Brand (Ethan), an ex-lime burner in Nathaniel Hawthorne's story of the same name, who, fancying he has committed the Unpardonable Sin, commits suicide by leaping into the burning kiln.

Brand (Sir Denys), a county magnate, who apes humility. He rides a sorry brown nag "not worth £5," but mounts his groom on a race-horse "twice victor for a plate."

Bran´damond of Damascus, whom sir Bevis of Southampton defeated.

That dreadful battle where with Brandamond he fought. And with his sword and steed such earthly wonders wrought As e'en among his foes him admiration won. M. Drayton, Polyolbion, ii. (1612).

Bran'dan (Island of St.) or ISLAND of SAN BORANDAN, a flying island, so late as 1755 set down in geographical charts west of the Canary group. In 1721 an expedition was sent by Spain in quest thereof. The Spaniards say their king Rodri'go has retreated there, and the Portuguese affirm that it is the retreat of their don Sebastian. It was called St. Brandan from a navigator of the sixth century, who went in search of the "Islands of Paradise."

Its reality was for a long time a matter of firm belief ... the garden of Armi'da, where Rinaldo was detained, and which Tasso places in one of the Canary Isles, has been identified with San Borandan.—W. Irving.

(If there is any truth at all in the legend, the island must be ascribed to the Fata Morgana.)

Bran'deum, plu. Brandea, a piece of cloth enclosed in a box with relics, which thus acquired the same miraculous powers as the relics themselves.

Pope Leo proved this fact beyond a doubt, for when some Greeks ventured to question it, he cut a brandeum through with a pair of scissors, and it was instantly covered with blood.—J. Brady, Clavis Calendaria, 182.

Bran'dimart, brother-in-law of Orlando, son of Monodantês, and husband of For'delis. This "king of the Distant Islands" was one of the bravest knights in Charlemagne's army, and was slain by Gradasso.—Bojardo, Orlando Innamorata (1495); Ariosto, Orlando Furioso (1516).

Brand, a term often applied to the sword in medaeval romances.

Brangtons (The), vulgar, jealous, malicious gossips in Evelina, a novel by Miss Burney (1778).

Branno, an Irishman, father of Evirallin. Evirallin was the wife of Ossian and mother of Oscar.—Ossian.

Brass, the roguish confederate of Dick Amlet, and acting as his servant.

Brass (Sampson), a knavish, servile attorney, affecting great sympathy with his clients, but in reality fleecing them without mercy.

Sally Brass, Sampson's sister, and an exaggerated edition of her brother.—C. Dickens, Old Curiosity Shop (1840).

Brave (The), Alfonzo IV. of Portugal (1290-1357).

The Brave Fleming, John Andrew van der Mersch (1734-1792).

The Bravest of the Brave, Marshal Ney, Le Brave des Braves (1769-1815).

Bray (Mr.), a selfish, miserly old man, who dies suddenly of heart-disease, just in time to save his daughter from being sacrificed to Arthur Gride, a rich old miser.

Madeline Bray, daughter of Mr. Bray, a loving, domestic, beautiful girl, who marries Nicholas Nickleby.—C. Dickens, Nicholas Nickleby (1838).

Bray (Vicar of), supposed by some to be Simon Aleyn, who lived (says Fuller) "in the reigns of Henry VIII., Edward VI., Mary, and Elizabeth. In the first two reigns he was a protestant, in Mary's reign a catholic, and in Elizabeth's a protestant again." No matter who was king, Simon Aleyn resolved to live and die "the vicar of Bray" (1540-1588).

Others think the vicar was Simon Symonds, who (according to Ray) was an independent in the protectorate, a high churchman in the reign of Charles II., a papist under James II., and a moderate churchman in the reign of William III.

Others again give the cap to one Pendleton.

therefore.jpg The well-known song was written by an officer in colonel Fuller's regiment, in the reign of George I., and seems to refer to some clergyman of no very distant date.

Bray´more (Lady Caroline), daughter of lord Fitz-Balaam. She was to have married Frank Rochdale, but hearing that her "intended" loved Mary Thornberry, she married the Hon. Tom Shuffleton.—G. Colman, jun., John Bull (1805).

Brazen (Captain), a kind of Bobadil. A boastful, tongue-doughty warrior, who pretends to know everybody; to have a liaison with every wealthy, pretty, or distinguished woman; and to have achieved in war the most amazing prodigies.

Brazen Head. The first on record is one which Sylvester II. (Gerbert) possessed. It told him he would be pope, and not die till he had sung mass at Jerusalem. When pope he was stricken with his death-sickness while performing mass in a church called Jerusalem (999-1003).

The next we hear of was made by Rob. Grosseteste (1175-1253).

The third was the famous brazen head of Albertus Magnus, which cost him thirty years' labor, and was broken to pieces by his disciple Thomas Aqui´nas (1193-1280).

The fourth was that of friar Bacon, which used to say, "Time is, time was, time comes." Byron refers to it in the lines:

Another was made by the marquis of Vilena of Spain (1384-1434). And a sixth by a Polander, a disciple of Escotillo an Italian.

Brazen Head (The), a gigantic head kept in the castle of the giant Fer´ragus of Portugal. It was omniscient, and told those who consulted it whatever they desired to know, past, present, or future.—Valentine and Orson.

Breakfast Table (Autocrat of). See AUTOCRAT.

Breaking a Stick is part of the marriage ceremony of the American Indians, as breaking a glass is still part of the marriage ceremony of the Jews.—Lady Augusta Hamilton, Marriage Rites, etc., pp. 292, 298.

In one of Raphael's pictures we see an unsuccessful suitor of the Virgin Mary breaking his stick, and this alludes to the legend that the several suitors of the "virgin" were each to bring an almond stick which was to be laid up in the sanctuary over night, and the owner of the stick which budded was to be accounted the suitor God ordained, and thus Joseph became her husband.—B.H. Cowper, Apocryphal Gospel ("Pseudo-Matthew's Gospel," 40, 41).

In Florence is a picture in which the rejected suitors break their sticks on the back of Joseph.

Brec´an, a mythical king of Wales. He had twenty-four daughters by one wife. These daughters, for their beauty and purity, were changed into rivers, all of which flow into the Severn. Brecknockshire, according to fable, is called after this king. (See next art.)

Brec'han (Prince), father of St. Cadock and St. Canock, the former a martyr and the latter a confessor.

Breck (Alison), an old fishwife, friend of the Mucklebackits.—Sir W. Scott, The Antiquary (time, Greorge III.).

Breck (Angus), a follower of Rob Roy M'Gregor, the outlaw.—Sir W. Scott, Rob Roy (time, Greorge I.).

Breitman (Hans), the giver of the entertainment celebrated in Charles Godfrey Leland's dialect verses, Hans Breitman gave a Party. A favorite with parlor and platform "readers." (1871.)

Bren´da [TROIL], daughter of Magnus Troil and sister of Minna.—Sir W. Scott, The Pirate (time, William III.).

Breng´wain, the confidante of Is´olde (2 syl.) wife of sir Mark king of Cornwall. Isolde was criminally attached to her nephew sir Tristram, and Brengwain assisted the queen in her intrigues.

Breng´wain, wife of Gwenwyn prince of Powys-land.—Sir W. Scott, The Betrothed (time, Henry II.).

Brennett (Maurice), a man whom "life had always cast for the leading business" and who "bears himself in a manner befitting the title rôle." In pursuance of this destiny he becomes a mining speculator, betrays his confiding partner and everybody else who will trust, and when success seems within his grasp is thwarted by the discovery of a man he had supposed to be dead. The woman he would have married to secure her fortune, around which he had woven the fine web of his schemes, breaks out impetuously:

"If you will prove his complicity ... I will pursue him to the ends of the earth."

At that moment through the window she sees the head-light of the train that is bearing Maurice Brennett away into the darkness. The thorough search made for him afterward is futile.—Charles Egbert Craddock, Where the Battle was Fought (1885).

Brenta´no (A), one of inconceivable folly. The Brentanos, Clemens and his sister Bettina, are remarkable in German literary annals for the wild and extravagant character of their genius. Bettina's work, Göthe's Correspondence with a Child (1835), is a pure fabrication of her own.

Brentford (The two kings of). In the duke of Buckingham's farce called The Rehearsal (1671), the two kings of Brentford enter hand-in-hand, dance together, sing together, walk arm-in-arm, and to heighten the absurdity the actors represent them as smelling at the same nosegay (act ii. 2).

Bretwalda, the over-king of the Saxon rulers, established in England during the heptarchy. In Germany the over-king was called emperor. The bretwalda had no power in the civil affairs of the under-kings, but in times of war or danger formed an important centre.

Brewer of Ghent (The), James van Artevelde, a great patriot. His son Philip fell in the battle of Rosbecq (fourteenth century).

Brewster (William). The Life and Death of William Brewster, elder in the first church planted in Massachusetts, was written by his colleague William Bradford (1630-1650). After a feeling eulogy upon his departed friend, he remarks, parenthetically: "He always thought it were better for ministers to pray oftener and divide their prayers, than be long and tedious in the same (except upon solemn and special occasions, as in days of humiliation and the like). His reason was that the hearts and spirits of all, especially the weak, continue and stand bent (as it were) so long towards God as they ought to do in that duty without flagging and falling off." This is a remarkable deliverance for a day when two-hour prayers were the rule, and from a man who, his biographer tells us, "had a singular good gift in prayer."

Bria´na, the lady of a castle who demanded for toll "the locks of every lady and the beard of every knight that passed." This toll was established because sir Crudor, with whom she was in love, refused to marry her till she had provided him with human hair sufficient to "purfle a mantle" with. Sir Crudor, having been overthrown in knightly combat by sir Calidore, who refused to pay "the toll demanded," is made to release Briana from the condition imposed on her, and Briana swears to discontinue the discourteous toll.—Spenser, Faëry Queen, vi. 1 (1596).

Bri´anor (Sir), a knight overthrown by the "Salvage Knight," whose name was sir Artegal.—Spenser, Faëry Queen, iv. 5 (1596).

Briar´eos (4 syl.), usually called Briareus [Bri´.a.ruce], the giant with a hundred hands. Hence Dryden says, "And Briareus, with all his hundred hands" (Virgil, vi.); but Milton writes the name Briareos (Paradise Lost, i. 199).

Bri´areus (Bold), Handel (1685-1757).

Bri´areus of Languages, cardinal Mezzofanti, who was familiar with fifty-eight different languages. Byron calls him "a walking polyglot" (1774-1849).

Bribo´ci, inhabitants of Berkshire and the adjacent counties.—Cæsar, Commentaries.

Brick (Jefferson), a very weak pale young man, the war correspondent of the New York Rowdy Journal, of which colonel Diver was editor.—C. Dickens, Martin Chuzzlewit (1844).

Bride of Aby´dos (The), Zulei´ka (3 syl.), daughter of Giaffer (2 syl.), pacha of Abydos. She is the troth-plight bride of Selim; but Giaffer shoots the lover, and Zuleika dies of a broken heart.—Byron, Bride of Abydos (1813).

Bride of Lammermoor, Lucy Ashton, in love with Edgar master of Ravenswood, but compelled to marry Frank Hayston, laird of Bucklaw. She tries to murder him on the bridal night, and dies insane the day following.—Sir W. Scott, The Bride of Lammermoor (time, William III.).

therefore.jpg The Bride of Lammermoor is one of the most finished of Scott's novels, presenting a unity of plot and action from beginning to end. The old butler, Caleb Balderston, is exaggerated and far too prominent, but he serves as a foil to the tragic scenes.

Bride of the Sea, Venice, so called from the ancient ceremony of the doge marrying the city to the Adriatic by throwing a ring into it, pronouncing these words, "We wed thee, O sea, in token of perpetual domination."

Bridge. The imaginary bridge between earth and the Mohammedan paradise is called "Al Sirat´."

The rainbow bridge which spans heaven and earth in Scandinavian mythology is called "Bif´rost."

Bridge of Gold. According to German tradition, Charlemagne's spirit crosses the Rhine on a golden bridge, at Bingen, in reasons of plenty, and blesses both cornfields and vineyards.

Bridge of Sighs, the covered passageway which connects the palace of the doge in Venice with the State prisons. Called "the Bridge of Sighs," because the condemned passed over it from the judgment hall to the place of execution. Hood has a poem called The Bridge of Sighs.

Bridgemore (Mr.), of Fish Street Hill, London. A dishonest merchant, wealthy, vulgar, and purse-proud. He is invited to a soirée given by lord Abberville, "and counts the servants, gapes at the lustres, and never enters the drawing-room at all, but stays below, chatting with the travelling tutor."

Mrs. Bridgemore, wife of Mr. Bridgemore, equally vulgar, but with more pretension to gentility.

Miss Lucinda Bridgemore, the spiteful, purse-proud, malicious daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Bridgemore, of Fish Street Hill. She was engaged to lord Abberville, but her money would not out-balance her vulgarity and ill-temper, so the young "fashionable lover" made his bow and retired.—Cumberland, The Fashionable Lover (1780).

Bridgenorth (Major Ralph), a roundhead and conspirator, neighbor of sir Geoffrey Peveril of the Peak, a staunch cavalier.

Mrs. Bridgenorth, the major's wife.

Alice Bridgenorth, the major's daughter and heroine of the novel. Her marriage with Julian Peveril, a cavalier, concludes the novel.—Sir W. Scott, Peveril of the Peak (time, Charles II.).

Brid´get (Miss), the mother of Tom Jones, in Fielding's novel called The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling (1750).

Brid´get (Mrs.), in Sterne's novel called The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gent. (1759).

Bridget (Mother), aunt of Catherine Seyton, and abbess of St. Catherine.—Sir W. Scott, The Abbot (time, Elizabeth).

Bridget (May), the milkwoman at Falkland Castle.—Sir W. Scott, Fair Maid of Perth (time, Henry IV.).

Bridge´ward (Peter), the bridgekeeper of Kennaquhair ("I know not where").—Sir W. Scott, The Abbot (time, Elizabeth).

Bridgeward (Peter), warder of the bridge near St. Mary's Convent. He refuses a passage to father Philip, who is carrying off the Bible of lady Alice.—Sir W. Scott, The Monastery (time, Elizabeth).

Bridle. John Grower says that Rosiphele princess of Armenia, insensible to love, saw in a vision a troop of ladies splendidly mounted, but one of them rode a wretched steed, wretchedly accoutred except as to the bridle. On asking the reason, the princess was informed that she was disgraced thus because of her cruelty to her lovers, but that the splendid bridle had been recently given, because the obdurate girl had for the last month shown symptoms of true love. Moral—Hence let ladies warning take—

Bridlegoose (Judge), a judge who decided the causes brought before him, not by weighing the merits of the case, but by the more simple process of throwing dice. Rabelais, Pantag´ruel, iii. 39 (1545.)

Bri´dlesly (Joe), a horse-dealer at Liverpool, of whom Julian Peveril buys a horse.—Sir W. Scott, Peveril of the Peak (time, Charles II.).

Brid´oison [Bree.dwoy.zong´], a stupid judge in the Mariage de Figaro, a comedy in French, by Beaumarchais (1784).

Bridoon (Corporal), in lieutenant Nosebag's regiment.—Sir W. Scott, Waverley (time, George II.).

Brien´nius (Nicephorus), the Cæsar of the Grecian empire, and husband of Anna Comne´na (daughter of Alexius Comnenus, emperor of Greece).—Sir W. Scott, Count Robert of Paris (time, Rufus).

Brigado´re (4 syl.), sir Guyon's horse. The word means "Golden saddle."—Spenser, Faëry Queen, v. 3 (1596).

Brigan´tes (3 syl.), called by Drayton Brig´ants, the people of Yorkshire, Lancashire, Westmoreland, Cumberland, and Durham.

Briggs, one of the ten young gentlemen in the school of Dr. Blimber when Paul Dombey was a pupil there. Briggs was nicknamed the "Stoney," because his brains were petrified by the constant dropping of wisdom upon them.—C. Dickens, Dombey and Son (1846).

Brigliadoro [Bril´.ye.dor´.ro], Orlando's steed. The word means "Gold bridle."—Ariosto, Orlando Furioso (1516).

Sir Guyon's horse, in Spenser's Faëry Queen, is called by a similar name.

Brilliant (Sir Philip), a great fop, but brave soldier, like the famous Murat. He would dress with all the finery of a vain girl, but would share watching, toil, and peril with the meanest soldier. "A butterfly in the drawing-room, but a Hector on the battle-field." He was a "blade of proof; you might laugh at the scabbard, but you wouldn't at the blade." He falls in love with lady Anne, reforms his vanities, and marries.—S. Knowles, Old Maids (1841).

Brilliant Madman (The), Charles XII. of Sweden (1682, 1697-1718).

Brillianta (The lady), a great wit in the ancient romance entitled Tirante le Blanc, author unknown.

Here (in Tirante le Blanc) we shall find the famous knight don Kyrie Elyson of Montalban, his brother Thomas, the knight Fonseca ... the stratagems of the widow Tranquil ... and the witticisms of lady Brillianta. This is one of the most amusing books ever written.—Cervantes, Don Quixote, I. i. 6 (1605).

Bris (Il conte di San), governor of the Louvre. He is father of Valenti'na and leader of the St. Bartholomew massacre.—Meyerbeer, Les Huguenots (1836).

Brisac' (Justice), brother of Miramont.

Charles Brisac, a scholar, son of justice Brisac.

Eustace Brisac, a courtier, brother of Charles.—Beaumont and Fletcher, The Elder Brother (1637).

Brise'is (3 syl.), whose real name was Hippodamï'a, was the daughter of Brisês, brother of the priest Chrysês. She was the concubine of Achillês, but when Achillês bullied Agamemnon for not giving Chryse'is to her father, who offered a ransom for her, Agamemnon turned upon him and said he would let Chryseis go, but should take Briseis instead.—Homer, Iliad, i.

Brisk, a good-natured conceited coxcomb, with a most voluble tongue. Fond of saying "good things," and pointing them out with such expressions as "There I had you, eh?" "That was pretty well, egad, eh?" "I hit you in the teeth there, egad!" His ordinary oath was "Let me perish!" He makes love to lady Froth.—W. Congreve, The Double Dealer (1694).

Bris'kie (2 syl.), disguised under the name of Putskie. A captain in the Moscovite army, and brother of general Archas "the loyal subject" of the great-duke of Moscovia.—Beaumont and Fletcher, The Loyal Subject (1618).

Bris'sotin, one of the followers of Jean Pierre Brissot, an advanced revolutionist. The Brissotins were subsequently merged in the Girondists, and the word dropped out of use.

Bristol Boy (The), Thomas Chatterton, the poet, born at Bristol. Also called "The Marvellous Boy." Byron calls him "The wondrous boy who perished in his pride" (1752-1770).

Britan'nia. The Romans represented the island of Great Britain by the figure of a woman seated on a rock, from a fanciful resemblance thereto in the general outline of the island. The idea is less poetically expressed by "An old witch on a broomstick."

The effigy of Britannia on British copper coin dates from the reign of Charles II. (1672), and was engraved by Roetier from a drawing by Evelyn. It is meant for one of the king's court favorites, some say Frances Theresa Stuart, duchess of Richmond, and others Barbara Villiers, duchess of Cleveland.

British History of Geoffrey of Monmouth, is a translation of a Welsh Chronicle. It is in nine books, and contains a "history" of the Britons and Welsh from Brutus, great-grandson of Trojan Æneas to the death of Cadwallo or Cadwallader in 688. This Geoffrey was first archdeacon of Monmouth and then bishop of St. Asaph. The general outline of the work is the same as that given by Nennius three centuries previously. Geoffrey's Chronicle, published about 1143, formed a basis for many subsequent historical works. A compendium by Diceto is published in Gale's Chronicles.

Brit'omart, the representative of chastity. She was the daughter and heiress of king Ryence of Wales, and her legend forms the third book of the Faëry Queen. One day, looking into Venus's looking-glass, given by Merlin to her father, she saw therein sir Artegal, and fell in love with him. Her nurse Glaucê (2 syl.) tried by charms "to undo her love," but love that is in gentle heart begun no idle charm can remove. Finding her "charms" ineffectual, she took her to Merlin's cave in Caermarthen, and the magician told her she would be the mother of a line of kings (the Tudors), and after twice 400 years one of her offspring, "a royal virgin," would shake the power of Spain. Glaucê now suggested that they should start in quest of sir Artegal, and Britomart donned the armor of An'gela (queen of the Angles), which she found in her father's armory, and taking a magic spear which "nothing could resist," she sallied forth. Her adventures allegorize the triumph of chastity over impurity: Thus in Castle Joyous, Malacasta (lust), not knowing her sex, tried to seduce her, "but she flees youthful lust, which wars against the soul." She next overthrew Marinel, son of Cym'oent. Then made her appearance as the Squire of Dames. Her last achievement was the deliverance of Am'oret (wifely love) from the enchanter Busirane. Her marriage is deferred to bk. v. 6, when she tilted with sir Artegal, who "shares away the ventail of her helmet with his sword," and was about to strike again when he became so amazed at her beauty that he thought she must be a goddess. She bade the knight remove his helmet, at once recognized him, consented "to be his love, and to take him for her lord."—Spenser, Faëry Queen, iii. (1590).

She charmed at once and tamed the heart, Incomparable Britomart.

Sir W. Scott.

Briton (Colonel), a Scotch officer, who sees donna Isabella jump from a window in order to escape from a marriage she dislikes. The colonel catches her, and takes her to the house of donna Violante, her friend. Here he calls upon her, but don Felix, the lover of Violante, supposing Violante to be the object of his visits, becomes jealous, till at the end the mystery is cleared up, and a double marriage is the result.—Mrs. Centlivre, The Wonder (1714).

Brob'dingnag, a country of enormous giants, to whom Gulliver was a tiny dwarf. They were as tall "as an ordinary church steeple," and all their surroundings were in proportion.

Yon high church steeple, yon gawky stag. Your husband must come from Brobdingnag. Kane O'Hara, Midas.

Brock (Adam), in Charles XII., an historical drama by J. E. Planché.

Broken-Girth-Flow (Laird of), one of the Jacobite conspirators in The Black Dwarf, a novel by sir W. Scott (time, Anne).

Broker of the Empire (The). Dari´us, son of Hystaspês, was so called by the Persians from his great care of the financial condition of his empire.

Bro´mia, wife of Sosia (slave of Amphitryon), in the service of Alcme´na. A nagging termagant, who keeps her husband in petticoat subjection. She is not one of the characters in Molière's comedy of Amphitryon.—Dryden, Amphitryon (1690).

Bromton's Chronicle (time, Edward III.), that is, "The Chronicle of John Bromton" printed among the Decem Scriptores, under the titles of "Chronicon Johannis Bromton," and "Joralanensis Historia a Johanne Bromton," abbot of Jerevaux, in Yorkshire. It commences with the conversion of the Saxons by St. Augustin, and closes with the death of Richard I. in 1199. Selden has proved that the chronicle was not written by Bromton, but was merely brought to the abbey while he was abbot.

Bron´tes (2 syl.), one of the Cyclops, hence a blacksmith generally. Called Bronteus (2 syl.), by Spenser, Faëry Queen, iv. 5 (1596).

Bronzely (2 syl.), a mere rake, whose vanity was to be thought "a general seducer."—Mrs. Inchbald, Wives as they Were, and Maids as they Are (1797).

Bron´zomarte (3 syl.), the sorrel steed of sir Launcelot Greaves. The word means a "mettlesome sorrel."—Smollett, Sir Launcelot Greaves (1756).

Brook (Master), the name assumed by Ford when sir John Falstaff makes love to his wife. Sir John, not knowing him, confides to him every item of his amour, and tells him how cleverly he has duped Ford by being carried out in a buck-basket before his very face.—Shakespeare, Merry Wives of Windsor (1601).

Brooke (Dorothea), calm, queenly heroine of Middlemarch, by George Eliot.

Broo'ker, the man who stole the son of Ralph Nickleby out of revenge, called him "Smike," and put him to school at Dotheboy's Hall, Yorkshire.—C. Dickens, Nicholas Nickleby (1838).

Brooks of Sheffield, name by which Murdstone alludes to David Copperfield in novel of that name.

Brother Jon'athan. When Washington was in want of ammunition, he called a council of officers; but no practical suggestion being offered, he said, "We must consult brother Jonathan," meaning his excellency Jonathan Trumbull, the elder governor of the state of Connecticut. This was done, and the difficulty surmounted. "To consult brother Jonathan" then became a set phrase, and "Brother Jonathan" became the "John Bull" of the United States.—J. R. Bartlett, Dictionary of Americanisms.

Brother Sam, the brother of lord Dundreary, the hero of a comedy based on a German drama, by John Oxenford, with additions and alterations by E. A. Sothern and T. B. Buckstone.—Supplied by T. B. Buckstone, Esq.

Browdie (John), a brawny, big-made Yorkshire corn-factor, bluff, brusque, honest, and kind-hearted. He befriends poor Smike, and is much, attached to Nicholas Nickleby. John Browdie marries Matilda Price, a miller's daughter.—C. Dickens, Nicholas Nickleby (1838).

Brown (Hablot) illustrated some of Dickens's novels and took the pseudonym of "Phiz" (1812-).

Brown (Jonathan), landlord of the Black Bear at Darlington. Here Frank Osbaldistone meets Rob Roy at dinner.—Sir W. Scott, Rob Roy (time, George I.).

Brown (Mrs.), the widow of the brother-in-law of the Hon. Mrs. Skewton. She had one daughter, Alice Marwood, who was first cousin to Edith (Mr. Dombey's second wife). Mrs. Brown lived in great poverty, her only known vocation being to "strip children of their clothes, which she sold or pawned."—C. Dickens, Dombey and Son (1846).

Brown (Mrs.), a "Mrs. John Bull," with all the practical sense, kind-heartedness, absence of conventionality, and the prejudices of a well-to-do but half-educated Englishwoman of the middle shop class. She passes her opinions on all current events, and travels about, taking with her all her prejudices, and despising everything which is not English.—Arthur Sketchley [Rev. George Rose].

Brown (Tom), hero of Tom Brown's School-Days and Tom Brown at Oxford, by Thomas Hughes.

Brown (Vanbeest), lieutenant of Dirk Hatteraick.—Sir W. Scott, Guy Mannering (time, George II.).

Brown, Jones, and Robinson, three Englishmen who travel together. Their adventures, by Richard Doyle, were published in Punch. In them is held up to ridicule the gaucherie, the contracted notions, the vulgarity, the conceit, and the general snobbism of the middle-class English abroad.

Brown of Calaveras, a dissipated blackleg and ne'er-do-weel, whose handsome wife, arriving unexpectedly from the East, retrieves his fortune and risks his honor by falling in love with another man, a brother-gambler.—Bret Harte, Brown of Calaveras (1871).

Brown the Younger (Thomas), the nom de plume of Thomas Moore in The Two-Penny Post-Bag, a series of witty and very popular satires on the prince regent (afterwards George IV.), his ministers, and his boon companions. Also in The Fudge Family in Paris, and in The Fudges in England (1835).

Browne (General), pays a visit to lord Woodville. His bedroom for the night is the "tapestried chamber," where he sees the apparition of "the lady in the sacque," and next morning relates his adventure.—Sir W. Scott, The Tapestried Chamber (time, George III.).

Brownlow, a most benevolent old gentleman, who rescues Oliver Twist from his vile associates. He refuses to believe in Oliver's guilt of theft, although appearances were certainly against him, and he even takes the boy into his service.—C. Dickens, Oliver Twist (1837).

Browns. To astonish the Browns, to do or say something regardless of the annoyance it may cause, or the shock it may give to Mrs. Grundy. Anne Boleyn had a whole clan of Browns, or "country cousins," who were welcomed at court in the reign of Elizabeth. The queen, however, was quick to see what was gauche, and did not scruple to reprove them for uncourtly manners. Her plainness of speech used quite to "astonish the Browns."

Brox´mouth (John), a neighbor of Happer the miller.—Sir W. Scott, The Monastery (time, Elizabeth).

Bruce (Mr. Robert), mate on a bark trading between Liverpool and St. John's, N.B., sees a man writing in the captain's cabin, a stranger who disappears after pencilling certain lines on the slate. These prove a providential warning by which the vessel escapes certain destruction. The story is told by Robert Dale Owen in Footfalls on the Boundary of Another World, and vouched for as authentic (1860).

Bruce (The), an epic poem by John Barbour (1320-1395).

Bru´el, the name of the goose in the tale of Reynard the Fox. The word means the "Little roarer" (1498).

Bru´in, the name of the bear, in the beast-epic called Reynard the Fox. Hence a bear in general.

The word means "the brown one" (1498).

Bru´in, one of the leaders arrayed against Hudibras. He is meant for one Talgol, a Newgate butcher, who obtained a captain's commission for valor at Naseby. He marched next to Orsin [Joshua Gosling, landlord of the bear-gardens at Southwark].—S. Butler, Hudibras, i. 3.

Bruin (Mrs. and Mr.), daughter and son-in-law to sir Jacob Jollup. Mr. Bruin is a huge bear of a fellow, and rules his wife with scant courtesy.—S. Foote, The Mayor of Garratt (1763).

Brulgrud'dery (Dennis), landlord of the Red Cow, on Muckslush Heath. He calls himself "an Irish gintleman bred and born." He was "brought up to the church," i.e. to be a church beadle, but lost his place for snoring at sermon-time. He is a sot, with a very kind heart, and is honest in great matters, although in business he will palm off an old cock for a young capon.

Mrs. Brulgruddery, wife of Dennis, and widow of Mr. Skinnygauge, former landlord of the Red Cow. Unprincipled, self-willed, ill-tempered, and over-reaching. Money is the only thing that moves her, and when she has taken a bribe she will whittle down the service to the finest point.—G. Colman, jun., John Bull (1805).

Brun'cheval "the Bold," a paynim knight, who tilted with sir Satyrane, and both were thrown to the ground together at the first encounter.—Spenser, Faëry Queen, iv. 4 (1596).

Brunel'o, a deformed dwarf, who at the siege of Albracca stole Sacripan'te's charger from between his legs without his knowing it. He also stole Angelica's magic ring, by means of which he released Roge'ro from the castle in which he was imprisoned. Ariosto says that Agramant gave the dwarf a ring which had the power of resisting magic.—Bojardo, Orlando Innamorato (1495); and Ariosto, Orlando Furioso (1516).

"I," says Sancho, "slept so soundly upon Dapple, that the thief had time enough to clap four stakes under the four corners of my pannel and to lead away the beast from under my legs without waking me."—Cervantes, Don Quixote, II. i. 4 (1615).

Brunetta, mother of Chery (who married his cousin Fairstar).—Comtesse D'Aunoy, Fairy Tales ("Princess Fairstar," 1682).

Brunetta, the rival beauty of Phyllis. On one occasion Phyllis procured a most marvellous fabric of gold brocade in order to eclipse her rival, but Brunetta arrayed her train-bearer in a dress of the same material and cut in the same fashion. Phyllis was so mortified that she went home and died.—The Spectator.

Brunhild, queen of Issland, who made a vow that none should win her who could not surpass her in three trials of skill and strength: (1) hurling a spear; (2) throwing a stone; and (3) jumping. Günther king of Burgundy undertook the three contests, and by the aid of Siegfried succeeded in winning the martial queen. First, hurling a spear that three men could scarcely lift: the queen hurled it towards Günther, but Siegfried, in his invisible cloak, reversed its direction, causing it to strike the queen and knock her down. Next, throwing a stone so huge that twelve brawny men were employed to carry it: Brunhild lifted it on high, flung it twelve fathoms, and jumped beyond it. Again Siegfried helped his friend to throw it further, and in leaping beyond the stone. The queen, being fairly beaten, exclaimed to her liegemen, "I am no longer your queen and mistress; henceforth are ye the liegemen of Günther" (lied vii.). After marriage Brunhild was so obstreperous that the king again applied to Siegfried, who succeeded in depriving her of her ring and girdle, after which she became a very submissive wife.—The Niebelungen Lied.

Bru´no (Bishop), bishop of Herbipolita´num. Sailing one day on the Danube with Henry III. emperor of Germany, they came to Ben Strudel ("the devouring-gulf"), near Grinon Castle, in Austria. Here the voice of a spirit clamored aloud, "Ho! ho! Bishop Bruno, whither art thou travelling? But go thy ways, bishop Bruno, for thou shalt travel with me tonight." At night, while feasting with the emperor, a rafter fell on his head and killed him. Southey has a ballad called Bishop Bruno, but it deviates from the original legend given by Heywood in several particulars: It makes bishop Bruno hear the voice first on his way to the emperor, who had invited him to dinner; next, at the beginning of dinner; and thirdly, when the guests had well feasted. At the last warning an ice-cold hand touched him, and Bruno fell dead in the banquet hall.

Brush, the impertinent English valet of lord Ogleby. If his lordship calls he never hears unless he chooses; if his bell rings he never answers it till it suits his pleasure. He helps himself freely to all his master's things, and makes love to all the pretty chambermaids he comes into contact with.—Colman and Garrick, The Clandestine Marriage (1766).

Brute (1 syl.), the first king of Britain (in mythical history). He was the son of Æneas Silvius (grandson of Ascanius and great-grandson of Æneas of Troy). Brute called London (the capital of his adopted country) Troynovant (New Troy). The legend is this: An oracle declared that Brute should be the death of both his parents; his mother died in child-birth, and at the age of fifteen Brute shot his father accidentally in a deer-hunt. Being driven from Alba Longa, he collected a band of old Trojans and landed at Totness, in Devonshire. His wife was Innogen, daughter of Pandra'sus king of Greece. His tale is told at length in the Chronicles of Geoffrey of Monmouth, in the first song of Drayton's Polyolbion, and in Spenser's Faëry Queen, ii.

Brute (Sir John), a coarse, surly, ill-mannered brute, whose delight was to "provoke" his young wife, who he tells us "is a young lady, a fine lady, a witty lady, and a virtuous lady, but yet I hate her." In a drunken frolic he intercepts a tailor taking home a new dress to lady Brute; he insists on arraying himself therein, is arrested for a street row, and taken before the justice of the peace. Being asked his name, he gives it as "lady John Brute," and is dismissed.

Lady Brute, wife of sir John. She is subjected to divers indignities, and insulted morn, noon, and night by her surly, drunken husband. Lady Brute intrigues with Constant, a former lover; but her intrigues are more mischievous than vicious.—Vanbrugh, The Provoked Wife (1697).

Brute Green-Shield, the successor of Ebranc king of Britain. The mythical line is: (1) Brute, great-great-grandson of Æneas; (2) Locrin, his son; (3) Guendolen, the widow of Locrin; (4) Ebranc; (5) Brute Green-Shield. Then follow in order Leil, Hudibras, Bladud, Leir [Shakespeare's "Lear"], etc.