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state apartments, and the fourth the abode of the mas- 
ter: the highest part of the point might also have been 
used as a chapel or oratory. 
The antiquity of this building, which reposes upon 
vaults, appears to me to have preceded the period of 
history. I have been informed, that it has never been 
mentioned in any history worthy of credit, and 1 could 
not find either upon the door or elsewhere any sign 
of an inscription or hieroglyphics. 
The walls are built of stone found upon the spot, 
and bricks perfectly well baked, and which are still red; 
those which I measured are two feet long, one wide, and 
two fingers thick. The door and window cases are of 
marble, composed of shells of a thousand different spe- 
cies, and in perfect preservation. Some parts still have 
the roof work. 
When we think of the labour and expense which this 
building must have cost, particularly on the spot it oc- 
cupies, and reflect upon its antiquity, we are filled with 
astonishment. This palace was decorated with all the 
luxury of the period of its construction. The windows 
are well proportioned. The marble was without doubt 
brought from a distance, and the bricks and the mortar 
could not have been made upon the spot. The beauty, 
I may even say the magnificence, of the apartment in 
w r hich it is probable the court assembled, in short, even 
the supply of water necessary for so vast a building on 
such an elevated spot, all make me believe that the 
founder of this palace was a sovereign, possessed at 
once of great talents, riches, and an uncommon mind. 
If it might be supposed that this edifice had simply 
served as a fortress, the date of its elevation might be 
