and afterward minister in Berlin. In 1834 he was made secretary of foreign affairs, and afterward sent again to Berlin as ambassador. During this embassy, in 1837, he negotiated the marriage of the duke of Orleans with the princess Helen of Mecklenburg, on which occasion he was created peer and count. As peer, he made a celebrated speech in the chamber sustaining the project of surrounding Paris with fortifications. In 1841 he was made ambassador to Madrid, where he baffled the English policy, and brought about the Spanish marriages, namely, of the duke of Montpensier with the infanta Luisa, younger sister of Isabel II., and, as the result of the former, the marriage of the queen herself with her first cousin, the Infante Francisco de Assis. No children being expected to result from the queen's marriage, the succession to the Spanish throne was thus held open to the duke of Montpensier or to his descendants. For this negotiation Bresson was created a grandee of Spain of the first class. Recalled to Paris, he was ambitious to receive the embassy to London. In this, however, he was disappointed, Louis Philippe sending him, in 1847, as ambassador to Naples. The king of Naples, whose hope of securing the hand of a Spanish princess for one of his brothers had been frustrated by the negotiations of Bresson, received him in the most offensive and vindictive spirit, and the affront, preying upon a mind already smarting under the humiliation inflicted upon it by Louis Philippe in withholding from him the London embassy, had such an effect upon him that he killed himself. BREST, a fortified town, 370 miles W. S. W. from Paris, in the French department of Finistère, on the coast of France, the chief station of the French marine, and one of the first military and naval ports in Europe. Including its suburb Recouvrance, it is about 3 miles in circuit, and is surrounded with ramparts planted with trees. Its outer harbor is unsurpassed for safety, and is exceeded in extent only by those of Constantinople and Rio Janeiro. It communicates with the sea by a single long and narrow passage, divided by a rock in its centre, so that vessels are obliged to pass immediately under the batteries. Its inner harbor can accommodate 60 frigates, and is most strongly fortified. Brest is divided into the upper and lower towns, which are connected by steep streets, or, where the declivity is most rapid, only by stairs. The prison for galley slaves is the largest in France, containing about 3,000 convicts. It has a naval school, communal college, public library, and botanic garden. Brest was first rendered formidable by Cardinal Richelieu, and in 1694 it withstood a combined attack of the British fleet and army. Municipal pop. 41,512; total pop. with military and convicts, 61,160. Entrances of vessels in 1853, 95, with 12,470 tons; clearances only 2 vessels, with 194 tons, all others in ballast. Entrances of coasting vessels in the same year, 1,612, with 58,354 tons; clearances, 3,901, with 39.104 tons. BRETHREN OF THE COMMON LIFE In BRETEUIL, LOUIS AUGUSTE LE TONNELIER, baron de, a French statesman and diplomatist, born in 1733, died Nov. 2, 1807. He was minister plenipotentiary to the court of Cologne in 1758, and was afterward sent successively to St. Petersburg and Stockholm, and at a later period to Holland, Vienna, and Naples. 1783 he became a member of the government, and effected various beneficial changes in the management of the national prisons. When the revolution broke out, he endeavored to moderate its violence, and to save from the fury of the multitude the magnificent buildings and monuments of the French metropolis. BRETHREN, WHITE, a transient sect of the 15th century, an outgrowth of that remarkable religious enthusiasm which characterized the latter half of the 14th and the beginning of the 15th century, and which may be said to have culminated about that time. The White Brethren first appeared in the Italian Alps, and were headed by a priest of uncertain origin, probably a Spaniard, though some say he was a Provençal, and others even that he was a Scotchman. Whoever he was, he seemed to have been willing to ignore himself, for he claimed to be the prophet Elias recently returned from a couple of thousand years' sojourn in Paradise. He and his followers were arrayed in white (whence their name), and carried around large crucifixes from which a bloody sweat appeared to exude. He claimed that it was his mission to announce the speedy destruction of the world by an earthquake. He commenced his prophetic ministrations in Lombardy, and thence extended them to the Ligurian Alps. So great was his success that he entered Genoa at the head of 5,000 followers. From Genoa, the enthusiasm rolled like a wave to Lucca, Pisa, and Florence, till its progress was arrested by the discovery of the imposture. The whole transaction occupied but a few months. He prescribed and practised mortification and penance with great rigor, and endeavored to persuade to a renewal of the holy war. Clement VI. had (1349) opposed such enthusiastic processions, which had been for some time in vogue. The church began to see that they were more potent with the people (for they were generally resorted to in time of some great public calamity, as the black death, which swept over Europe, 1348) than its own prayers and offices, and Boniface IX. put an end to the movement, by ordering the leader to be apprehended and burned. BRETHREN AND CLERKS OF THE COMMON LIFE, a religious order which sprang up in the Netherlands near the close of the 14th century, led by Gerhard de Groot. It was divided into 2 classes, the lettered and the illiterate. The first class was mainly composed of the clergy, who gave themselves to study, and copying books, while the second class engaged in manual labor. They lived in common, so far as possessions were concerned, though they inhabited separate houses. They were sanctioned by the council of Constance in the 15th BRETHREN OF THE CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS century. There were houses also for sisters of the order. This order is frequently confounded with the Beguins and Lollards. They lived under the rule of Augustine. To them we owe the preservation of many valuable manuscripts. BRETHREN OF THE CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS, an order established at Rheims by the Abbé de La Salle in 1679, and sanctioned by Benedict XIII. in 1725, 6 years after the death of the founder. The object of the order was to provide instruction for the poorer classes of the population, and hence the name. The members of the order take upon themselves the vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience. These vows are first taken for 3 years only, and then renewed for life by those who desire to remain in the order. Their costume is a coarse black cassock, and a small collar or band around the neck, for the house, and a hooded cloak and a wide hat for out-door purposes. Their diet is of the simplest kind. Their teaching is mainly rudimentary, although in some of their schools Latin and the higher mathematics form part of the course. Priests may be admitted to the order, but no member may become a priest, and lest they should aspire to that dignity, the brethren are forbidden to study Latin until reaching the age of 30. In 1688 the order was introduced into Paris. In 1792, they refused to take the oath to the civil constitution, and were driven from their houses, and debarred the exercise of their functions. At the peace of 1801, they returned to their schools, and soon spread themselves again over France, whence they extended into Italy, Corsica, Cayenne, Belgium, and Algiers. They are exempt from military duty in France. In 1830, in the revolution of July, the persecution which fell upon the Jesuits also visited them. The aid of government was withdrawn. At that epoch, they opened evening schools for adults, wherein they received and taught mechanics and other poor laborers, who had no time to devote to learning in the day. The brothers of the Christian schools have modified their instruction from time to time, to make it meet the wants of the classes whom they teach. Thus, in 1831, geometry in its application to linear drawing was introduced into their course. The following table shows the condition of the order in 1856: The brethren of the Christian schools are sometimes improperly called the "Christian Brothers." The latter are a branch of the former, and have nearly the same rule and object, but form an independent order. They are very numerous in Ireland. BRETHREN OF THE FREE SPIRIT, a sect which sprang up on the upper Rhine near the close of the 13th century. They are frequently confounded with the Lollards, Beguards, or Beguins. They held that the universe was a divine emanation; that man, so far as he gave himself to a contemplative life, was a Christ, and as such, free from law, human or divine (Romans viii. 2, 14). Many edicts were published against this sect, but they continued till about the middle of the 15th century. BRETHREN OF THE HOLY TRINITY, a society, founded in France near the close of the 12th century, whose members pledged themselves to give a third part of their revenues to procuring the redemption of Christians who had fallen captive to the infidels, and were in Mohammedan slavery. It was established by John of Matha, a Parisian theologian, and Felix de Valois, BRETIGNY, a village of France, on the Paris and Orleans railway. The French king John, who had been made prisoner at the battle of Poitiers in 1356, regained his freedom by a treaty between France and England, concluded at this place in 1360. BRETON, JEAN BAPTISTE JOSEPH, for a long time the oldest journalist and stenographer of France, born in Paris, Nov. 16, 1777, died Jan. 6, 1852. His public career was nearly parallel with representative government in France. He was present as stenographer at the session of Aug. 10, 1792, when the power passed from the hands of an individual to those of an assembly; and of Dec. 2, 1851, when it passed from the hands of an assembly to those of an individual. His services were also in constant requisition at the courts as an interpreter for English, German, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, and Flemish suit ors. He was a frequent contributor to the Dictionnaire de la conversation, and among other papers wrote the article on stenography. BRETON LANGUAGE (Fr. Bas Breton), properly BREIZAD LANGUAGE, or language of the Breiziz, is a dialect of the Celtic family, constituting with the Welsh its Cymric branch. The subdialects of this language are those of Léon, Tréguier, Vannes, and Cornouailles. It has been more modified by the Latin than other Celtic tongues, owing to the length of Roman domination; it was also modified by settlers from Britain in the 3d and 4th centuries. It employs Roman letters, some of which (a, b, d, e, f, g, h, i, l, m, n, o, p, r, s, t, u, v) sound as in the ancient Latin, others (k, 20, 2) as in English, 2 (j, and the combination ch) as in French, and the combination c'h like the German ch (strongly guttural); land n are sometimes what the French call mouillé, and n is sometimes nasal; w is also used as a vowel; the diphthongs are genuine and distinct. Some initials 672 BRETON DE LOS HERREROS BREUGHEL BRETSCHNEIDER, HEINRICH GOTTFRIED, a German writer, born at Gera, in Saxony, March 6, 1739, died near Pilsen, in Bohemia, Nov. 1, 1810. Entering the army in early life, he became a prisoner of the French. He obtained an official employment in Nassau; but his office being suppressed, he undertook in 1773 adventurous travels through France, Holland, and England. His account of this journey was afterward translated and published in "Blackwood's Magazine." Among his many productions is the "Horrible Story of the Death of young Werther," in which he ridiculed the Wertherism then prevalent in Germany. BRETSCHNEIDER, KARL GOTTLIEB, & German theologian, born at Gersdorf, Feb. 11, 1776, died at Gotha, Jan. 22, 1848. He became general superintendent at Gotha in 1816, and was appointed superior councillor of the consistory in 1840. With an eminently rational mind, he constructed his theological system formally according to logical rules, and sympathized neither with the speculations of Schleiermacher and Hegel, nor with the sentiments which prompted pietism, mysticism, and German Catholicism. His principal work is a "Handbook of Dogmatics," which has had many editions. Among his other numerous works are several religious novels. He published valuable editions of the works of Calvin, Beza, and Melanchthon. His autobiography was published in 1852. of nouns and of verbs are altered after the finals of the preceding words, viz.: b to v and p, as báz (Lat. baculus), ar ráz, the stick; k to g, c'h, as ki (canis), ar c'hi, the dog; ker (curia), eur ger, a city; d to t, 2; gw to kw, w; m to v, as mamm (mater), ar vamm, the mother; p to b, f, as penn, head, tri fen, 3 heads; t to d, z; 8 to z. The definite article has 3 forms, ann before vowels and before d, n, t, al before l, ar everywhere else; the indefinite article also varies, eunn, eul, eur, in the same positions as the definite. Both are thus used in the singular and plural sense. The genitive is denoted by eúz, the dative by 'd, in both numbers. The plural is made by suffixing ou or iou (avél-ou, winds; brézel-iou, wars), or ien, ed, en (kaneri-en, singers; lóen-ed, animals; stéred-en, stars). Irregular are: Breizad, plural Breiziz; askourn, bone, askern, bones; máb, son, plural mipien. There are 2 genders, masculine and feminine. The comparative degree is formed by oc'h, thus, kaéroc'h, more beautiful; the superlative by prefixing the article, thus, ar c'haéra, most beautiful. The numerals are: unan, 1; daou, 2; tri, 3; perar, 4; pemp, 5; c'houec'h, 6; seiz, 7; eiz, 8; náo, 9; dek, 10. The ordinals are made by suffixing ved (trived, 3d, &c.); these are irregular: kenta, 1st; eil, 2d. The personal pronouns are me, I; té, thou; hen, he; hi, she. The terminations of the verbs are, ann for I, ez for thou, the radical for he, she, it, omp for we, it for you, ont for they; thus, ró-ann, rô-ez, rô, rô- BREUGHEL. I. PETER, the first of a celeomp, ró-it, rô-ont-I give, thou givest, he, she, brated family of Dutch and Flemish painters, it gives, we, you, they give. The past tense is born near Breda, in 1510, died in Brussels in formed by iz, the future by inn, &c. Each verb 1570. He studied with Peter Koeck, travelled is preceded by the particle a before nouns and through portions of France, Italy, and Switzerpronouns, by é (or éz, éc'h) before adverbs. land, making sketches, and went to reside at There are 3 auxiliary verbs, viz.: béza, to be; Antwerp, where, in 1551, he was made a memkaout, to have; óber, to do. There are some ber of the academy. From the whimsical charspecific prefixes. The syntax is free, with some acter of his subjects, Peter Breughel has been anomalies; thus, the 3d person singular of a verb called the "droll." He painted village festivals, may be joined to the 1st and 2d personal pro- attacks of banditti in wild landscapes, or scenes nouns, as mé aró, which is I gives, instead of gire. among the gypsies. II. JAN, eldest son of the We subjoin a short specimen: Hon tad, pehini preceding, commonly known as "Velvet a so en con, hoc'h ano bezet sanctifiet; literally, Breughel," either from his habit of dressing in "Father our, who is in heaven, your name be velvet, or from the softness and delicacy with sanctified." Grammars have been published by which he painted flowers, born at Brussels Rostrenen (1738), Dumoulin (1800), Le Gonidec in 1565, died in 1642. His first pictures were (1838); dictionaries by Rostrenen (1732), Le miniatures, and fruit and flower pieces, but Pelletier (1752), Le Gonidec (1821). after a tour through Italy he took to painting landscapes, which are remarkable for exquisite finish, and the spirit and character of the minute figures introduced into them. He returned to Flanders with so great a reputation as a landscapist, that artists frequently applied to him to paint backgrounds and other accessories to their pictures. In this way he assisted Rubens in the celebrated pictures of "Adam and Eve in Paradise," "The Four Elements," and "Vertumnus and Pomona," the figures of which were painted by the latter. III. PETER the younger, brother of the preceding, called "Hell Breughel," from the diabolical character of his subjects, born about 1569, died in 1625. His pictures generally represent scenes in which devils, witches, sorcerers, or robbers play a conspicu BRETON DE LOS HERREROS, MANUEL, a Spanish dramatist, born at Guel, province of Logroño, Dec. 19, 1796. In early life he was in the army, and until 1840, when he was keeper of the national library, he officiated in various public offices. He is the author of miscellaneous poetry, his satirical poem on dramatic elocution being considered one of his best efforts. As a writer for the stage his lively and facile pen gained him the title of the "Spanish Eugène Scribe." He produced more than 150 plays, partly original, partly adaptations and translations from the French, and wrote several tragedies, one of which, the "Merope," was received with favor. A complete edition of his works appeared at Madrid in 1850. ous part. One of his most famous works is the "Temptation of St. Anthony." BREVE, (Lat. brevis, short), in music, a note of the 3d degree of length. It is half the length of the longa, or long, which precedes it, and one quarter the length of the maxima, or greatest note of all, which is the longest used. With these two notes, however, it has almost entirely passed out of use, the modern German method of designation having substituted the semibreve, a note properly of half the duration of the breve, as unity, and applied to it the name of whole-note. The breve was formerly much used for choir service, and is generally of this form BREVET, a French term, signifying a royal act conferring some honor or privilege. In England and the United States it is usually applied to military rank, and imports a commission giving a nominal rank higher than that for which pay is received; thus, a brevet major receives pay only as captain. BREVIARY, a book containing the "canonical hours" or "divine office" which the Roman Catholic clergy and religious are obliged to recite every day, and which was formerly said by the laity likewise. The name, derived from the Latin breviarium, brevis, is supposed to have been given because the office now in use is an abridgment of one much longer. The origin of the breviary was different in different parts of the church. Thus the diocese of Antioch is said to have received it from Diodorus or Flavian, that of Constantinople from St. John Chrysostom, that of Milan from St. Ambrose (A. D. 386). Rome obtained it probably from Pope Gelasius I., in 494, and the churches of Spain from St. Leander, bishop of Seville about 620. These office books differed greatly both from one another and from the Roman breviary of the present day. In the course of time they became filled with legends of the saints of very doubtful authenticity, and many reforms were attempted, but without much success, until Pope Pius V. and the council of Trent established a uniform office for the whole church. This was subsequently corrected by Clement VIII. and Urban VIII., and is the one now in use. Before the council of Trent, however, Cardinal Quignon had published in France an expurgated and amended breviary, which, though condemned by the Parisian faculty of theology, was approved by Julius III. and Paul IV., passed through several editions, and for many years was generally used by the French clergy. In the Greek church, the office book is called ragis (order), poλoytov (dial), or evxoλoytov (collection of prayers). It is very nearly the same in all the monasteries and churches, and is divided into 2 parts, one containing the morning, the other the evening office. The psalter is in 20 divisions, called Kasiopara (seats), because a rest or pause is made after each one. The Armenians and other nations have breviaries of like description. BREVINE, LA, a parish and village of Swit- zerland. It has a population of 2,319, mostly engaged in watchmaking, the manufacture of lace, and working in metals. In the vicinity is a bed of coal, supposed to be the fossil relic of a forest which was swallowed up during an earthquake, September 18, 1356. BREWER, ANTHONY, an English poet in the reign of James I. He was highly esteemed among the wits of his time, and is known to have written 6 plays. In one of these, called "Linguæ, or the Five Senses," Cromwell is said to have acted when a youth at Cambridge. BREWING, the manufacture of beer. Great attention is paid in Europe to the selection of the grain to be subjected to the first process in brewing, which is the malting. The most profitable barley is the rath, which is the earliest ripe. The grain must be full, round, heavy, and sweet, and of uniform quality, not a mixture of old and new; it should have sweated and seasoned in the stack. Other grains when used instead of barley should be selected with similar care. Any grains are suitable that contain a large proportion of starch. This is converted, as the seeds begin to germinate, into a fermentable sugar, that resembles cane sugar, first passing through the stage in which the substance is called dextrine, and from this, by the action of diastase, which is generated in the chemical change, it becomes sugar. Malted barley yields only about 1 part in 500 of diastase, but this is sufficient to saccharify 2,000 parts of dry starch. This action of diastase takes place only below the boiling point of water; from 158° to 167° F. is found the most favorable temperature. By the fermentation of the sugar the alcoholic portion of the beer is obtained. Thus it is explained why those grains which contain the largest quantity of starch are best adapted to the manufacture of beer. Malting is this germinating process, in which the starch is converted into sugar. The grain is first subjected to the operation called steeping. This is effected in large cisterns, in which the grain is covered with water, 6 or 7 inches above its surface. Forty hours is the usual period of this operation. If the water in this time shows any symptoms of fermentation, it must be drawn off, and replaced with fresh cold water. It is completed when the grain has absorbed so much water, that it is fully swollen, and is easily perforated with a needle. The gain in weight is often 47 lbs. to the cwt. of barley. The liquor is now drawn off, and the grain is left to drain for 6 hours. The next operation of the malting process is that termed couching. The grain is thrown upon a malt floor, in rectangular heaps of 12 to 16 inches in depth, called couches. In this condition it is quite dry, but in the course of a day it begins to grow moist and acquires a temperature 10° higher than that of the surrounding air. It gives out a pleasant fruity smell, and gerinination begins by the shooting out of the fibrils of the young roots from the tip of every grain. This takes place about 96 hours after the removal of the grain from the steep. The rudiments of the future stem, called by the maltsters acrospire, begin to appear about a day after the germination of the rootlets. The germination must now be checked, and the couching be succeeded by the flooring operation, which is merely spreading the grain more thinly upon the floor, and turning it over with spades 2 or 3 times a day. The depth of the layer diminishes each time, till it is at last reduced to only 3 or 4 inches. Care is taken that the temperature shall not much exceed 62°. By the absorption of oxygen, and the emission of carbonic acid, the tendency is to an increase of heat considerably beyond this point. The acrospire or stem shoot creeps along under the husk of the grain from the end at which it appeared toward the other, from which it would burst forth in the form of a leaf, if the process were not stopped; but when the shoot has reached this end, and the gluten and mucilage have mostly disappeared from the grain, and this has become white and crumbly like meal, the flooring process is terminated, and the malt is now subjected to the last process, which is kiln-drying. The couching and flooring occupy a period of 2 weeks in England, but in Scotland, where the temperature is lower, 3 weeks are sometimes required. The grain is converted from starch into sugar as the acrospire moves along under its surface. One end is thus at one time mostly starch, and the other mostly sugar. If the vegetation were allowed to go on till the stem shoots forth, the grain would soon be exhausted of its saccharine properties. In the drying, the malt is spread in a layer upon the floor of the kiln from 3 to 10 inches deep, and kept at a temperature, till the moisture is mostly expelled, of about 90°, which is afterward increased to 140° or more. The malt should be frequently stirred up with spades during this process, which should last in all about 2 days. The malt has now acquired a pale amber or brown color, and is freed from the roots and acrospires, which have become brittle, and being broken off in the stirring, are separated by sifting. The grains are round, of a sweetish taste and agreeable smell, and are full of soft flour. The bulk is greater than that of the original barley, but the water gained in the steeping is all expelled, and a loss of weight is incurred, amounting to from 12 to 20 per cent., by waste and cleaning. The variety of color is due to the greater or less degree of heat employed in the drying. These distinctions of color continue through the brewing into the liquors produced, giving to them those peculiar properties which cause them to be distinguished as ale, beer, and porter. Ale is made from the palest malt; porter from the brownest, which is partially charred and acquires a bitter taste. The same effect is produced by mixing with the stronger liquor made of pale malt, the darkest-colored malts, or of using these together in mixtures called grists, while the agreeable taste is imitated by introducing quassia, cocculus indicus, or other bitter substances of simi lar character. This process of adulteration, however, is strictly forbidden in Great Britain, under heavy penalties by several acts of parliament. The liquor produced by mixing the different sorts of ale was found to be very strengthening, and became popular with the laboring classes, particularly the porters; hence its name.-The brewing process proper, like the malting, consists of several differ ent operations. The first is the grinding or crushing of the malt to a coarse powder. This is best done between rollers of case-hardened iron. The mashing process succeeds this. The crushed malt is shaken into large mash-tubs, containing water at a temperature of 160°. In these it is thorougly stirred up, with no more water than is sufficient to completely soak the malt. By this operation the sugar is partially dissolved, and what starch there may be unchanged is again subjected to the action of the diastase. After reposing a half hour, more water is introduced at a temperature of 194°, raising the whole to a temperature of about 167°. After remaining 2 or 3 hours, the sweet wort is drawn off into a lower vessel called an underback. Great care is required in running off the infusion, that it shall be clear, and free from any mixtures of finely divided grain. Its color should be the same as that of the malt employed. It is a solution of the saccharine matters principally, the mucilaginous and resinous not being yet dissolved. Water is again added to the mash-tub at a temperature of 1940, which is immediately reduced by the cool malt to 176°. This is drawn off and mixed with the first. The product of the 3d solution with water at the boiling temperature is not mixed with the other infusions, but is sometimes employed for wetting new malt, or it is used for making small beer. Great care must be used in introducing the water into the mash-tub at the proper temperature, and it is very questionable whether the high temperature of 194° at which the water of the second mashing is introduced, is not attended with the injurious effect of rendering the starch, albumen, and gluten with which it first comes in contact insoluble; though this temperature is immediately reduced, as already mentioned. Even the temperature of the surrounding atmosphere materially influences the result of the operation. Ingenious machines have been contrived to serve the double purpose of masher and attemperator. Descriptions of these, with full details of the manufacture, are given by Dr. Muspratt, in his work on chemistry; Dr. Ure also treats the subject very fully. The strength of the worts, or the proportion of saccharine matter they contain, must be accurately ascertained, that an article of uniform quality may be obtained. This is done by the use of a variety of hydrometer, which is called a saccharometer. By means of this, different worts are mixed in the proper proportions to produce the desired strength. The next process is boiling. This is done in large copper vessels, furnished with steam valves, which are contrived to retain |