a squadron of cav- alry, and a battery of field artillery: for a major- general, a regiment of infantry, two troops of cavalry, and a battery of field artillery: for a brigadier-general, a regiment of infantry, a troop of cavalry, and a platoon of field artil- lery; for a colonel, a regiment; a lieutenant- colonel or major, a battalion or squadron; a captain, one company; a subaltern, a platoon; non-commissioned staff officer, 10 rank and file under a sergeant; a sergeant, 14 rank and file under a sergeant; a corporal, 12 rank and file under a corporal; a private. S rank and file un- der a corporal. The coffin is carried on a gun- carriage, which is used without the caisson, as a rule. Six pall-bearers are selected from the grade of the deceased, or from the grade immedi- ately above or below. ESCOSURA, es'k6-soo'ra, Patricio de la (1807-78). A Spanish statesman and author, born in Madrid. Early imbued with the revo- lutionary spirit rampant in the Spain of his day, Escosura was obliged to leave his country and study abroad. L T pon his return he took to lit- erature and published two successful novels, some- what in the manner of Walter Seott — El conde de Oandespina (1832) and At rcy, ni roque (1835). Banished for his Carlist sympathies, he afterwards became Under-Secretary of State Min- ister of the Interior, and Ambassador to Germany (1872). His most important works are: Bistoria constitucional de Inglaterra (1850); La Espana artistica y monumental (1842-50); and several plays, such as l.n corte del Buen-Retiro (1837) and Las mocedades de Hi man Cortes (1846). ESCRIBANO, gs'kre-ha'n6. See Halfbeak. ESCRIBED CURVE (from Lat. e, out + scribere, to write, draw). A curve ex- ternally tangent to the sides of a polygon; e.g. an escribed circle of a triangle is tangent to one side and to the other two produced. The bisec- tors of the interior and exteTior angles of a triangle intersect by threes in four pnint«. of