formerly belonged to the duchy, sends 5. Much of the soil, especially in the southern part, is fertile, produces large quantities of grain, and affords excellent pasturage. In the north, considerable tracts are covered with moss, heath and woods; but others yield large crops of wheat, hops and flax. There are manufactures of cloth, lace, linen, &c. The chief rivers are the Dommel, the Demer, the Dyle and the Nethe, which, with the canals, facilitate the internal commerce of the duchy. In the northern part, the inhabitants are Protestants; in the southern, chiefly Catholic.

BRACHMANS. (See Gymnosophists.) BRACTEATES; thin coins of gold or silver, with irregular figures on them, stamped upon one surface only, so that the impression appears raised on one side, while the other appears hollow. It seems most probable, that these coins, being circulated in great quantities under Otho I, emperor of Germany, when the working of the silver mines of the Hartz afforded the most convenient medium of exchange, were first coined at that place, and spread into other countries, where the Roman money was not known or in circulation. The original form of these coins was borrowed from that of the Byzantian gold ones, which, about that time, lost in thickness what they had gained in extension. Allowance was inade, however, for the greater softness of the silver. Gold and copper bracteates belong only to a later period. The name bracteate itself points to Byzantium (according to Isidore, it is derived from Spaxev, to ring). Bractea signifies leaf of gold, or other metal. The real name, at the time when they were in circulation, was denarius, moneta, obolus, panningus. They are of importance as illustrating history. A very good representation of a rich collection of bracteates can be seen in W. G. Becker's Two hundred rare Coins of the Middle Ages (Dresden, 1813, 4to.). In later times, there have been many bad imitations of these coins, and the study of them is therefore much more difficult.-Bracteated coins, or bracteati nummi; a term used to signify coins or medals covered over with a thin plate of some richer metal. They are usually made of iron, copper or brass, plated over and edged with gold or silver leaf. Some of them are to be found even among the truly ancient coins. French call them fourrées.

The

BRACTON, Henry de, one of the earliest writers on English law, flourished in the 13th century. He studied civil and canon

law at Oxford, and, about the year 1244, Henry III made him one of his judges itinerant. Some writers say, that he was afterwards chief justice of England; but his fame at present is derived from his legal treatise, entitled De Legibus et Consuetudinibus Anglia, which was first printed in 1569, folio, but of which a more correct edition was published in 1640, 4to. It is possibly to the unsettled nature of the times, and the alternate ascendency of the crown and barons, that we must attribute his inconsistency with regard to the royal prerogative; in one place observing that no man must presume to dispute or control the actions of the king; and in another, that he is subordinate to the law, and may be "bridled" by his court of "earls and barons." The time of his death is unknown.

BRADDOCK, Edward, major-general, and commander of the British army in the expedition against the French, on the river Ohio, in 1755, arrived in Virginia in February of that year, and, in the spring, marched against fort Du Quesne, now Pittsburg. He reached the Monongahela, July 8, at the head of 1200 men, the baggage having been left behind, under the care of colonel Dunbar, to advance by slower marches. On the next day, he moved forward to invest the fort, and, by disregarding the caution of his provincial officers, who warned him of the danger of surprise in an Indian war, fell into an ambuscade, by which he lost nearly one half of his troops, and received himself a mortal wound. All his officers on horseback, except colonel, afterwards general, Washington, who acted as aid, being killed, the army retreated precipitately, near 40 miles, to Dunbar's camp, where the general, who was conveyed there in a tumbril, expired.

BRADFORD, William, an American lawyer of eminence, was born in Philadelphia, September 14th, 1755. In the spring of 1769, he entered the college of Nassau hall, at Princeton, New Jersey, then under the direction of the late learned and pious doctor John Witherspoon. In 1779, he was admitted to the bar of the supreme court of Pennsylvania, where his character soon introduced him to an unusual share of business; and, in August, 1780, only one year after he was licensed to practise, he was appointed attorney-general of the state of Pennsylvania. August 22, 1791, he was made a judge of the supreme court of PennsylHis industry, integrity and ability enabled him to give general satisfaction

vania.

in this office. On the attorney-general of the U. States being promoted to the office of secretary of state, B. was appointed to the vacant office, Jan. 28, 1794. This office he held till his death. In 1793, he published an Inquiry how far the Punishment of Death is necessary in Pennsylvania. This performance justly gained him great credit. His death was occasioned by an attack of the bilious fever. He died August 23, 1795, in the 40th year of his age.

BRADLEY, James, a celebrated astronomer, was born at Shireborn, England, in 1692. He studied theology at Oxford, and took orders; but his taste for astronomy soon led him to change his course of life. His uncle instructed him in the elements of mathematics, his own industry did every thing else, and, in 1721, he was appointed professor of astronomy at Oxford. Six years afterwards, he made known his discovery of the aberration of light. (q. v.) But, although this discovery gave a greater degree of accuracy to astronomical observations, and although the discrepancies of different observations were much diminished, yet slight differences remained, and did not escape his observation. He studied them during 18 years with the greatest perseverance, and finally discovered that they were fully explained by the supposition of an oscillating motion of the earth's axis, completed during a revolution of the moon's nodes, i. e., in 18 years. He called this phenomenon the nutation of the earth's aris; and published, in 1748 (Philosoph. Trans. No. 785), his account of the apparent motion of the fixed stars, with its laws, arising from this phenomenon of nutation. D'Alembert afterwards explained the physical causes of this phenomenon, upon the principle of universal attraction. By these two discoveries, astronomers were, for the first time, enabled to make tables of the motions of the heavenly bodies with the necessary accuracy. B. had already, in 1726, explained the method of obtaining the longitude by means of the eclipse of Jupiter's first satellite. In 1741, at the death of doctor Halley, he received the office of astronomer royal, and removed to the observatory at Greenwich. Here he spent the remainder of his life, entirely devoted to his astronomical studies, and left 13 volumes folio of his own observations, in manuscript. Of these, the first volume was published by Horesby, 1798. The whole appeared under the title of Astronomical Observations made at the Obser

vatory at Greenwich, 1750-62; Oxford, 1805, 2 vols. folio. From this rich mine have been taken thousands of observations on the sun, moon and planets, which, properly arranged, have brought our astronomical tables to great accuracy. It was from this that Mayer drew the elements of his celebrated tables of the moon. In addition to his merit as a man of science, B. was modest, benevolent, humane and generous in private life. He died in 1762, aged 70.

BRADSHAW, John; president of the high court of justice which tried and condemned Charles I. He studied law in Gray's Inn, and obtained much chamber practice from the partisans of the parliament, to which he was zealously devoted. When the trial of the king was determined upon, the resolute character of B. pointed him out for president, which office, after a slight hesitation, he accepted.

His deportment on the trial was lofty and unbending, in conformity to the theory which rendered the unhappy sovereign a criminal, and amenable; and every thing was done, both for and by him, to give weight and dignity to this extraordinary tribunal. He rendered himself obnoxious to Cromwell, when the latter seized the protectorate, and was deprived of the chief justiceship of Chester. On the death of Cromwell, and the restoration of the long parliament, he obtained a seat in the council, and was elected president. He died in 1659, and, on his deathbed, asserted that, if the king were to be tried and condemned again, he would be the first to agree to it. He was magnificently buried in Westminster abbey, whence his body was ejected, and hanged on a gibbet at Tyburn, with those of Õliver and Ireton, at the restoration.

BRAGA. (See Mythology, northern.)

BRAGANZA; one of the oldest towns of Portugal. It was made a duchy in 1442, and from its dukes the present reigning family of Portugal are descended. The town and surrounding district still belong to the king of Portugal as duke of Braganza. Lat. 41° 44′ N.; lon. 6° 25′ W. (See Portugal.)

BRAHAM; one of the greatest professional singers England has ever produced. His tenor is unrivalled for power, compass and flexibility. His compass extends to about 19 notes, to each of which he knows how to give almost any degree of strength; and his falsetto, from D to A, is so entirely within his control, that it is hardly possible, in the ascent and descent of the scale, to distinguish at what note

the natural voice begins and ends. His intonation may be called perfect, so far as respects the strength and quality of a note, and his tone readily takes the character of whatever he wishes to express. His articulation is equally excellent, and not a syllable escapes the hearer. On this account, he particularly excels in recitative. The flexibility of his organs, and his rapidity of execution, are incredible. He goes rapidly through the whole compass of his voice, makes the boldest leaps from the highest to the lowest notes, and makes chromatic runs with incredible velocity. The hearer is never troubled with the fear of his failing; and this unlimited power is used with extravagant liberality. B. enters into every composition with a glow of feeling which gives the performance the liveliest coloring, and brings into full action all his natural powers. Always enthusiastic, his imagination pours itself out most profusely on sentiment, passion, melody, expression and ornament. But it is in this that he overleaps the bounds of art, and often excites more of wonder than pleasure, often dissatisfies more than he delights, and, indeed, too often destroys the general effect. From this manner of his arise that indescribably perverted and constrained tone, those sudden stops, vehement bursts, and immoderate heaping together of notes, which injure the singing; and hence also proceeds his mixture of the theatrical with the church and concert styles, in all of which he has to sing by turns. B. has had numerous imitators: the whole kingdom resounds with them; and a generation must pass away before the bad taste, which his errors have occasioned in every corner of England, shall be destroyed. Although he is one of the greatest singers which any age has produced, yet it is not easy to find united in one individual such extraordinary powers and such glaring faults. He still sings at Drury lane theatre with great applause. He is also a composer; as, for example, of the Cabinet, in which he performs the principal part.

BRAHE, TYCHO DE. (See Tycho.) BRAHILOW, BRAILOW, or BRAILA, a strongly-fortified Turkish town in Walachia, on the northern bank of the Danube, with 30,000 inhabitants, governed by a pacha of three tails, lies in a Turkish military district, which is similarly organized to the adjacent frontier districts of Austria. The town is situated at the confluence of the Sereth and the Danube, which divides itself there into three arms, embracing a piece of neutral territory between the

dominions of the Turks and the Russians. From this place much grain, raised, in Walachia, is sent to Constantinople. The fishery of sturgeon in the Black sea carried on from B. is considerable. Lon 28° 16 E.; lat. 45° 16′ N.

BRAHMA,BRAHMIN. (See Brama,Bramin.)
BRAILOW. (See Brahilow.)

BRAILS; certain ropes passing through pulleys on the mizzen-mast (q. v.), and afterwards fastened, in different places, on the hinder edge of the sail, in order to draw it up to the mast, as occasion requires. Brails is likewise a name given to all the ropes employed to haul up the bottoms, lower corners and skirts of the great sails in general. The operation of drawing them together is called brailing them up, or hauling them up to the brails.

BRAIN. The brain is a soft substance, partly reddish-gray and partly whitish, situated in the skull, penetrated by numerous veins, and invested by several membranes. Democritus and Anaxagoras dissected this organ almost 3000 years ago. Haller, Vicq d'Azir, and other anatomists in modern times, have also dissected and investigated it without exhausting the subject. Between the skull and the substance of the brain three membranes are found. The outer one is called the dura mater. This is strong, dense and elastic. It invests and supports the brain. The next which occurs is the tunica arachnoidea. This is of a pale white color, yet in some degree transparent, very thin, and, in a healthy state, exhibits no appearance of vessels. The membrane below this is called the pia mater. It covers the whole surface of the brain. It is very vascular, and a great portion of the blood which the brain receives is spread out upon its surface in minute vessels. The brain consists of two principal parts, connected by delicate veins and fibres. The larger portion, the cerebrum, occupies, in men, the upper part of the head, and is seven or eight times larger than the other, the cerebellum, lying behind and below it. It rests on the bones which form the cavities of the eyes, the bottom of the skull and the tentorium, and projects behind over the cerebellum. On the whole exterior of the cerebrum there are convolutions, resembling_the windings of the small intestines. The external reddish substance of the brain is soft and vascular, and is called the cortical substance; the internal is white, and is called the medullary substance of the brain. This medulla consists of fibres, which are very different in different parts.

The cerebellum lies below the cerebrum, in a peculiar cavity of the skull. By examining the surface, it is seen to be divided into a right and left lobe, by the spinal marrow lying between, but connected at the top and bottom. Like the cerebrum, it is surrounded by a vascular membrane, reddish-gray on the outside, and composed of a medullary substance within. In proportion to its size, also, it has a more extensive surface, and more of the vascular membrane, than the cerebrum. In a horizontal section of it, we find parallel curved portions of the cortical and the medullary substances alternating with each other. Between the cortical and the medullary substance, there is always found, in the cerebellum, a third intermediate yellow substance. All the medulla of the cerebellum is also united in the middle by a thick cord. Experience teaches that, in the structure of the brain, irregularities are far more uncommon than in other parts of the human body. It is worthy of observation, that every part of the brain is exactly symmetrical with the part opposite. Even those which lie in the middle, and are apparently single (the spinal marrow, for instance) consist, in fact, of two symmetrical portions. The total weight of the human brain is estimated at two or three pounds. It is larger and heavier in proportion to the youth of the subject; and in old age it becomes specifically lighter. In delirious affections, it is sometimes harder and sometimes less solid and softer. The brain is the organ of sensation, and, consequently, the material representative of the soul, and the noblest organ of the body. (See Serres's Anatomié comparée du Cerveau dans les quatre Classes des animaux Vertebrés, &c. (Comparative Anatomy of the Brain in the four Classes of vertebral Animals, &c.); Paris, 1824, with engravings. It received the prize of the French institute.)

BRAINERD, David, the celebrated missionary, was born in April, 1718, at Haddam, Connecticut. From an early period, he was remarkable for the serious and religious turn of his mind, devotional exercises occupying a considerable portion of his time, though, as he says, his piety was originally prompted by the fear of punishment, and not by the love of God. In 1739, he became a member of Yale college, where he was distinguished for application and general correctness of conduct; but was expelled, in 1742, in consequence of having said, in the warmth of his religious zeal, that one of the tutors was as devoid of grace as a

chair-an expression which reached the ears of the rector, who commanded B. to make a public confession in the hall. Thinking the order unjust to humble himself before the whole college for what he had uttered in private conversation, he refused to comply, and, on this account, as well as for having gone to the separate religious meeting at New Haven, after being prohibited to do so by the authority of the college, he was dismissed. In the spring of 1742, he began the study of divinity; and, at the end of July, he was licensed to preach, for which a thorough examination had shown him qualified. He had for some time entertained a strong desire of preaching the gospel among the heathens, which was gratified by an appointment as missionary to the Indians from the society for propagating Christian knowledge. At Kaunameek, an Indian village of Massachusetts, situated between Stockbridge and Albany, he commenced his labors, in the 25th year of his age. He remained there about 12 months, at first residing in a wigwam among the Indians, but afterwards in a cabin, which he constructed for himself, that he might be alone when not engaged in his duties of preaching and instruction. On the removal of the Kaunameeks to Stockbridge, he turned his attention towards the Delaware Indians. In 1744, he was ordained by a presbytery at Newark, New Jersey, and took up his habitation near the forks of the Delaware, in Pennsylvania, where he resided for a year, during the course of which he made two visits to the Indians on the Susquehannah river. His exertions, however, were attended with little success, until he went to the Indians at Crosweeksung, near Freehold, in New Jersey. Before the end of a year, a complete reformation took place in the lives of the savages, 78 of whom he baptized within that time. They became humble and devout; and it was not unusual for the whole congregation to shed tears and utter cries of sorrow and repentance. In 1747, he went to Northampton, in Massachusetts, where he passed the short residue of his life in the family of the celebrated Jonathan Edwards. He died in 1747, after great sufferings. B. was a man of vigorous intellect and quick discernment. He was gifted with a strong memory, a happy eloquence, and a sociable disposition, that could adapt itself with ease to the different capacities, tempers and circumstances of men, which, together with an intimate knowledge of human nature, as well as of theology and worldly

science, peculiarly fitted him for the business of instruction. He was remarkably composed and resigned during the approaches of death, and left this world in the full hope of a glorious immortality. His publications are, a narrative of his labors at Kaunameek, and his journal, or account of the rise and progress of a remarkable work of grace among a number of Indians in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, 1746.

BRAINERD; a missionary station among the Cherokee Indians, in the district of Chickamaugah, within the chartered limits of Tennessee, near the boundary line of Georgia, on Chickamaugah creek, a few miles above its entrance into the river Tennessee; 150 miles S. E. of Nashville, 250 N. W. Augusta. This missionary station was commenced in 1817, and it is the oldest establishment formed by the American board of missions among the Cherokees. The property belonging to the mission, in 1822, was estimated at $17,390, and there are between 30 and 40 buildings of various descriptions, mostly of logs. The labors of the missionaries here have been remarkably successful in imparting to the Cherokees a knowledge of the rudiments of learning, and of the arts of civilized life, as well as of the principles and duties of religion.

BRAKENBURG, Regner, a well-known Dutch painter, distinguished for his rustic scenes, family pieces, &c., was born at Haerlem, in 1649. The time of his death is not known: it took place at Friesland. His paintings are true to nature.

BRAMA; the first person in the Trinity, or Trimurti, of the Hindoos, consisting of Brama, the creator, Vishnu, the preserver or redeemer, and Siva, the destroyer. He is represented with four heads and as many arms, and the swan is consecrated to him. His name signifies knowledge of the laws, in allusion to his creative power. He is the god of the fates, master of life and death, and, by some, has been represented as the supreme eternal power; but he is himself created, and is merely the agent of the Eternal One. He is believed to die, according to some, annually, or, according to others, after a longer period, and to rise again. His character is no better than that of the Grecian Jupiter. He is considered as the author of the Vedas, and as the lawgiver and teacher of India. The worship of B. is regarded as the oldest religious observance in that country. (For a more particular account, see Indian Mythology.)

BRAMANTE OF URBINO, Francesco Laz

1

zari, shares with Brunelleschi the credit of being the restorer of architecture. He was born at Castel Duranti, in the duchy of Urbino, in 1444. He applied himself first to painting; but his passion for architecture soon gained the ascendency. At length he went to Milan, and there his whole time was spent at the cathedral. Pope Alexander VI named him his architect, and Julius II made him superintendent of his buildings. At the command of the latter, he united the Belvedere with the palace of the Vatican. He persuaded the pope to order the church of St. Peter to be torn down, and another to be erected in its place, which should not have its equal in the world. In 1513, the foundation of this edifice was laid, according to the plan of B. It yet remains the greatest production of modern architecture. died in 1514, without living to see this work completed. He had begun the edifice with incredible despatch; but his successors, Raphael, Julius of San Gallo, Peruzzi and Michael Angelo altered the original plan, and left nothing of B.'s workmanship standing, except the arches which support the tower of the dome. His writings, part prose, part verse, first discovered in 1756, were printed the same year at Milan.

B.

BRAMINS; the first of the four casts of the Hindoos. They proceeded from the mouth of Brama, which is the seat of wisdom. They form the sacred or sacerdotal cast, and its members have maintained a more absolute and extensive authority than the priests of any other nation. Their great prerogative is that of being the sole depositaries and interpreters of the Vedas or sacred books. There are seven subdivisions of the Bramins, which derive their origin from seven penitents, personages of high antiquity and remarkable purity, who are said to have rebuked the gods themselves for their debaucheries.

The great body of the Bramins pay equal veneration to the three parts of the mysterious trinity, but some attach themselves more particularly to one person of the triple godhead. Thus the Vishnuvites are distinguished by an orange-colored dress, and the mark called nama on their foreheads. The devotees of Siva wear the lingam, and are distinguished from the former by their great abstemiousness. A Bramin should pass through four states. The first begins at about seven, when the duty of the young novice, or Brachmacari, consists in learning to read and write, studying the Vedas, and becoming familiar with the