to produce an agreeable beverage, distinguished not so much for absolute strength, or quantity of alcohol, as for color, flavor, transparency, liveliness, and power of keeping well. Some of these qualities are not compatible with the developement of the greatest quantity of alcohol or ardent spirit, which is the main object of the whiskey-distiller. To effect this purpose, he makes a kind of beer, which is called wash. This differs from brewers' beer in some important particulars. In the first place, the grain is not all malted: in England, only a part of it is so; in the U. States, generally, none at all. In the next place, it is ground a great deal finer than in brewing. If the brewer were to grind his grist as fine as the distiller, he would run great risk of setting his mash, as the phrase is; that is, he would make paste of his grain, and entangle the solution of sugar so effectually, that he could not get it out again. The distiller does not run the same risk, because he does not use such hot water as the brewer, and he can mash and stir his goods a great deal longer without injury, and even with benefit to his liquor. Again, he does not need to boil or add hops to his worts, for he does not care about precipitating the mucilage, or making his beer keep. In the next place, he adds a great deal of yeast, and ferments violently and rapidly, so as to decompose the sugar as quickly as possible, and is quite indifferent whether the worts even become somewhat sourish in the process, as, when sufficiently fermented, the alcohol is removed at once by distillation. If raw grain be ground, mixed with water at a certain heat, and allowed to stand, the change of the starch into starch sugar, or the combination of starch and water, takes place in the same way as in malting. It takes some time, however, and hence the distillers' mashes stand longer than the brewers'. It would seem, therefore, from this, that the malting of grain is not necessary for the making of beer; and, accordingly, this method of proceeding has been recommended by an eminent chemist, one who has paid much attention to this subject, and there can be no doubt that a certain description of small beer may be so made. But the process is not applicable to the finer and more valuable kinds of malt liquors, for reasons which it would require too many details to explain perfectly.Besides the kinds of beer and wash already mentioned, there are others in very common use in the U. States. These are made by mixing honey, molasses or sugar

with water, and fermenting with yeast, or some other leaven. Beers made in this way are commonly mingled with some vegetable substance, as ginger, spruce, sarsaparilla, &c. to give them a particular flavor, and are familiar to all by the names of ginger beer, spruce beer, sarsaparilla mead, &c. &c. The wash of this kind is made from molasses and water, fermented in large vats under ground, by means, not of yeast, but the remains or returns of former fermentations. The liquor thus fermented is pumped up at once into the still, and the product is common under the name of rum. Of the beers manufactured from grain, as an article of consumption in that state, there are a great many varieties. These, however, may be all comprehended under three principal ones-beer, ale and porter. Beer differs from the other two in the circumstance of its being made for immediate consumption. There are two or three kinds of it, known by the names of strong beer, table beer, half-and-half, &c. These differ only in their relative strength, being all brewed upon the same general principle, and adapted to be used soon after they are made. It is of no consequence, so far as regards the principle of brewing beer, whether the malt of which it is made be of one color or another: it may be pale, or high-dried, or amber, or any thing else. It is not even of the first consequence whether the malt be good or bad, for the beer is drank soon after it is made, and if it is not, it is lost; so that there is little opportunity to discover any particular flavor. Moreover, it is a common and necessary practice to color it so highly with burned molasses or sugar, that the original taste of the liquor is, in a great measure, concealed. There is also a sort of fulness of taste which is given to beer, by this practice in part, but still more by the mode of fermentation. This mode is to stop the progress of the latter before the sweet taste is entirely gone, by removing the beer from the fermenting tun to the smaller casks. In some places, indeed, where the beer is to be sent out very weak, it does not go into the fermenting tun at all, but the yeast is mingled with the worts in the small casks, and it is sent out at once in full fermentation, and drank up, in fact, before this has time to subside entirely. Ordinarily, however, it is fermented a little in the tun, and then cleansed and racked in a very short time. When beer is sent out in this state, it is always necessary to mingle with it a quantity of what are called finings, that is to say,

isinglass, or something of the sort, which has the same effect as the fish-skin or isinglass commonly put into coffee-it settles it; that is, it causes the dregs to subside to the bottom. Beer made in this way is an agreeable liquor, and well adapted to the purposes of draught in cold weather, especially when its briskness is increased, as it usually is, by warming it a little. However, beer, properly so called, is an imperfect liquor. The process is not complete, and very slight variations alter its character. The other varieties of malt liquor are ale and porter, or, as they are commonly called, stock liquors. These are not intended for immediate consumption, but to be kept for a longer or shorter period, during which they do or ought to improve in quality. Ale is a sweeter liquor than porter, and much stronger, the best London brown stout being about 25 per cent. weaker than Burton ale. The first part of the process, on which the difference in the liquors depends, is the drying of the malt: for ale it must be dried very carefully and slowly, so as to be of a pale color; and the article is inferior if any of the grains are scorched or burned, so as to communicate a harsh taste to the liquor. In the next place, the heat of the water, when poured on the grain or mash, must be higher. The reason given for this is, that it renders the worts clearer when they are drawn off from the mash-tun. It is not clear why this is of any consequence, for it would seem that the boiling, to which the worts are afterwards subjected, would be sufficient to curdle and precipitate any mucilage dissolved during the mashing. Such, however, is not the case; and a low heat in mashing is always apt to be followed by violent fermentation, very difficult to check, and very apt to produce acidity. The higher the heat of the mashing-water the better, provided it is not so high as to set or make paste of the mash. The exact point can be determined only by experiment, and must vary with the comparative softness of the water and comparative paleness of the malt. In the next place, the mashing or stirring must not be long continued, as it is only desirable to dissolve the sugar; and the effect of long mashing is to mix the starch and mucilage with the worts, and, of course, to diminish their comparative sweetness. For the same reason, the first mash only is proper for fine ales, as the last always contains much more starch and mucilage. These ales thus acquire a sweetness which cannot be removed, except by very long fermentation, and, there

fore, they long continue more generally palatable than porter.-The fermentation of ales is conducted very differently from that of beer. They are let down, or put into the fermenting tun, at a lower temperature, and the fermentation is made to go on slowly and gradually. They are then drawn off clear, and cleansed, till the yeast is as much as possible removed. Hence these liquors, when well made, require no finings, but are racked off so clear that they become fine of themselves, and much higher flavored than they can possibly be when finings are used. Lastly, ale can only be had in perfection from bottles. Its sweetness, high flavor and effervescing quality cannot long be preserved on draught, any more than the fine qualities of Champagne.-Porter, the favorite drink of Londoners, to be perfect, in the first place, requires a large proportion of brown or high-dried malt; i. e., malt which has been scorched on the kiln; but it is rarely, or, rather, never made so at the present day. It is a wasteful and expensive practice to dry malt in this way, as very much of its valuable constituents is wasted by this high-drying, which operates, in fact, like distillation, carrying off in the steam what ought to be left behind. Only a small portion of such malt is, therefore, now used, and sometimes very little indeed, the color of porter being produced_artificially, by means of burned sugar. Low heats are used in the mashing, for the liquor is not to be sweet, and it is, therefore, most profitable to get as much starch as possible. For the same reason, the products of all the mashings are mingled together, thus constituting entire porter. Formerly, it was the practice, in London, to take the separate mashes, for porter, of three different qualities, which were mixed by the retailer, to form porter of three threads; but, afterwards, the brewers, disliking this practice, made the porter entire at once. It is obvious that ale could not be made entire. Again, porter is fermented with more rapidity than ale, and hence it requires very careful watching, lest it suddenly pass the bounds of the vinous, and run into the acetous fermentation. It requires to be cleansed off sometimes at a moment's warning, or else it gets that acidity which is its most common fault. After all, it abounds in unfermented matter, and requires a length of time to ripen, that is, to change this matter into alcohol; and this it does best in large masses. Whether from this reason, or some other that does not appear, it seems to be pretty generally

admitted, that no brewery, either in England or elsewhere, has been able to make porter equal to the large porter-breweries of London. This superiority has been attributed to the use of the Thames water; but, in the first place, the small London breweries, which do not make good porter, have this advantage in common with the larger ones; and, secondly, these last have long since ceased to use the water of the river, as it contains too much vegetable matter, and is liable to cause acidity in the liquor. The superiority, as far as it exists, is doubtless owing to command of capital, and consequent power of choice in the malt-market, and system in conducting the business: as to the rest, a wealthy concern, like a London brewing company, has always means of persuading bottlers and retailers of all descriptions, that it is for their advantage to sell and praise their porter in preference to that of a small establishment, whose liquor may be equally good, but not quite so cheap. Of the two stock liquors, porter is generally considered more wholesome, and more easily digestible. It keeps better, and, in London, is generally preferred for common use. The ales manufactured in many parts of the U. States are colored by the addition of brown malt or burnt sugar. This is to suit the taste of the consumers, who obstinately associate the idea of strength and body with high color. It is impossible that ales thus colored should be without a harsh taste, which is a defect. Ales, to be perfect, must be pale, and the fine English ales always are so. No very good porter is made in the U. States, so far as is known to the writer of this article. Three mash tuns are necessary to make it perfect, and only one is commonly used in this country. (See Ale, Beer, Porter.)

BREWSTER, David; secretary of the royal society of Edinburgh; one of the most learned natural philosophers in Great Britain; born about 1785. The great number of treatises which he has written, on various subjects in natural philosophy, are chiefly inserted in the Transactions of the Edinburgh Royal Society. He is the editor of the much esteemed Edinburgh Encyclopedia. He is also the principal editor of the Edinburgh Philosophical Journal, which appears quarterly. His fame became general by his invention of the kaleidoscope. (q. v.) Among the many learned men who render a residence in Edinburgh agreeable to foreigners, B. is one of the most eminent, as he has a great fund of

general information, and is a man of the most polite manners.

BREZE, marquis de; grand master of ceremonies at the court of Louis XVI; known in consequence of the famous reply of Mirabeau to the message which he brought, June 23, 1789, from the king to the deputies of the tiers état, ordering the dissolution of their body: "Tell your master," said Mirabeau, in a voice of thunder, "that we are here by the will of the people, and that nothing but the bayonet shall drive us out." The court, intimidated by this bold answer, which produced the highest enthusiasm in the assembly and the public, became wavering and irresolute in its measures. Mirabeau, on the other hand, taking advantage of the excitement, carried the decree declaring the persons of the deputies inviolable, and that whoever should dare issue or execute a warrant of arrest against a part or the whole of them should be deemed guilty of treason. The marquis de B. followed Louis XVIII abroad, and, after the restoration, was reinstated in his former office.

BRIAREUS (also called Egaon); a giant with 100 arms and 50 heads, the son of Uranus and Terra. His two brothers, Cottus and Gyges, were formed in a similar manner; and their formidable appearance struck their father with such terror, that he imprisoned them, at their birth, in the bowels of the earth. (Hes. Theog. 147.) In the war with the Titans, Jupiter set them free, and, by their assistance, gained the victory. When Juno, Neptune and Minerva conspired to bind the sovereign of the gods, Thetis brought Briareus from the depths of the sea (how be came there is not known), to the relief of the trembling Jove. (Il. a. 402.) Virgil places B. in the vestibule of hell. (.En. vi, 287.) He was employed, with his hun dred-handed brothers (Centimani), in watching the Titans in Tartarus. (Hes. Theog. 734.)

BRIBE; a reward given to a public officer, or functionary, to induce him to violate his official duty for the benefit or in compliance with the wishes of the party by whom, or on whose behalf, the bribe is given or promised. The term bribery is applicable alike both to the receiving and to the giving of the reward. A corrupt bargain for the votes of electors in the choice of persons to places of trust under the government is bribery. In this instance, the electors, as such, are a kind of public functionaries. Particular species of bribery are expressly forbidden,

with penalties, by the positive laws of every state that is governed according to a written code. The corrupt discharge of a public trust, in consideration of bribery, is punishable at the common law, though not prohibited by any positive statute. A clerk to the agent for French prisoners in England was indicted and punished for taking bribes given for the purpose of inducing him to procure them to be exchanged out of their regular turn. An attempt to influence jurymen in giving their verdict, by rewards, is a species of bribery, denominated embracery. Even offering a reward to a revenue officer, to induce him to violate his duty, though the reward was not received, has been held to be an indictable offence. (2 Dallas's Reports, p. 384.) A similar doctrine is held in England. (3 Coke's Institutes, part third, p. 147, and 4 Burrow's Reports, p. 2500.) The same was held of a promise of money to a member of a corporation, to induce him to vote for a mayor. (2 Lord Raymond's Reports, p. 1377.) The British laws, as well as those of the U. States, specially prohibit bribery of the officers of the revenue; and the forfeiture, on the part of the offender offering the bribe, in England, is £500; the officer receiving the bribe incurs the like forfeiture, and is disqualified for public employment, civil or military. Under the U. States' laws, the party offering or receiving a bribe, in such case, incurs a pecuniary penalty, and becomes disqualified for any place of trust under the government. The laws of many of the U. States contain special provisions against bribery of judges or jurymen, or of electors in the choice of public officers.

BRICENO MENDEZ, Pedro, was born in 1792, in Varinas, capital of the province of that name in Venezuela, of a wealthy and distinguished family. At the commencement of the Colombian revolution, he was pursuing the study of law in Caraccas. Having concluded his studies there, he returned to Varinas in 1812, and obtained the office of chief secretary to the provincial legislature. But the success of Monteverde dissolved that body, and compelled him to emigrate into New Grenada. Here he joined Bolivar after his victories in Cucutá, and, making a tender of his services as a volunteer, Bolivar appointed him his secretary. In this capacity, Briceño served through the campaign of 1813. After the disastrous battle of La Puerta, he followed Bolivar back to Carthagena, and continued at tached to him, as secretary, through all 23

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his vicissitudes of fortune, until the formation of the congress of Angostura, in 1819. At this period, he was made secretary of war and the marine, with the rank of colonel, and accompanied the liberator in his campaigns, as before. In 1821, he received the same appointment under the constitution, but remained at the seat of government when Bolivar departed for the campaign of Quito, after having been confidentially attached to his person for eight years. In 1823, he became general of brigade. In 1825, he resigned his office of secretary of war, and was succeeded by general Soublette. (Restrepo's Colombia, vi, 29.)

BRICK is a sort of artificial stone, made principally of argillaceous earth, formed in moulds, dried in the sun, and baked by burning. The use of unburnt bricks is of great antiquity. They are found in the Roman and Grecian monuments, and even in the ruins of Egypt and Babylon. They were dried in the sun, instead of being burned, and mixed with chopped straw, to give them tenacity. On account of the extreme heat and dryness of the climate, they acquired a great hardness, and have lasted for several thousand years; but they are unsuitable for more northern latitudes. The most common bricks, among the Romans, were 17 inches long and 11 broad, and, in later periods, they were burned. Modern bricks are generally about twice as long as they are broad, and twice as broad as they are thick; their length is ordinarily about 10 inches. The best are made of a mixture of argillaceous earth and sand. Their red color is owing to the presence of oxyde of iron, which is turned red by burning.-The best season for making them is spring or autumn, since the process of drying then takes place more gradually and equably. The clay should be dug in autumn, and exposed to the influence of frost and rain. It should be worked over repeatedly with the spade, and not made into bricks until the ensuing spring, previously to which it should be well tempered by treading it with oxen, or by a horse mill, till it is reduced to a ductile and homogeneous paste. The clay may have too great or too small a proportion of argillaceous earth or of sand to form a paste of proper consistency; it will then be necessary to add the one or the other, as the case may be. When the mass has thus been thoroughly mixed, the moulder throws it into the mould, presses it down till it fills all the eavity, and removes the overplus with a stick. The bricks are then arranged on

hacks to dry, disposed diagonally, to allow a free passage to the air. In about nine or ten days, they are ready for the burning, for which purpose they are formed into clamps or kilns, having flues or cavities at the bottom for the insertion of the fuel, and interstices between them for the fire and hot air to penetrate. A fire is kindled in these cavities, and gradually increased for the first 12 hours, after which it is kept at a uniform height for several days and nights, till the bricks are sufficiently burned. Much care is necessary in regulating the fire, since too much heat vitrifies the bricks, and too little leaves them soft and friable.Pressed bricks are those which, after being moulded in the common manner, are placed in a machine, and subjected to a strong pressure, by which they become regular in shape, and smooth, and more capable of resisting the action of the atmosphere.-Floating bricks are so called on account of their property of swimming on the water. They are made of Agaric mineral, or fossil farina, which is found in some parts of the U. States. Their infusibility at the highest temperatures renders them useful in constructing reverberatory furnaces, pyrometers, and magazines of combustible materials. Their lightness and non-conducting property render them particularly useful for the construction of powder-magazines on board of ships.

BRIDEWELL HOSPITAL, situated in Blackfriars, London, is now used as a house of correction for dissolute persons, idle apprentices and vagrants. The building is a large quadrangle, one side of which is occupied by the hall, containing a picture by Holbein, representing Edward VI, who founded the hospital in 1553, delivering the charter to the corporation of London. The other sides of the quadrangle are occupied by the masters of the trades, with whom several youths are placed as apprentices, and by the prison, where disorderly persons are made to work during their confinement.

BRIDGE. It is needless to investigate ancient authors for a description of the primitive bridge, as its origin and elements are to be found in uncultivated nations of modern times. Stepping-stones, in shallow rivers, covered with planks from stone to stone, exhibit the incipient principles of piers and arches, which science has brought to their present perfection. In deeper rivers, an accumulation of stones forms a loftier pier; and, where the openings were sufficiently narrow,

and the slabs of stone sufficiently long, or the art and strength of the untaught architect sufficient to the task, a roadway was formed from pier to pier, like the Vitruvian architrave of the primitive Tuscan temple. With the Greeks, who were a more maritime people, and more accustomed to navigation than the Romans, there is no doubt that ships and boats preceded, if they did not supersede, the use of bridges. In their brightest days, when their fine style of architecture was complete, when their porticoes were crowded with paintings, and their streets with statues, the people of Athens waded or ferried over the Cephisus, for want of a bridge. The Greeks do not seem to have valued the construction of the arch sufficiently to excel in bridgebuilding. No people of the ancient world carried the power of rearing the stupendous arch and the magnificent dome to such an extent as the Romans. After the construction of their great sewers, their aqueducts, and the cupola over the Pantheon of M. Agrippa, a bridge over the Tiber was of easy execution; and the invention of the architecture of stone bridges, as practised in its best and most effectual manner, must be conceded to this great and indefatigable people. The most celebrated bridges of ancient Rome were not distinguished by the extraordinary size of their arches, nor the peculiar lightness of their piers, but, like the rest of the magnificent works of this city, as far as construction is concerned, they are worthy of study from their excellence and durability. The span or chord of their arches seldom exceeded 70 or 80 feet, and the versed sine or height was nearly half of the chord, so that they were mostly semicircular, or constituted a segment nearly of that form. -Among the most celebrated bridges in modern times, or those built subsequently to the destruction of the Roman empire, are those of the Moors in Spain, who imitated and rivalled the best constructions of the Romans. The bridge of Cordova, over the Guadalquivir, is an eminent example of their success. The bridge over the Rhone, at Avignon, is one of the most ancient bridges of modern Europe. It was built by a religious society, called the brethren of the bridge, which was estab lished upon the decline of the second, and the commencement of the third race of French kings, when a state of anarchy existed, and there was little security for travellers, particularly in passing rivers, on which they were subject to the rapaci