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BRAINERD-BRAMINS.

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

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

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

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

BRAMANTE OF URBINO, Francesco Laz

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

BRAMINS; the first of the four casts of the Hindoos. They proceeded from the mouth of Brama, which is the seat of wisdom. They form the sacred or sacerdotal cast, and its members have maintained a more absolute and extensive authority than the priests of any other nation. Their great prerogative is that of being the sole depositaries and interpreters of the Vedas or sacred books. There are seven subdivisions of the Bramins, which derive their origin from seven penitents, personages of high antiquity and remarkable purity, who are said to have rebuked the gods themselves for their debaucheries. The great body of the Bramins pay equal veneration to the three parts of the mysterious trinity, but some attach themselves more particularly to one per son of the triple godhead. Thus the Vishnuvites are distinguished by an orange-colored dress, and the mark called nama on their foreheads. The devotees of Siva wear the lingam, and are distinguished from the former by their great abstemiousness. A Bramin should pass through four states. The first begins at about seven, when the duty of the young novice, or Brachmacari, consists in learning to read and write, studying the Vedas, and becoming familiar with the

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BRAMINS-BRANDENBURG.

privileges of his cast, and all points of corporeal purity. Thus he is taught his right to ask alms, to be exempted from taxes, from capital and even corporal punishment. Earthen vessels, belonging to Bramins, when used by profane persons, or for certain purposes, must be broken. Leather and skins of animals, and most animals themselves, are impure, and must not be touched by them. Flesh and eggs they are not allowed to eat. The Bramin is also taught to entertain a horror of the defilement of the soul by sin; and rules for purification by ablution, penances, and various ceremonies, are prescribed. The second state begins at his marriage, when he is called Grihastha. Marriage is necessary to his respectability. His daily duties become more numerous, and must be more strictly performed. Regular ablutions, fasting, and many minute observances, become requisite. The Bramins, however, engage in secular employments, political, commercial, &c. The third state is that of the Vana-Prasthas, or inhabitants of the desert, which is now, however, seldom reached. They were honored by kings, and respected even by the gods. Retiring to the forest, green herbs, roots and fruit were their food: reading the Vedas, bathing morning, noon and eyening, and the practice of the most rigorous penances, were prescribed. "Let the Vana-Prastha," says Menou in the Institutes, "slide backwards and forwards on the ground, or stand the whole day on tip-toe, or continue rising and sitting down alternately; in the hot season, let him sit exposed to five fires; in the rain, let him stand uncovered; in the cold season, let him wear wet garments; then, having stored up his holy fires in his mind, let him live without external fire, without a shelter, wholly silent, and feeding on roots and fruit. When he shall have thus become void of fear and sorrow, and shaken off his body, he rises to the divine essence." The fourth state is that of a Sannyasi, in which new and severer penances are to be performed. Suppressing the breath, standing on the head, and other such ceremonies, are performed, till the devout patient rises to à participation of the divine nature. The sanctity and inviolability of a Bramin are maintained, in the eyes of his countrymen, by the most severe penalties. The murder of one of the order, robbing him, &c., are inexpiable sins: the killing of his cow can only be expiated by a painful penance. To some travellers it appears that the number of Bramins respectable for knowledge and

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virtue is very small; that the great body of them are devoted to ambition, intrigue and voluptuousness, and that their character is disgraced by avarice, meanness and cruelty. Their charity extends only to those of their own cast. The objects of their worship, besides their innumerable gods, are almost every species of animals, and a variety of malignant demons. The transmigration of souls is one of their essential doctrines, and they believe in the existence of a hell. Some of the ceremonies of the Braminical worship are horrible: some are more licentious than the orgies of Bacchus. The sacrifices commonly consist of vegetables, but animals are sometimes sacrificed, and the burning of widows is a relic of the horrid practice of offering human victims. (See Indian Mythology.)

Brandenburg, mark or marquisate of; one of the most extensive districts in the former circle of Upper Saxony. The soil is, in some parts, fertile, but mostly sandy, and fit for grain. It is rich in wood, fish, flax, hemp, hops, tobacco, and pastures, particularly for sheep; it also produces lime, salt-petre, turf, and some iron, &c. B. carries on an active trade in manufactured articles, and is well situated for commerce, since it has many canals, rivers, lakes, and many towns lying on them. Most of the inhabitants profess the Lutheran faith; the rest are Calvinists. From 1685 to 1688, many French refugees, Walloons, and inhabitants of Lorraine and of the Palatinate, settled in the mark. During the reign of Frederic II, prior to 1777, more than 10,000 families took up their residence there. The country is watered by the Elbe, Spree, Havel, Oder, Wartha, Netze and Ucker. The district of B. is divided into the Electoral Mark and the New Mark. I. The former includes, 1. the Old Mark (capital Stendal); 2. the Priegnitz (capital Perleberg); 3. the Middle Mark (capital Berlin); 4. the Ucker Mark (capital Prenglau). II. The New Mark (capital Custrin) receives its name from this circumstance, that the elector Frederic II redeemed it, in 1455, from the knights of the Teutonic order to whom it had been pledged until tha period. At present, B. is the most im portant of the Prussian states, including, as it does, the capital (Berlin), and the governments of Potsdam and Frankfort. It contains, upon 15,800 square miles, 1,335,160 inhabitants, and 150 towns, &c. The first people who are known to have inhabited B. were the Suevi. They were succeeded by the Sclavonians, a barbarous people, whom Henry I conquered

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and converted to Christianity in the early part of the 10th century. The government was first conferred on a Saxon count, and did not become hereditary till the time of Albert, whose son was raised to the dignity of elector in 1100. This race becoming extinct, Charles IV assigned the electorate to his son Sigismund, who became emperor in 1415, and sold the region to Frederic, burgrave of Nüremberg, the ancestor of the present reigning family. Frederic William the Great made various accessions to the territories of his ancestors, and obliged the king of Poland, in 1656, to declare Prussia an independent state. The Old Mark was ceded to Napoleon in 1807, and formed part of the kingdom of Westphalia; but it was restored to Prussia in 1814. The elector of B. held the seventh rank among the electors of the empire, and had five votes in the council of princes.

Brandenburg; capital of the province of the same name (q. v.), on the Havel, 30 miles west of Berlin, formerly the residence of the reigning family of Prussia. It contains 12,000 inhabitants.

BRANDES, Ernest; a learned and able German scholar and statesman, born at Hanover in 1758. Happily endowed by nature, and educated under favorable circumstances, he afterwards extended his views by travel, by his connexion with public affairs, by his intercourse with the best society, and by an intimate union with the greatest scholars in Germany. From 1775 to 1778, he studied at Göttingen, of which he afterwards became the benefactor, when the government of Hanover appointed him secretary of the cabinet, and intrusted him with the chief direction of the affairs of the university. During a tour which he made through Germany and France (1780–81) his attention was particularly drawn to the theatres of Paris and Vienna, and he gave his opinion concerning them in his well-known remarks upon the theatres of London, Paris and Vienna. During his residence in England, in the winter of 1784, 1785, he formed many literary and political connexions, besides gaining a complete knowledge of the English constitution. His journey gave his mind a political turn. After having been appointed to fill a number of honorable offices, he was made a member of the privy council. When the French took possession of Hanover, in 1803, he was one of the delegates appointed to treat with Mortier, and remained a member of the government, until the committee of administra

tion was established by the victors. B had gained so much respect, that his death, in 1810, was lamented as a public calamity. Great powers of observation, and an extensive knowledge of the world, are displayed in all his works

BRANDT, Nicholas or Sebastian; a German chemist of the 17th century, usually considered the discoverer of phosphorus. Leibnitz mentions him as a chemist of Hamburg, who, during a course of exper iments on urine, for the purpose of discovering a solvent which would convert silver into gold, accidentally produced phosphorus, in 1667 or 1669. He communicated his discovery to another chemist, who showed it to Leibnitz and Boyle.

BRANDT, Sebastian (named Titio), born at Strasburg, in 1458, died there in 1520. He studied law at Bâle, where he was graduated; and delivered lectures on this science, for many years, with great applause. He was still more distinguished for his poetical talents, and the emperor Maximilian I invited him, several times, to his court. He has immortalized himself by a poem called The Ship of Fools, or the Ship from the Land of Folly, which satirizes the crimes and follies of his age, first published at Bâle, 1494, 4to. Four editions appeared in one year. It has since been repeatedly printed and translated into all the languages of Europe. In Germany, it was, for about a century, truly a national book, so well known and esteemed by all classes, that the celebrated preacher Geiler of Kaisersberg delivered public lectures upon it from the pulpit at Strasburg. In this work, we find a collection of moral instructions, and satires upon the crimes, vices and abuses common both in public and private life. The book is divided into 113 chapters, which, however, have no connexion with each other. The descriptions are not, in general, poetic, but still contain many happy and beautiful passages, often display learning, and not seldom vigor; and the Ship of Fools will always be a valuable book, full of sound reasoning, pure morality, clear and bold thoughts, and knowledge of mankind. It has been republished by Hagen in his Fool's Books.

BRANDY. (See Distillation.)

BRANDYWINE, a a small river which rises in the state of Pennsylvania, passes into the state of Delaware, and, after a course of about 45 miles, joins the Christiana, two miles below Wilmington. It abounds in favorable sites for the application of water-power; and the Brandy

BRANDYWINE-BRAUWER.

wine flour-mills form the finest collection of the kind in the U. States.-This river is noted for giving name to a battle fought near it, Sept. 11, 1777, between the British and Americans, in which the latter were defeated, with the loss of about 300 men killed and 600 wounded. BRANTÔME, Pierre de Bourdeilles, lord of the abbey of, born at Perigord, about 1527, died in 1614. In his epitaph, composed by himself, he relates, in a vaunting manner, how he first bore arms under the great Francis of Guise, and afterwards served the king, his master. After the death of Charles IX, he withdrew to his estate, and wrote his memoirs, which have a great deal of vanity and selfcomplacency, mingled with much that is interesting. They are a living picture of his age; for B. was personally acquainted with all the great characters of the time, and an eye-witness of all the important events which then took place, and, in some, was an actor. B.'s character was that of his birth-place (Gascony) and of his rank. He was a courtier, regardless of right or wrong; who does not blame the great, but observes and relates their faults and crimes as ingenuously as if he were uncertain whether they deserve praise or blame ; as indifferent about honor and chastity in women as about integrity in men. He describes a scandalous act without being sensible of its offensiveness. He speaks of the good king Louis XI, who ordered his brother to be poisoned, and of the virtuous ladies, whose adventures no pen but his own could describe. He places us in the middle of that century, when expiring chivalry was contending with the forming, and, as yet, unsettled manners of later times. B., in the midst of his wandering life, had acquired more learning than most of his fellow-soldiers. He has left Vie des Hommes illustres et des grands Capitaines Français; Vie des grands Capitaines Étrangers; Vie des Dames illustrés; Vie des Dames galantes; Anecdotes touchant les Duels; Rodomontades et Jurements des Espagnols. Twelve editions of his works were published from 1666 to 1740, sometimes entire, sometimes in selections. BRASIL. (See Brazil.) BRASS. (See Copper.) BRATTLEBOROUGH ; a post-town in Windham county, Vermont, on the Connecticut, 41 miles N. of Northampton, 110 S. of Montpelier; population in 1820, 2,017. It is one of the most considerable and flourishing towns in Vermont, and contains two parishes, in each of which 21

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there is a handsome village. The village in the west parish contains an academy; that in the east parish has a large printing establishment, various manufactures, and a flourishing trade. In the south-east corner of B. was fort Dummer, which was established in 1724, and was the first settlement formed by Anglo-Americans in Vermont.

BRAUWER, BRAUR, or BROUWER, Adrian; a celebrated painter, of the Dutch school, born at Haerlem, in 1608, or, more probably, at Oudenarde, where his father was a painter of common paperhangings. Poverty contributed, perhaps, to form his talents. When a child, he painted flowers and birds to be stitched on caps, which were sold by his mother. Francis Hals, a skilful painter, expecting to profit by the talents of the young artist, took him to Haerlem. Here, amidst wearisome labors and poor diet, B. spent the greater part of his time in a garret, occupied in making little paintings, of the value of which he was ignorant, while Hals kept the profits of them for himself. Two pretty paintings of his, The Five Senses and The Twelve Months, are mentioned as belonging to that period. By the advice of Adrian of Ostade, his fellow pupil, he escaped to Amsterdam, where he was surprised to hear, that his paintings were esteemed. He now gained considerable sums by his labors; but, instead of devoting himself to his art, he made the inn his workshop, never exerting himself till the hostess insisted upon payment. He threw into the fire a painting for which he did not receive the price demanded, and began a new one with more care. Having gone to Antwerp during the wars of the Low Countries, he was thrown into prison as a spy. He declared that he was a painter, appealing to the duke of Ahremberg, who was likewise imprisoned there; and, at the prince's intercession, having been provided with materials, he painted his guards engaged in playing cards, with so much expression and truth, that Rubens, at the sight of the picture, exclaimed, "This is B.'s work; none but he can succeed so well in such subjects." Rubens effected his release by standing bail for him, clothed him, and received him into his house and at his table. B., however, instead of being grateful for this generosity, escaped secretly, to plunge into still greater extravagances. He took lodgings with a baker, Craesbeke, who became a skilful painter by his instructions. This man, whose

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inclinations agreed with those of B., had a handsome wife, and the connexion between these three persons became so intimate, that they were obliged to flee from justice. B. went to Paris, but, finding no employment there, returned to Antwerp, where he died in the hospital, in 1640. Rubens, who remembered only his talents, caused him to be honorably buried in the church of the Carmelites. All the pictures of B. show what sort of places and company this artist frequented. He did not, however, like Teniers, understand how to give to mean objects the variety of which they are susceptible. Nevertheless, his paintings command high prices from amateurs. It would, indeed, be difficult to excel B. in power and harmony of coloring, in the management of the chiaro-oscuro, and in truth of expression.

BRAVO, Nicholas, one of the most prominent leaders in the Mexican revolution, was a native of New Spain, and son of don Leonardo Bravo. He became identified with the patriot party at an early period of their struggle for independence, and adhered to it through all their vicissitudes of fortune. After the fatal termination of Hidalgo's career, B. made common cause with Morelos, commanding a division of the latter's army in 1812, at which period he was particularly distinguished, among other achievements, by a victory over the Spanish general Musitu. When Iturbide's deception of the royalists gave him the means of promoting the revolution, in 1821, B. was one of the first to take advantage of circumstances, and to raise anew the standard of revolt, undeterred by past misfortunes. Iturbide endeavored in vain to acquire the confidence of B., who, like Victoria, suspected his ambitious purposes long before he suffered them openly to appear. Victoria and B. steadily opposed the projects of the usurper, and, at length, became so far committed in their opposition as to be arrested and imprisoned by him, whilst president of the executive junta. They were subsequently released, and B. took arms against the emperor at the earliest opportunity. Upon the establishment of a provisional republican government in 1823, subsequently to the fall of Iturbide, the executive consisted of generals Victoria, B. and Negrete. During the discussions relative to the formation of a constitution, B. maintained the necessity of a central system, like that of Colombia, in opposition to the federal party, which @pally prevailed in organizing the gov

ernment in imitation of that of the U States. The new constitution was 301emnly sworn to in the capital, Feb. 2, 1824; and, in the ensuing elections, B., being unsuccessful in the contest for the presidency, was chosen vice-president; and, from that period, has been regarded as the leader of the opposition party in Mexico.-During the year 1827, it is well known, the struggle between the party in favor of the present constitution, and the party opposed to it, daily increased in violence and bitterness, the former being distinguished by the party name of Yorkinos, the latter by that of Escoceses, from the different masonic rites which they uphold. Although the latter party included the Spaniards and other enemies of the republic, it was hoped that B.'s love of his country and weight of character would prevent his countenancing any design of theirs inimical to the liberties of Mexico. But, Dec. 23, 1827, lieutenant-colonel Manuel Montano raised the standard of rebellion at Otumba, and the government immediately despatched a strong body of troops, under general Guerrero, to disperse the insurgents. A few days after he marched, several officers, known to be violent Escoceses, clandestinely left Mexico, and joined Montane; and, at length, the vice-president, B., followed them. Their whole force, at this time, did not exceed 150 men. They proceeded to Tulancingo, immediately on B.'s joining them, where they fortified themselves; but, after a feeble resistance, were compelled to surrender. B., and 25 other officers, were taken prisoners, and thus terminated this desperate attempt. B.'s great merits in the cause of independence secured to him the lenity of the government; and he was merely sentenced to seven years' banishment from the republic. No authentic account has yet transpired of B.'s motives and particular inducements in taking this step; and, in the absence of such evidence, it is difficult to believe that a man of his tried patriotism can have dreamed of restoring the Spanish authority in Mexico. (See Ward's Mexico, &c.)

BRAVURA AIR; an air so composed as to enable the singer to show his skill in execution by the addition of embellishments, striking cadences, &c. It is sometimes used for the style of execution.

BRAY; a small village in the county of Berks. The church is a vicarage in the gift of the bishop of Oxford. The vicar of Bray lived in the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI, Mary and Elizabeth, and

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