u 



I1REUOHEU 



BRIAN BOKOIMHE (BORO). 



calM a eouociJ of war. and a<lvieJ Uie Gauls to kill him and all the 

 wouatded, to bum the nations, and. returning bom* with all speed. 

 to chooa* CScboriu* (or Aeiohoriu*) king. Soon however, in a fit of 

 intoxication, h* killed himself. (Diodonu Siculiu, xxii. ; ' Fragiu.,' 

 p. SCK). Bipont. edit ; Pauaanias. x. 19-28.) 



! GHEL, UM name of a family of celebrated Flemish paintsra. 



1'rrrR BSJSCGBXU UM father, wai the aon of a peuant, and was 

 born about liSO, at Breughel, a Tillage in the neighbourhood of Breda, 

 lie wai placed under Peter Koek of AaUt (Alot), whoee daughter he 

 subsequently married, Having learned painting under that mailer, 

 be travelled into Franco and Italy. He took many views by the way, 

 particularly among the Alps. 



Beturning from Italy, he fixed hi* residence at Antwerp, where he 

 incided for a considerable time, when he removed to Bruasela, and 

 married the daughter of his old raa.tor, and wai admitted into the 

 academy of that city in 1551. While painting a view on the 

 canal which oommunioate* with the Schelde, by order of the megis- 

 trate* of Bnmxls, be wai eaiaed with hia lost illness. Ai he lay 

 on hi* death-bed he ordered many of his paintings, which were either 

 satirical or licentious, to be brought before him, and made hii wife 

 born them in hi* presence. He died about 1590, but the precise datee 

 of hie birth and death are unknown. 



The elder Breughel painted chiefly comic vubjecte, after the manner 

 of Jerome Bosche, whom he excelled ; and he lias been considered by 

 many inferior to Tenien alone in that branch of art Hia composition 

 kaa been objected to ; but his drawing is correct and spirited, though 

 not very highly finished. It was his frequent custom to dUguUe him- 

 self and mix with the peasantry at their festivals and games; and the 

 hippineas with which he transferred the living actions he thus wit- 

 neutd to the oanrara has been aptly compared to Moliere's, though in a 

 different kind of satire. Besides comic subjects, he painted landscape*, 

 and a few historical picture*. Two sons survived him, John and Peter. 



PET IB BREUGHEL, the eldest son of Peter Breughel the elder, is said 

 to have been born at Brussels about 1569. After the death of his 

 Cither he became the pupil of Giles Coningsloo. From the diabolical 

 nature of his favourite subjects he has been suroamed Hellish. He 

 did not attain the eminence either of bis father or brother. He died 

 about 1635. 



JOHK BREUGHEL was born at Brussels about 1589. According to the 

 received account he lost his father very young, and was brought up by 

 bis grandmother, the widow of Peter Koek, from whom he learned to 

 paint in distemper, and afterwards studied oil-painting under an artist 

 named Qoekindt Another account is, that he received the first prin- 

 ciples of hie art from his father, Peter Breughel, and this account the 

 internal evidence of his works tends to confirm ; but unless the date 

 commonly assigned to the death of the elder Breughel is much too 

 early, it would of course have been impossible for his son to have 

 received instructions in painting from Mm. For some time John 

 Breughel confined himself to flower-painting ; but travelling into 

 Italy, he enlarged his style, and painted landscapes, which he adorned 

 with small figure*, executed with exquisite correctness and beauty. 

 Many painters availed themselves of his liberality, and induced him 

 to enrich their pictures with bis beautiful little figures or landscapes ; 

 among them are Steenwick, Van Baelen, Rotcnhamer, Momper, Ac. 

 Even Rubens made nie of his skill in more thsn one picture, in which 

 Rubens painted the figure*, and Breughel the landscapes, flowers, 

 animals, and even innecta. 



John Breughel was extremely industrious, as the great number of 

 Us pictures, and the care with which they are finished, sufficiently 

 attest. Growing rich by his industry, be adopted a magnificent 

 style in his apparel, and was nicknamed ' Velvet Breughel,' from the 

 usual material of hia drees. His touch is light and spirited, his 

 drawing correct, and hi* finish elaborate. His pictures are much 

 admired, although hi* landscapes arc injured by an exaggerated blue- 

 ness in the distances. The time of his death is unknown to Flemish 

 author* ; M. Felibien conjectures it to have been about 1042. 



BREWSTER, SIR DAVID, wai bora at Jedburgh, Scotland, 

 llth December, 1781. He was educated for, and became a licentiate 

 at the Church of Scotland ; but his inclination for science led him to 

 other branches of study. In 1800 the University of Edinburgh con- 

 ferred on him the honorary degree of M.A. ; and here he had the 

 advantage of intercourse with Robison, Playfair, and Dugald Stei 

 who were then profeeson, and commenced that series of op 

 Mswohea which have since made his nsme deservedly famous. In 

 1807 be received the distinction of LL.D. from the University of 

 I : be was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 



. Building large 



Polysonal Lenses;' an important subject u regards illumination gene- 

 rally and lighthouse* in particular. It was thown that coant navigation 

 would be deprived of many of iu dangers were all lighthouses fitted 

 with leases instead of imperfect reflectors ; the light would be intensi- 

 fted and transmitt. d to a greater distance. The new lens consisted of 

 "'"I > with concentric cones biiilt in several pieces around it 

 The invention was talked about; but 1-d to no immediate improve- 

 Meanwhile Fresnel brought it into use in France. 



Dr. Brewater had contributed to the 'Transactions of the Royal 

 Society of Edinburgh ;' and in 1818 he sent a paper to the Royal 

 Society of London, 'On some Properties of Light ' in whirh, taking 

 up the then new phenomena of polarisation shewing the influence 

 of a plate of agate on a ray of light, and the double dispersive power 

 of chromate of lead be multiplied the phenomena, and opened the 

 way to his subsequent valuable discoveries. In 1815, the society 

 awarded him their Copley medal for his paper ' On the 1'olariiation of 

 Light by Reflection,' and elected him a Fellow ; and in the following 

 year by an adjudication of the Institute of France he received 15uO 

 franc*, the half of their prixe for discoveries in physics. It was in 

 1818 that Brewater made his name popularly known, as it was before 

 scientifically, by his invention of the kaleidoscope. In 1818, the Royal 

 Society gave him their Rumford medal, for further 'Discoveries 

 relating to the Polarization of Light.' In 1319, in conjunction with 

 Jameson, he started the ' Edinburgh Philosophical Journal,' and after- 

 wards the ' Edinburgh Journal of Science,' of which sixteen volumes 

 were published, containing many scientific papers from his own pen. 



In 1827 Brewstor brought out his 'Account of a New System of 

 Illumination for Lighthouses,' and offered his services to the lighthouse 

 boards of the United Kingdom; but nothing was done until 1833 

 when experiments, made in Scotland from Caltou Hill to Gulaii Hill, 

 a distance of 124 miles, showed that "one polyzonal lens, with an 

 argaud burner of four concentric circles, gave a light equal to nine 

 parabolic reflectors, each carrying a single argand burner." From that 

 date the illumination of British lighthouse! has bean improved. 



Brewster received a third acknowledgment from the Royal Society 

 in 1830, when their Royal medal was awarded to him for I 

 researches in polarization and the properties of light whereby the 

 theory of optics was enriched and widened. He, conjointly with 

 Davy, Herschel, and Babbage originated the British Association ; and 

 his spirited appeals to the public in his Journal and other periodicals 

 had an immediate effect in bringing about the first meeting of the 

 Association at York in 1831. In the same year William IV. conferred 

 on him the honour of knighthood, and the decoration of the Hanoverian 

 Guelphic order. In 1841 he was appointed Principal of St. Leonard's 

 College at St. Andrews; and in 1849 was chosen President of the 

 British Association. 



Sir David Brewster's numerous writings take in a wide range of 

 science. His moat valuable scientific papers are published iu the 

 'Transactions' of the Royal Societies of London, and of Edinburgh. 

 Among the more important are : ' On a uew analysis of Solar light, 

 indicating three primary colours, forming coincident spectra of equal 

 length ;' ' On circular polarization ;' ' On the effects of compression and 

 dilatation in altering the polarizing structure of the doubly refracting 

 crystals ;' and others, in which the law is determined which connects 

 the refractive index of a crystal with its angle of polarization, and the 

 discovery of rings in biaxial crystals U made known. Other papers 

 are to be found in the ' Edinburgh Review,' the ' Reports of the British 

 Association,' the ' Library of Useful Knowledge,' the * Philosophical 

 Magazine ' (of which Sir David is one of the editor*), and the ' North 

 British Review ;' they embrace physical geography, astronomy, photo- 

 graphy, meteorology, to. Of separate works may be mentioned : 

 'A Treatise on the Kaleidoscope,' Svo, 1819; the Notes to Robison's 

 'System of Mechanical Philosophy,' 4 vols. Svo, 1822; 1 

 'Letters,' with a life of Euler, 2 vols. 12mo, 1823; Note* and Intro- 

 ductory Chapter to Legendre's ' Elements of Geometry,' 1824 ; ' A 

 Treatise on Optic*,' Svo, 1831; 'Letters on Natural Magic,' 12mo, 

 1831 ; ' The Life of Sir Isaac Newton,' 12mo, 1831 ; ' The Martyrs of 

 Science; or, the Lives of Galileo, Tycho Branl, and Kepler,' 12ino, 

 1841 (2nd edition, Svo, 1846) ; 'More Worlds than one, the Creed of 

 the Philosopher, and the Hope of the Christian,' Svo, 1S54 ; ' Memoirs 

 of the Life, Writings, and Discoveries of Sir Isaac Newton,' 2 vols. 

 Svo, 1855. 



The French Academy of Sciences elected Sir David Browster one of 

 their corresponding members iu 1825 ; and in 1849 he had the signal 

 honour of being chosen one of their eight Foreign Associates, in place 

 of Berxeliux, deceased. He is a Fellow also of the Astronomical and 

 Geological Societies, and of the Royal Irish Academy. 



BRIAN, surnamed BOROIMHE (BORU'), a celebrated king of 

 Ireland, Ron of Kennedy, king of Munster, son of Lot-can. II 

 ascended the throne of both Munsters, that is, of Ormond and 

 Thomond, or the present counties of Tipperary and Clare, A.D. 978. 

 His earlier exploits were against the Danes of Limerick and Waterford, 

 but being elated by frequent successes against these invaders, he 

 deposed O'Maelaohaghlio, the supreme king of the island, and eventually 

 became himself the monarch of Ireland. He derived his surname 

 from the tribute which he now imposed upon the provinces. The 

 'Boroimhe,' or tax alluded to, was levied in the following pro- 

 portions : from Connaught, 800 hogs ; from Tircomiell (the present 

 county of Donegal), 500 mantles and 500 cows ; from Tirono, 60 loads 

 of iron ; from the Clan Rory of Ulster (the present counties of Down 

 and Antrim), 150 cows and 150 hogs; from Oriel (the present counties 

 of Armagh and Monaghan), 160 cows; from the province of Leinstor, 

 800 cows, 300 hogs, and 300 loads of iron ; from Ossory (the present 

 Queen's County), 60 cows, 60 hogs, and 60 Ion Is of iron ; from the 

 Danes of Dublin, 150 hogsheads of wine; from the Dane* of Limerick 

 and Waterford, 365 hogsheads of red wine. On these and other 



