the lungs, during respiration (q. v.), through the nose and mouth. This operation is performed without effort, but still it causes a motion in the external air, before the nose and mouth. The air expired is the vehicle of sound and speech. A smaller portion of oxygen and a larger portion of carbonic acid is contained in the air which is exhaled than in that which is inhaled. There are, also, aqueous particles in the breath, which are precipitated, by the coldness of the external air, in the form of visible vapor; likewise other substances which owe their origin to secretions in the mouth, nose, wind-pipe and lungs. These cause the changes in the breath, which may be known by the smell, like the other qualities of the air. In youth, the breath is insipid, and contains acid: it loses these qualities after the age of puberty, and becomes more agreeable. With advancing age, it becomes again unpleasant. A bad breath is often caused by local affections in the nose, the mouth, or the wind-pipe: viz. by ulcers in the nose, cancerous polypi, by discharges from the mouth, by sores on the lungs, or peculiar secretions in them. It is also caused by rotten teeth, by impurities in the mouth, and by many kinds of food (viz. horse-radish, onions, and also by flesh, if used to the exclusion of other food), and by fevers. In the last case, it often varies with the character of the disease. The remedy for this complaint must depend on the causes which produce it. Substances of an aromatic kind, which have a strong, rich smell, should be chewed to diminish its offensiveness. (See Mengin's Tentamen Physiologicum de respirat (Edinburgh, 1790.) But it is often impossible to remove this unpleasant disorder. According to the Prussian code, a bad breath furnishes ground for a divorce.

BREATHING. (See Respiration.) BRECCIA; a term applied to a rock composed of angular fragments cemented together.

BRECHIN; a town of Scotland, 83 miles north of Edinburgh, with 5906 inhabitants. It is more distinguished in history than for its present importance. David I founded a bishop's see at B. in 1150, and some remains of its cathedral still exist. The steeple is a fine tower, surmounted by a spire, and is 120 feet high. Near it is one of those old towers common in Ireland, 103 feet high, and 16 feet in diameter at the base. Nothing is known of the uses of these towers, or of the time of their erection. The Culdees (q. v.) had

a cell or convent here. There was, formerly, a strong castle at B., which sir Thomas Maule defended against Edward I.

BREDA, in the Netherlands; capital of a district of the same name, has 9000 inhabitants, is connected with the Meuse by the navigable river Merk. B., being a strong frontier fortress, was formerly of the greatest importance to Holland, and is still of great military value as the chief point of the line of fortresses before the Meuse. The fortifications consist of 15 bastions, as many ravelins, and 5 hornworks, besides the citadel. The chief strength of this fortress lies in its marshy environs, which may easily be laid under water. B. became a town in 1534: since that time, it has often been a subject of contention between the Dutch, Spaniards and French. It was taken by surprise by Barlaimont in 1581, and by Maurice of Orange in 1590. The latter capture was accomplished by means of a boat loaded with turf, in which 70 Dutch soldiers were concealed. Spinola took B., in 1625, after a siege of 10, and Henry of Orange after one of 4 months. During the French revolutionary war, Dumouriez made himself master of the city and fortress in February, 1793, and would thereby have prepared the way for the conquest of Holland, had he not been forced, by the loss of a battle at Neerwinden, to evacuate the city and fortress, April 4. In September, 1794, B. was attacked by the army of Pichegru, but did not surrender till all Holland was conquered, in the winter of 1794. On the approach of the Russian van-guard, under general Benkendorf, in Dec., 1813, the French garrison made a sally, and the patriotic citizens profited by the occasion, rose en masse, shut the gates, and prevented the French from returning into the town. A peace was concluded at B. between England and Holland in 1667.

BREDOW, Gabriel Godfrey, professor of history in Breslau, born in Berlin, in 1773, of poor parents, was, for a time, professor at Eutin, and a colleague of the celebrated Voss; afterwards professor at Helmstadt, and, still later, at Frankfort on the Oder, whence he went to Breslau on the removal of the university to that place. He died in 1814. He was distinguished for his patriotism and his literary works. His Handbuch der alten Geschichte (Manual of Ancient History) has passed through five editions, the last of which appeared in 1825. He is the author of Chronik des neunzehnten Jahrhunderts

VOL. II.

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(Chronicle of the Nineteenth Century), Epistola Parisienses (he went to Paris in 1807, to collect all that has been left to us by the Greek geographers), Untersuchungen über Geschichte, Geographie und Chronologie (Researches on History, Geography and Chronology), and of the very useful Historische Tabellen (Historical Tables), which have been translated into English.

BRÉE, Matthew van, first painter to the crown-prince of the Netherlands, member of the national institute of the Netherlands, born at Antwerp in 1773, cultivated his talents in this city, and afterwards in Paris, under the direction of Vincent, and in Italy. As early as 1798, his Death of Cato was admired. This great painter, being accustomed to sketch his ideas rapidly, was able to present to Napoleon the manœuvres of the fleet on the Scheldt before Antwerp, a few hours after they took place. With almost equal rapidity, he made a painting of Napoleon's entrance into Amsterdam, at the moment chosen, being that when the magistrates are delivering to him the keys of the city. In architecture and. in sculpture, B. also exhibited considerable talents. Philip James van B. is likewise a celebrated painter, and lives at Pavia. Several of his works have been purchased in France for the Louvre, St. Cloud, &c. He was born in 1786.

BREECHES; an article of clothing in use even among the Babylonians, and which, with them, were made so as to cover the foot, and supply the place of stockings. In Europe, we find hose first used among the Gauls; hence the Romans called a part of Gaul breeched Gaul (Gallia braccata). In the 5th century, they had become fashionable in Rome; but the breeches-makers were expelled from the city by an imperial edict, it being considered unworthy of the lords of the world to wear these barbarous investments. The stockings were separated from them some centuries since. Sometimes they were worn small, and sometimes large, as the fashion changed. In some instances, an immense quantity of cloth was put in them. The poor stuffed theirs out with such substances as they could procure. Joachim II, elector of Brandenburg, who had forbidden the wearing of these enormous integuments, made a person, whom he saw with a pair, rip them open, when some bushels of bran fell out of them. Osiander (in his Hoffahrtsteufel) and Musculus (in his Hosenteufel) raised their voices against

this preposterous fashion. The modern breeches were first introduced during the reign of Louis XIV.

BREECHING; a rope used to secure the cannon of a ship of war, and prevent them from recoiling too much in the time of battle. It is of sufficient length to allow the muzzle of the cannon to come within the ship's side to be charged.

BREEZES, SEA, LAND and MOUNTAIN. (See Winds.)

BREGUET, A. L., maker of time-pieces for the royal marine in France, member of the academy of sciences and the bureau des longitudes, of the society for the encouragement of national industry, the royal council of arts and manufactures, and the legion of honor, born at Neufchâtel, in 1747, contributed to the perfection of the art of watch-making, as well as of mechanics in general, by a number of useful inventions, for instance, astronomical double watches, double chronometers, marine watches, a sympathetic clock, watches that need not be wound up, provided they are occasionally worn about the person, the metallic thermometer, &c. He likewise improved the telegraph. He has a son, who possesses a large share of his father's talents, and has been concerned with him in the execution of many of his great works.

BREHON; an ancient Irish magistrate. The office appears to have been hereditary. Each tribe had one brehon, whose judg ments were given in the open air on the hill-tops; many spots are yet called Brehons' chairs. The office was abolished under Edward III. Some fragments of the brehon law are yet extant. (See Ledwich's Antiquities of Ireland, 1790.)

BREISGAU. (See Brisgau.)

BREISLAK, Scipio, born in Rome, 1768, and destined for the church, for which reason he is mentioned as an abbate in the works of Spallanzani, was one of the most ingenious geologists of our times, and opposed to the Neptunian system, without, however, implicitly adopting the Vulcanian. He was professor of natural philosophy and mathematics at Ragusa He was afterwards professor in the collegio Nazareno, at Rome, made a scientific tour through Naples, and went to Paris, where he formed an intimacy with Fourcroy, Chaptal, Cuvier, &c. Napoleon appointed him inspector of the saltpetre works and powder-mills in the kingdom of Italy. He was also a member of the institute and many other literary societies. The first work, by which he made himself known to the public as an observer

of nature (e. g. his treatise on the solfatara in the vicinity of Naples, in the neighborhood of which he lived for years as director of the establishments for boiling alum), contains indications of the principles which he afterwards developed in his system. The first extensive work, which he published at Florence in 1798, was the Topografia Fisica della Campagna (Physical Topography of Campania). After some time spent in the examination of this region, he returned to Rome, examined the adjoining country in a geological point of view, and confirmed his former opinion, that the seven hills are chiefly the remains of an extinct volcano. Leaving his native city on account of political disturbances, he went to France, where he made himself known to the mineralogists, in 1801, by a new edition of the above-mentioned work (disfigured, indeed, by many misprints), with additional remarks, supplements and corrections, under the title Voyages Physiques et Lithologiques dans la Campanie, 2 vols. A topographico-mineralogical description of the environs of Rome is added to it. It contains the results of 12 years' researches. Till then, there had been no systematic treatise on the mineralogy of mount Vesuvius. Earlier writings on this volcano contained merely the history of single eruptions, and the only mineralogical work on this subject, by Gonni, is nothing but a catalogue. B. was the first who examined geologically the regions described in his work. This valuable work has been translated into several languages; into French by general Pommereuil, into German by Fr. Ambr. Reuss (Leipsic, 1802, 2 vols. with engravings).-B. took advantage of his residence in France to examine the regions of Auvergne famous for the Puys (volcanic mountains), and his observations there contributed not a little to the formation of his theories on the effects of volcanoes. In Milan, he wrote his Arte di Salnitrajo (Art of manufacturing Saltpetre), and, in 1811, published his Introduzione alla Geologia (Introduction to Geology), 2 vols., which was, in 1818, followed by an edition in French, almost a new work, under the Litle Institutions Géologiques, 3 vols., likewise published at Milan. In 1822, his beautiful geological description of the province of Milan appeared. He died at Turin, Feb. 15, 1826, at the age of 78. He left his celebrated cabinet of minerals to the family of Borromeo.

BREITKOPF, John Gottlob Emmanuel; born at Leipsic, in 1719. He pursued, at

first, a literary career. During his studies, the works of Albert Dürer, in which the proportions of letters are mathematically calculated, fell into his hands. He was pleased with this subject, and, during his whole life, labored with zeal to improve the German characters. An attempt was once made to introduce into Germany the Latin characters instead of those commonly used in that country. B. was one of the most zealous opposers of the plan. In 1755, he essentially improved the art of printing music with movable characters. His invention of a method of printing maps, pictures, and even Chinese characters, by means of movable types, is ingenious, though less useful than the other. Although the pope, as well as the academy in Paris, testified their great approbation of this invention, yet no practical use has yet been made of it. He was engaged in writing a history of the art of printing, but died in 1794, before this work was finished. B. was a man of great probity.

BREMEN, on the Weser, situated in a territory formerly an archbishopric, but erected into the duchy of Bremen in 1648, was one of the leading members of the Hanseatic league. At the reformation, the city embraced the Lutheran religion, and expelled the archbishop. Since 1562, Calvinism has been the prevailing religion. By the peace of Westphalia, the crown of Sweden came into possession of the secularized archbishopric, under the title of a duchy. When the elector of Brunswick gained possession of the duchy in 1731, the prerogatives of a free city were confirmed to B. B. is divided by the Weser into the old and the new towns. The fortifications have been demolished, and on the ground where they stood a garden, in the English style, was laid out in 1802, extending, in a semicircle, round the old town, from one bank of the Weser to the other: the garden is provided with running water, and wide, clean walks. Outside of each of its gates is a retired place, planted with fir-trees, affording sheltered walks, and room for sports of various sorts. There is, also, much taste displayed in the arrangement of the trees, shrubs and plants. Adjoining it are the finest houses, which have a good view of the river, the city, and the surrounding country. The principal buildings, besides the churches, are the senatehouse, with its cellar of Rhenish wine, the former archiepiscopal palace, converted, in 1819, into the city hall; the exchange, a museum, theatre, hospital,

city library, and two orphan asylums. The water-works furnish the old town with pure, soft water. The number of inhabitants is estimated at 38,000; that of the houses is 5350. The city contains a gymnasium (academy), and, for scientific instruction, a pædagogium. The magistrates (two of whom may be Lutherans), are 4 burgomasters and 24 senators, composed partly of the learned and partly of the mercantile professions. If matters of general moment arise, the Wittheit (wisdom), consisting of all the citizens who pay taxes, is convoked. The territory belonging to the city is about 74 square miles, and contains 48,500 inhabitants. From 1810 to 1813, B. was the capital of the French department of the Mouths of the Weser. The congress of Vienna admitted it into the German confederacy, as a free city, with one vote in the general assembly. B. and the three other free cities have, together, a vote in the diet. The revenues amount to 400,000 florins; the debt, to 4,500,000 florins. The constitution is, like that of Hamburg and Lubeck, a relic of other times. A thousand antiquated forms render the government of this small city a complicated web of jarring interests. These free cities do not even possess the liberty of the press, and their existence depends on the mutual jealousy of the powers which surround them, with whose whims they must always comply. The only advantage of which they can boast is the comparative lightness of the taxes. The chief points deserving of remark in the political constitution of these cities are, that they have four burgomasters chosen for life, a senate, chosen from among the citizens, also for life; likewise meetings of the citizens, either in primary assemblies or by delegates, whose opinion and consent are seldom asked, except when new taxes are to be imposed; and, finally, a number of subjects not represented. In 1820, the toll at Elsfleth was abolished; but the accumulation of sand between Vegesack and B. has not ceased, and vessels deeply laden can go up the river only to Bracke and Elsfleth, or, at most, to Vegesack. Their cargoes are, therefore, discharged into lighters, which is inconvenient and expensive. The herring and whale fisheries carried on from this city are important, and the trade, principally in German linen, to St. Thomas and South America, is increasing. Olbers and Heeren were born at B. B. lies in lon. 8° 48′ 3′′ E.; lat. 53° 4′ 45′′ N.

BRENNER, in the Tyrol. Mount B.,

properly so called (also mons Brennius), rising between Inspruck and Sterzing, and between the rivers Inn, Aicha and Adige, 729 fathoms above the level of the sea, is 6063 feet in height. The road from Germany to Italy traverses this mountain. It is 4376 feet high, and about 12 miles long. At its foot is the pass, called Laug or Lug, where the milestones of Maxinin and Maxentius are standing; the first of which was erected in 236, or the year of the victory over the Allemanni, and indicates the distance of 130 Roman miles to Augsburg. The B. has been the chief position for the defence of the Tyrol. In the last revolution of the Tyrolese, in 1809, particularly in August, they defended themselves gallantly in this place against the Bavarians and French, who were advancing, cutting off their communication with Italy, until November. (See Alps, Roads over.)

BRENNUS; the name of several princes of the ancient Gauls, and expressive of their dignity. Its derivation from the old Celtic word brenn (chief, leader) is not improbable. A leader of the Sennones, a Gallic nation in the upper part of Italy, who is mentioned under this name, made an invasion into the Roman territory about the year 390 B. C. Aruns, an Etrurian, having failed in an attempt to obtain justice at Rome in a lawsuit with his ward, addressed himself to the Sennones for the purpose of revenging himself. Enticed by the description of the fertility of Etruria, they conquered the whole country froin Ravenna as far as Picenum. They then laid siege to Clusium, the inhabitants of which city had recourse to Rome for assistance. The Romans, in consequence, sent three brothers of the Fabian family to remon strate with B. B. replied, that his right lay in his sword. The Fabii, provoked by this haughty answer, entered the city under pretence of negotiating, exhorted the inhabitants to perseverance, promised them assistance, and even conducted a sally at their head. B. resolved to avenge this breach of faith, and, raising the siege of Clusium, directed his march towards Rome, after having in vain demanded the surrender of the Fabii. They were ap pointed military tribunes, and, at the head of 40,000 men, went forth to meet the enemy. A battle was fought near the river Allia, not far from Rome; the Romans were totally defeated, and B. took possession of the city, which had been previously abandoned by the inhabitants The capitol only was provided with a