728 ESPARTERO ESPINEL and its remains are mostly buried under large mounds covering the adjacent country. In the centre of the modern town, surrounded by filthy hovels, stands the portico of a great temple, in a fine state of preservation. It is supported by 24 massive pillars, each 5| ft. in diameter and 40 ft. high. The portico is 112 ft. long, 53 ft. broad, and covered with sculp- tures and hieroglyphics. On its ceiling is a zodiac, like that of Denderah ; over the dedica- tion at the entrance are the names of Tiberius Claudius Cassar, Germanicus, and Vespasian, and within occur those of Trajan, Hadrian, and Antoninus. The hieroglyphic inscriptions show that the oldest part of the temple was built by Ptolemy Epiphanes, about 200 B. 0. ; the portico was erected by the emperor Claudius, about A. D. 50 ; other portions are of still later date, the latest being erected by Vespasian, about 70. In 1843 Mehemet Ali had it cleared of the rubbish which filled the interior, and used it as a cotton warehouse. ESPARTERO, Joaqnin Baldomero, duke de la Vitoria, a Spanish soldier, born at Granatula, near Ciudad Real, Feb. 27, 1792. He is the eon of a wheelwright, and was intended for the church, but in 1808 entered the army. He engaged in 1815 under Morillo in the war against the insurgents of South America, fought in Venezuela and Peru, and rose to the rank of brigadier general. After the sur- render of the Spanish troops at Ayacucho in 1824, he returned to Spain with a considerable fortune. He favored the succession of Isabella II. to the throne, and the appointment of Qu Christina as regent during her minority. U the breaking out of the civil war after the death of Ferdinand VII. (1833), he was made coin- mander-in-chief of the province of Biscay, and afterward lieutenant general. In the contest with the Carlists he displayed energy and ability, and was appointed general-in-chief of the army of the north, viceroy of Navarre, and captain general of the Basque provinces. In December, 1836, with the assistance of the British fleet, he drove the Carlists from Lu- chana, raised the siege of Bilbao, and was created count of Luchana. As a member of the constituent cortes he supported the new constitution of 1837. In that year he com- pelled the army of Don Carlos, which had ad- vanced to the walls of Madrid (September), to retreat across the Ebro; in 1838 defeated the Carlist generals Negri and Guergue ; and hav- ing gained new victories early in 1839, was created a grandee of the first class, with the title of duke de la Vitoria and of Morella. In August, 1839. he concluded with the Carlist general Maroto the convention of Vergara, which amounted to a submission on the part of the Carlists. Don Carlos left the country, and Cabrera, the only Carlist general who re- mained, was soon after defeated by Espartero. Queen Christina endeavored to strengthen her power by placing Espartero at the head of the ministry ; and when in 1840 she was compelled pon to resign the regency and retired to France, Espartero was appointed regent. During his administration insurrections broke out in dif- ferent parts of Spain, especially at Pamplona and Barcelona. Espartero asserted his au- thority with ability and energy, refused several demands of the Christines, and gave further offence by some commercial arrangements with England. A revolutionary junta assembled at Barcelona in 1843, and declared that Isabella had attained her majority, and that the regency was at an end. Espartero was deserted by all parties, and Narvaez, his personal enemy, in July entered Madrid in triumph at the head of an army. Espartero retired to England, where he resided till 1847, when he was re- stored to his honors, and resumed his position as senator. When Christina was again forced to leave Spain in 1854, Espartero was placed by Queen Isabella at the head of the cabinet, O'Donnell, the principal leader of the Chris- tinos, being made minister of war. This coali- tion ministry was short-lived, and Espartero re- signed in July, 1856. After the expulsion of Queen Isabella in 1868, he supported the pro- visional government. In 1870 several mem- bers of the cortes offered him the crown, but he declined it on the ground of his great age and his want of heirs. ESPARTO, a species of grass or rush belong- ing to the genus stipa, a native of the south of Europe and the north of Africa. It abounds in southern Spain, where it is much used in the manufacture of cordage, nets, sacks, mats, baskets, &c., for which it is well adapted by the great strength of its fibre. The sandals called alpargates, worn by the Spanish peas- antry, are made from it. Esparto cables are used in the Spanish navy, being considered superior to hemp, because from their lightness they float on the water, and are not so liable to be cut by a rough bottom. ESPINASSE, Mile, de 1'. See LESPINASSE. ESPINEL, Vicente, a Spanish poet, born in Ronda, Andalusia, about 1545, died in Madrid about 1634. His father's name was Francisco Goma, but, according to a Spanish custom, he adopted the name of his maternal grand- mother. He was educated at Salamanca, and afterward led an adventurous life in various parts of Europe. In his latter years he held an ecclesiastical office in his native town, though he passed much of his time in the capital. He was in pecuniary trouble through the whole of his career, and died in poverty, al- though he was the recipient of a pension from the archbishop of Toledo. Espinel was promi- nent among the Spanish poets of the 16th and 17th centuries, and some of his canciones, redondillas, pastorals, and elegies are spirited, picturesque, and harmonious in versification. He was also proficient in music, and is said to have added a fifth string to the guitar, which soon led to the invention of the sixth. But his chief work is his Relaciones de la mda del escudero Marcos de Olregon, which first ap-
