ties of banditti. The object of this society was, to put a stop to these outrages, by forming fraternities for the purpose of building bridges and establishing ferries and caravansaries on their banks. The bridge of Avignon was commenced in 1176, and completed in 1178. It was composed of 18 arches. The length of the chord of the largest was 110 feet 9 inches, and its height 45 feet 10 inches. France can boast of many fine bridges, built during the last two centuries.-In Great Britain, the art of building bridges appears to have been diligently studied from early times. The most ancient bridge in England is the Gothic triangular bridge at Croyland in Lincolnshire, said to have been built in 860. The ascent is so steep that none but foot-passengers can go over it. The longest bridge in England is that over the Trent at Burton in Staffordshire, built in the 12th century, of squared free-stone. It consists of 34 arches, and is 1545 feet long. London bridge was commenced in 1176, and was incumbered with houses for many years. These were removed between 1756 and 1758. The other bridges over the Thames are highly ornamental, as well as necessary, to the metropolis. Blackfriars bridge is both novel and handsome in design, and its elliptical arches are well suited to its situation, but its material is bad and perishing. This bridge was designed and erected by Robert Milne, an able Scotch architect. It was commenced in 1760, and completed in 1771. It is 995 feet long, and 43 feet 6 inches broad between the parapets. The centre arch is 100 feet in span, and 41 feet 6 inches in height. Waterloo bridge is one of the greatest architectural works of our times. It is the only bridge over the Thames which has a flat surface in its whole course. Its length is 1250 feet. It consists of 9 elliptical arches, each of 120 feet span, and 32 feet in height. Westminster bridge is one of the handsomest as well as most scientifically constructed bridges in Europe, and forms an era in English bridge architecture, from the success of the method employed in laying the foundations in deep water and a rapid current. It was commenced in 1740, and completed in 1750. It is 1220 feet long, and 44 feet between the parapets, has 13 large and 2 small arches, all semicircular. The middle arch is 76 feet

fectly understood. The first bridge of cast-iron ever erected is that over the Severn, about two miles below Colebrookdale, in Shropshire. It is an arch composed of five ribs, forming the segment of a circle. Its chord is 100 feet long, and its height 45 feet. It was erected in 1777. The second cast-iron bridge was designed by Thomas Paine, the famous political writer, and was intended to have been taken to America; but, the speculator failing in his payments, the materials were afterwards used in constructing the beautiful bridge over the river Wear at Bishop's Wearmouth, in the county of Durham. The chord of the arch is 240 feet long; the height, 30 feet. The Southwark or Trafalgar bridge over the Thames at London is, at present, the finest iron bridge in the world. It consists of three arches. The chord of the middle arch is 240 feet long, and its height 24 feet. There are several other fine bridges of this kind in England. Mr. Telford proposed an iron arch of much larger dimensions than any now existing, to take the place of London bridge. The length of the chord was to be 600 feet, and its height 65. The plan has not been executed.

Timber bridges. Timber is the most ready, and perhaps the most ancient material used for the construction of bridges. The earliest timber bridge on record is that thrown by Julius Cæsar over the Rhine, and described in his Commenta ries. Germany is the school for wooden bridges, as England is for those of iron. The most celebrated wooden bridge was that over the Rhine at Schaffhausen. This was 364 feet in length, and 18 feet broad. The plan of the architect was, that the bridge should consist of a single arch. The magistrates of the place, however, required that he should make it of two, and use the middle pier of a stone bridge, which had previously stood there. He did so, but contrived to leave it doubtful whether the bridge was at all supported by the middle pier. It was destroyed by the French, in April, 1799. The same architect and his brother have also erected several other fine arched wooden bridges. Several others have been erected, in Germany, by Wiebeking, perhaps the most ingenious carpenter of our times.-In the United States, the Trenton bridge over the Delaware, erected by Burr in 1804, is the segment of a circle 345 feet in diameter. Its chord measures 200 feet; its height, or versed sine, is 32 feet, and the height of the timber framing of the arch, at its vertex, is no more than

2 feet 8 inches. The timber bridge over the Schuylkill, at Philadelphia, is of the extraordinary span of 340 feet. The versed sine is only 20 feet, and the height of the wooden framing, at the vertex, 7 feet. Its architect was Wernwag, who built it in 1813. The bridge built by Palmer, over the Piscataqua, near Portsmouth, New Hampshire, in 1794, is the segment of a circle 600 feet in diameter. Its chord line measures 250 feet, its versed sine 27 feet 4 inches, and the height of the timber frame-work of the arch 18 feet 3 inches. It is put together with wooden keys. The same ingenious mechanic erected two other wooden bridges, one over the Merrimack, at Deer Island, near Newburyport, of 160 feet diameter, finished in 1792, and the other over the Schuylkill at Philadelphia, of 194 feet chord, and 12 feet versed sine, being the segment of a circle 796 feet in diameter. This was finished in 1803.

Pendent bridges, or bridges of suspension, although held, by some persous, to be a modern invention, or derived from the rope bridges of South America and the East Indies, were in use in Europe in the time of Scamozzi, as may be seen in his Del Idea Archi, 1615; yet the principles requisite to determine the structure of this kind of bridges had not been made public before the time of Bernouilli. The use of these bridges is of great antiquity in mountainous countries. The most remarkable bridge of suspension in existence is that lately constructed by Mr. Telford over the Menai strait, between the isle of Anglesea and Caernarvonshire in Wales. It was finished in 1825. The roadway is 100 feet above the surface of the water at high tide. The opening between the points of suspension is 560 feet. The platform is about 30 feet in breadth. The whole is suspended from 4 lines of strong iron cables by perpendicular iron rods, 5 feet apart. The cables pass over rollers on the tops of pillars, and are fixed to iron frames under ground, which are kept down by masonry. The weight of the whole bridge, between the points of suspension, is 489 tons. There are several other bridges of suspension in Great Britain. In 1814, a chain-bridge, 1000 feet long, was projected by Mr. Telford, to cross the Mersey at Liverpool, but it has never been executed.-In the U. States, such bridges are to be found, though not of the dimensions of the English. That over the Merrimack, at Newburyport, is a curve whose chord measures 244 feet. That over the river

Brandywine, at Wilmington, has a chord of 145 feet; that at Brownsville, over the Monongahela, measures 120 feet between the points of suspension. Another, in its vicinity, forms an inverted suspended arch, with a chord of 112 feet. Besides these there are some others.

The following remarks on the construction of bridges are from Bigelow's Technology, (Boston, 1829):-The construction of small bridges is a simple process, while that of large ones is, under certain circumstances, extremely difficult, owing to the fact, that the strength of materials does not increase in proportion to their weight, and that there are limits, beyond which no structure of the kind could be carried, and withstand its own gravity. Bridges differ in their construetion, and in the materials of which they are composed. The principal varieties are the following:-1. Wooden bridges. These, when built over shallow and sluggish streams, are usually supported upon piles driven into the mud at short distances, or upon frames of timber. But, in deep and powerful currents, it is necessary to support them on strong stone piers and abutments, built at as great a distance as practicable from each other. The bridge, between these piers, consists of a stiff frame of carpentry, so constructed, with reference to its material, that it may act as one piece, and may not bend, or break, with its own weight and any additional load to which it may be exposed. When this frame is straight, the upper part is compressed by the weight of the whole, while the lower part is extended, like the tie-beam of a roof. But the strongest wooden bridges are made with curved ribs, which rise above the abutments in the manner of an arch, and are not subjected to a longitudinal strain by extension. These ribs are commonly connected and strengthened with diagonal braces, keys, bolts and straps of iron. The flooring of the bridge may be either laid above them or suspended by trussing underneath them. Wooden bridges are common in this country, and some of them are of large size. One of the most remarkable is the upper Schuylkill bridge at Philadelphia, already mentioned.-2. Stone bridges. These, for the most part, consist of regular arches, built upon stone piers constructed in the water, or upon abutments at the banks. Above the arches is made a level or sloping road. From the nature of the material, these are the most durable kind of bridges, and many are now standing, which were built

by the ancient Romans. The stone piers, on which bridges are supported, require to be of great solidity, especially when exposed to rapid currents, or floating ice. Piers are usually built with their greatest length in the direction of the stream, and with their extremities pointed or curved, so as to divide the water, and allow it to glide easily past them. In building piers, it is often necessary to exclude the water by means of a coffer-dam. This is a temporary enclosure, formed by a double wall of piles and planks, having their interval filled with clay. The interior space is made dry by pumping, and kept so till the structure is finished.-3. Castiron bridges. These have been constructed, in England, out of blocks or frames of cast-iron, so shaped as to fit into each other, and, collectively, to form ribs and arches. These bridges possess great strength, but are liable to be disturbed by the expansion and contraction of the metal with heat and cold.-4. Suspension bridges. In these the flooring or main body of the bridge is supported on strong iron chains or rods, hanging, in the form of an inverted arch, from one point of support to another. The points of support are the tops of strong pillars or small towers, erected for the purpose. Over these pillars the chain passes, and is attached, at each extremity of the bridge, to rocks or massive frames of iron, firmly secured under ground. The great advantage of suspension bridges consists in their stability of equilibrium, in consequence of which a smaller amount of materials is necessary for their construction than for that of any other bridge. If a suspension bridge be shaken, or thrown out of equilibrium, it returns by its weight to its proper place, whereas the reverse happens in bridges which are built above the level of their sup porters.-5. Floating bridges. Upon deep and sluggish water, stationary rafts of timber are sometimes employed, extending from one shore to another, and covered with planks, so as to form a passable bridge. In military operations, temporary bridges are often formed by planks laid upon boats, pontons, and other buoyant supporters.

BRIDGETOWN; a seaport town, and capital of the island of Barbadoes, in the West Indies, lying in the S. W. part, and in the parish of St. Michael, Lon. 59° 40′ W.; lat. 13° 5′ N. Population, 15 or 20,000. It is situated on the innermost part of Carlisle bay, which is large enough to contain 500 ships, being 4 miles in breadth, and 3 in depth; but the bottom is foul, and apt to cut the cables. It suf

fered greatly by fire, on Feb. 8th, 1756, May 14th, 1766, and Dec. 27th, 1767, when the greatest part of the town was destroyed; before which time, it had about 1500 houses, mostly brick, very elegant, and said to be the finest and largest in all the Caribbee islands, the greatest part of which have been rebuilt. It has a college, founded liberally, and endowed by colonel Codrington. Here are commodious wharves for loading and unloading goods, with some forts and castles. The town is subject to hurricanes. On the east side of the town is a small fort of eight guns, where the magazines of powder and stores are kept under a strong guard. This is the seat of the governor, council, assembly, and court of chancery.

BRIDGEWATER; a borough town in the county of Somerset, England, on the Parret, over which is an iron bridge. Although the town is 12 miles from the sea, the tide rises six fathoms at high water, and flows in with such impetuosity as frequently to injure the shipping. This rapid motion is called the bore, and is not uncommon in the rivers which flow into the Bristol channel. (q. v.) It has little coasting, but considerable foreign trade. In the castle built by king John, the duke of Monmouth lodged, and was here proclaimed king, in 1685, before the battle of Sedgemoor, which was fought about three miles from the town.. B. then became the theatre of Feversham's and Jefferies' barbarity. The borough sends two members to parliament. Population, 6155. Lon. 2° 59′ W.; lat. 51° 7′ Ñ.

BRIDGEWATER CANAL. (See Canal.)

BRIDLE; the head-stall, bit and reins, by which a horse is governed. The origin of it is of high antiquity. The first horsemen guided their horses with a little stick, and the sound of their voice. A cord drawn through the nose is sometimes used for other animals. The ancient Thessalian coins often represent a horse with a long rein trailing on the ground. The Romans were trained to fight without bridles, as an exercise in the manege. On Trajan's column, soldiers are thus represented at full speed. The parts of a modern bridle are the snaffle or bit; the headstall, or leathers from the top of the head to the rings of the bit; the fillet, over the forehead, and under the fore-top; the throat-band, which buttons under the throat; the reins; the nose-band, buckled under the cheeks; the trench, the cavesan, the martingal and the chaff-halter.

BRIEF, from the French bref, which comes from the Latin brevis, denotes a

thing of short extent or duration. It is more particularly used for a summary or short statement.-Brief, in law, signifies an abridgment of the client's case, made out for the instruction of counsel on a trial. In this, the case of the party is to be concisely but fully stated; the proofs are to be placed in due order, and proper answers made to whatever may be objected against the cause of the client. In preparing the brief, great care is requisite, that no omission be made which may endanger the case.-Briefs, apostolical; written messages of the pope, addressed to princes or magistrates, respecting matters of public concern. Such brevia as are despatched by the datarii or secretarii, and called rescripts, despatches, concessions, mandates, &c., are written on parchment, and sealed, with the fisher's ring, in red wax. Pastoral letters, directed to princes and bishops, are without seal. These papers derive their name from the shortness of their formalities, since they have no introductory preamble, but commence with the pope's name, and these words: dilecto filio salutem et apostolicam benedictionem. Briefs are not subscribed by the pope, nor with his name, but with that of his secretary.

BRIEL, OF BRIELLE, a town of the Netherlands, near the mouth of the Maese, with a good harbor, well built and strongly fortified. It is remarkable, in history, as the place where the confederates laid the foundation of the Dutch republic, in 1572. Having been expelled by Alva from the Low Countries, they equipped a small fleet in England, and were carried accidentally, by an unfavorable wind, to B., which capitulated to them, and thus became the cradle of Dutch liberty.-Van Tromp was born here.-The population is 3200, principally engaged in the fisheries. Lon. 4° 10 E.; lat. 51° 54′ N.

BRIENNE, a small town in the department of the Aube (Upper Champagne), consists of Brienne-la-Ville and Brienne-leChâteau, containing together 285 houses, and 3200 inhabitants, with a number of manufactories and vineyards. In the military academy for young noblemen, formerly existing at B.-le-Château, Napoleon received his first instruction in the military art. B. afterwards became celebrated as the scene of the last struggles of his long and oppressive domination. There the first battle within the boundaries of France was gained by the allied powers, the last trust of the army in Napoleon shaken, and the charm, which, it was supposed, would render the French invinci

ble at their own hearths, was broken. The way to Paris and the overthrow of the imperial dignity were prepared. After the battle at Bar-sur-Aube (Jan. 24, 1814), where the allied armies met with the first resistance after their entry into France by the way of Switzerland, they advanced rapidly. Napoleon, having left Paris, compelled Blücher to retreat, on the 26th, near Vitry, before superior numbers, and concentrated his forces on the 28th at B.; Schwarzenberg took up his position at Chaumont, Blücher at St. Dizier, Wrede at Andelot, and Witgenstein at Vassy. On the 29th, the French made an impetuous attack on the allies. The struggle on both sides was obstinate and bloody. Night came on, but the flames of B., which had been set on fire, shed their light over the field of battle. General Chateau, with two battalions, had taken the castle of B., but was soon forced to relinquish it. The battle continued till 11 o'clock. It was renewed on the following day, and Blücher was compelled, by superior numbers, to fall back upon Trannes. On the 31st, Napoleon arrayed his whole force in the plains between La Rothière and Trannes. The corps of the crown-prince of Würtemberg, count Giulay, and the Russian reserves of grenadiers, having effected a junction with Blücher on the 1st of Feb., prince Schwarzenberg gave orders to commence the battle. About noon, Blücher's forces advanced in three columns; general Sacken leading one upon La Rothière, Giulay another upon Dienville, and the crownprince of Würtemberg another upon Chaumreil. In the mean time, general Wrede took up his line of march from Doulevent upon B. Only a few fieldpieces could be brought into action, on account of the nature of the ground; but the courage of the soldiers compensated for this deficiency. The crown-prince of Würtemberg first drove the enemy from his position, which was covered by woods, and deprived him of the important point of La Gibrie. Although he was immediately assailed in this position, he remained in possession of it after a struggle of more than an hour. Giulay took Unienville, and Sacken forced his way to La Rothière. By 3 o'clock, all the lines were brought into action. A heavy snowstorm silenced for a moment the fire of the artillery, but could not paralyse the activity of the combatants. Napoleon directed all the operations of his army, and repeatedly exposed his person, with a full conviction of the importance of success.