ESCUTCHEON 



2972 



ESHER 



ft. wide ; above it is a colossal 

 statue of S. Lorenzo, the work of 

 the sculptor Monegro. The head, 

 hands, and feet of this statue are 

 wrought in white marble, but the 

 rest of the figure is granite. This 

 entrance leads into a vestibule 80 

 ft. wide, flanked on the right hand 

 by the convent, including library 

 and refectory, and on the left by 

 the college. 



The central space is occupied by 

 the church, the plan of which was 

 based on the original one of S. 

 Peter's, Rome. The dome and lan- 

 tern are carried on four enormous 

 piers, from which spring the arches 

 of the three naves. There are 48 

 side chapels, and below the high 

 altar is the famous Pantheon, con- 

 taining the tombs of the kings and 

 queens of Spain. The decoration of 

 this octagonal chamber, consisting 

 of precious marble linings, dates 

 from 1654 ; more interesting art 

 treasures are the paintings dis- 

 tributed over the church, particu- 

 larly those by Tintoretto, El Greco, 

 Zurbaran, and Ribera in the sac- 

 risty, and the masterpieces of 

 Coello in the chapels. 



On the N. side is the palace, in 

 the N.E. corner of which were the 

 apartments of Philip himself. In 

 the room in which he died was 

 a panel, by opening which the 

 king could look down upon the 

 high altar of the church. Other 

 apartments of the palace were 

 added to and embellished by 

 later monarchs, the bulk of the 

 decoration belonging to the 18th 

 century. Philip II was the founder 

 of the Escurial Li brary. Don Diego 

 de Mendoza, the Inquisition, and 

 Augustin, archbishop of Tarra- 

 gona, were other donors, the collec- 

 tion being further increased by 

 confiscated libraries, and by the 

 rule that a copy of every book pub- 

 lished in Spain should be presented 



The Hermits oi S. Jerome were 

 the first tenants of the monastery, 

 which was stormed in 1807 by 

 French troops ; only part of the 

 looted treasure was restored at the 

 peace of 1814. See Architecture. 



Escutcheon (old Fr. escuchon, 

 Lat. scutum, shield). In heraldrv, 

 term used to describe a shield 

 blazoned with armorial bearings 

 or other insignia. See Shield. 



Esdraelon, PLAIN OF. District 

 of Palestine. It is sometimes called 

 the plain of Jezreel, a term which 

 applies more specifically to its 

 eastern extension towards the Jor- 

 dan. An historic tract of country, 

 it has been the scene of many 

 battles, from Gideon's victory over 

 the Midianites to the actions 

 fought by Allenby's cavalry in his 

 conquest of the Holy Land. It lies 



S.E. of Haifa, between Mt. Carmel 

 and the Mountains of Gilboa, in N. 

 Palestine, and is the Armageddon 

 of the Apocalypse. Watered by the 

 Kishon, the plain is very fertile. 

 During the Great War the British, 

 after defeating the Turks at El 

 Lejjun, a village on its S. edge, 

 marched across it to Nazareth in 

 Sept., 1918. 



Esdras, THE BOOKS OF. Several 

 works bear the title Esdras. One 

 of these (O.T. Apocrypha) con- 

 tains substantially the same ma- 

 terials as the Biblical books known 

 as Ezra, Nehemiah, and II Chron- 

 icles. In the Septuagint and in the 

 Latin and Syriac versions this is 

 called I Esdras ; but in Latin bibles 

 since the time of Jerome, III Esdras 

 (the O.T. books of Ezra and Nehe- 

 miah being reckoned as I and 

 II Esdras ). Modern scholars prefer 

 to call it " Greek Esdras." The 

 other work in the O.T. Apocrypha 

 is commonly called II Esdras, but 

 sometimes IV Esdras. It contains 

 seven visions, and is the only speci- 

 men of Apocalyptic Literature in 

 the O.T. Apocrypha. I Esdras was 

 used by Joseph us, and may have 

 been composed in the first cen- 

 tury B.C. II Esdras was probably 

 written in the reign of Domitian 

 (A.D. 81-96). The author appears 

 to have witnessed the destruction 

 of Jerusalem in A.D. 70 (iii, 1 ) ; 

 and in the Eagle Vision the eagle 

 seems to represent Rome. 



Esdud. Village of Palestine. 

 On the Mediterranean, it occupies 

 the site of ancient Ashdod (q.v.). 



Eserine Sulphate. The sul- 

 phate of an alkaloid extracted from 

 Physostigma venenosum, the Cala- 

 bar bean. It produces contraction 

 of the pupils, and in minute doses 

 is useful in various affections of the 

 eye. In large doses it is very 

 poisonous. 



Esh. Village and parish of Dur- 

 ham. It is 5 m. W. of Durham, and 

 is a mining centre. Near here, at 

 Ushaw, is the Roman Catholic col- 

 lege of S. Cuthbert, 

 the successor of the 

 one at Douai. It 

 has a collection of 

 pictures and anti- 



r'ties, while its 

 pel was designed 

 by Pugin. S. 

 Michael's is the 

 chief church. Pop. 

 1,075. 



Esher. Parish ol 

 Surrey, England, a 

 residential suburb 

 of London. It 

 stands on the Ports- 

 mouth Road near 

 the little river Mole. 

 Pleasantly situated 

 it is 15 m. S.W. of 



London by the L. & S.W. Rly. 

 Esher Place, beside the Mole, 

 built by William of Waynflete in 

 1460, and now represented by a 

 ruined tower, was the residence 

 of Wolsey after his fall in 1529. 

 One mile S. of the town is Clare- 

 mont (q.v.). Pop. 2,609. The urb. 

 dist. includes Esher, Thames 

 Ditton, and Long Ditton. Pop. 

 12,518. 



Esher, WILLIAM BALIOL BRETT, 

 IST VISCOUNT (1817-99). British 

 judge. The son of a clergyman, he 

 was born Aug. 13, 1817, and went 

 from Westminster School to Caius 

 College, Cambridge. In 1840 he 

 became a barrister, and after some 

 successful years at the bar entered 

 the House of Commons as Conser- 

 vative M.P. for Helston in 1866, a 

 tie at this election ending in the 

 House allowing both candidates to 

 sit. In 1868 Brett was made solici- 

 tor-general, but very soon he left 

 political life to become a judge of 

 the court of common pleas. In 1876 

 he was promoted to be a lord jus- 

 tice, and in 1883 to be master of 

 the rolls. He retired in 1897, and 

 died May 24, 1899. In 1885 Brett 

 was made Baron Esher and in 1897 

 was raised to the rank of viscount. 



Esher, REGINALD BALIOL BRETT, 

 2ND VISCOUNT (b. 1852). British 

 publicist. Born in London, June 

 30, 1852, he was 

 the son of Wil- 

 liam Baliol 

 Brett,the judge, 

 created Vis- 

 count Esher in 

 1897. Educated 

 at Eton and 

 Trinity College, 

 Cambridge, he 

 was Liberal M.P. forPen- 

 ryn and Falmouth 1880- 

 85. He was secretary 

 to the office of works 

 1895-1902, and enjoyed 

 the confidence of both Queen Vic- 

 toria and Edward VII, under whom 

 he was deputy-governor of Windsor 



Esher. The old parish church of S. George, disused 



since 1853. One of the bells was brought from S 



Domingo Island by Sir Francis Drake 



