BREAST- WORK BREDA. 



671 



BREAST- WOUK. In the military art, every elevation 

 made for protection against the shot of the enemy. 

 Wood and stone are not suitable for breast-works, on 

 account of their liability to splinter. The best are 

 made of earth ; in some circumstances, of fascines, 

 dung, gabions, bags of sand, and of wool. The thick- 

 ness of the work must be in proportion to the artillery 

 of the enemy. In general, it ought not to be less 

 than ten, nor more than eighteen, or, at most, twenty- 

 four feet thick. The rule of Cugnot is, that the 

 breast-work should be so high, that nothing but the 

 sky and the tops of trees can be seen within cannon 

 shot from the interior of the intrenchments. If this 

 rule cannot be followed, on account of the height of 

 neighbouring mountains, the interior of the fortifica- 

 tion ought to be secured by traverses. 



BREATH. The air which issues from the lungs, 

 during respiration through the nose and mouth. This 

 operation is performed without effort, but still it 

 causes a motion in the external air, before the nose 

 and mouth. The air expired is the vehicle of sound 

 and speech. A smaller portion of oxygen and a larger 

 portion of carbonic acid is contained in the air which 

 is exhaled than in that which is inhaled. There are, 

 also, aqueous particles in the breath, which are pre- 

 cipitated, by the coldness of the external air, in the 

 form of visible vapour; likewise other substances 

 which owe their origin to secretions in the mouth, 

 nose, wind-pipe, and lungs. These cause the changes 

 in the breath, which may be known by the smell, like 

 the other qualities of the air. In youth, the breath is 

 insipid, and contains acid ; its loses these qualities 

 after the age of puberty, and becomes more agree- 

 able. With advancing age, it becomes again unplea- 

 sant. A bad breath is often caused by local affec- 

 tions in the nose, the mouth, or the wind-pipe : viz. 

 by ulcers in the nose, cancerous polypi, by discharges 

 from the mouth, by sores on the lungs, or peculiar se- 

 cretions in them. It is also caused by rotten teeth, by 

 impurities in the mouth, and by many kinds of food 

 (viz. horse-radish, onions, and also by flesh, if used to 

 the exclusion of other food), and by fevers. In the 

 Jast case, it often varies with the character of the dis- 

 ease. The remedy for this complaint must depend on 

 the causes which produce it. Substances of an 

 aromatic kind, which have a strong rich smell, should 

 be chewed to diminish its offensiveness. (See Men- 

 gen's Tentamen Physiologicumderespirat,Edii\burgh, 

 1790.) But it is often impossible to remove this un- 

 pleasant disorder. According to the Prussian code, 

 a bad breath furnishes ground for a divorce. 



BREATHING. See Respiration. 



BRECCTA ; a term applied to a rock composed of 

 angular fragments cemented together. 



BRECHIN ; a parish in Forfarshire, lying on both 

 sides of the South Esk, a few miles above Montrose. 

 It is about seven miles in length and three in breadth. 

 The grounds in the parish rise gradually to a consi- 

 derable height on either side of the river, and 

 descend again to the middle of the succeeding val- 



leys. The soil is in general light, but produces good 

 crops. 



Brechin, the capital of the parish, is romantically 

 situated on the left bank of the Esk, near the centre 

 of the parish, at the distance of twelve ana a half 

 miles north-east of Forfar, and eight west of Mon- 

 trose. The principal street is about a mile in length, 

 extending from the north part southward to the 

 bridge over the river, which is an old fabric of two 

 large arches. Another street branches off this, about 

 the middle of the town, and stretches in a south- 

 easterly direction for more than half a mile. There 

 are also several cross streets and by-lanes. En-chin 

 is a very ancient royal burgh. It was formerly 

 walled, but the gates, the last relics of such a state of 

 things, have been some time removed. The trade 

 carried on in and about Brechin, consists chiefly of 

 the manufacture of bleached linens, and the neigh- 

 bourhood exports a considerable quantity of grain. 

 In ancient times there was an abbey of Culdees in 

 this place, and in 1 150, when Brechin was constituted 

 an episcopal see by David L, it is supposed that the 

 site of this establishment was that chosen for the 

 foundation of the cathedral. The cathedral chnrch 

 of St Ninians, which now forms the parish church, is 

 situated on the north edge of a precipitous ravine, 

 which separates the burgh-lands from those of Bre- 

 chin castle. It was originally a stately Gothic fabric, 

 but its architectural symmetry has been greatly in- 

 jured by the bad taste displayed in modern repairs. 

 The steeple is a square edifice seventy feet in height, 

 surmounted by a hexagonal spire of fifty feet. Con- 

 tiguous to it, at the south angle, stands the tall slen- 

 der tower of Brechin, which, like its prototype at 

 Abernethy, has puzzled so many antiquaries. It is 

 generally imagined to have been a place of look-out 

 of the Picts. It is an unadorned turret of freestone, 

 eighty-five feet in height to the cornice, and fifteen 

 feet more to the pinnacle of the modern spire on its 

 top. Between the town and the river, and only se- 

 parated from the former by the before-mentioned 

 ravine, stands Brechin castle, the ancient seat of the 

 Maules of Panmure. The castle is built on a preci- 

 pitous rock, overhanging the stream. Brechin has 

 given birth to various men of genius an3 literary dis- 

 tinction : Maitland, the laborious historian of Edin- 

 burgh and London ; Dr Gillies, the historian of 

 Greece ; and James Tytler, commonly known by the 

 name of " Balloon Tytler." Population of the burgh 

 and parish in 1831, 6508. 



BREDA, in the Netherlands ; capital of a district of 

 the same name, has 9000 inhabitants, is connected 

 with the Meuse by the navigable river Merk. B., 

 being a strong frontier fortress, was formerly of the 

 greatest importance to Holland, and is still of great 

 military value as the chief point of the line of for- 

 tresses before the Meuse. The fortifications consist 

 of fifteen bastions, as many ravelins, and five horn- 

 works, besides the citadel. The chief strength of 

 this fortress lies in its marshy environs, which may 

 easily be laid under water. B. became a town in 

 1534 : since that time, it has often been a subject of 

 contention between the Dutch, Spaniards, and French. 

 It was taken by surprise by Barlaimont in 1581, and 

 by Maurice of Orange in 1590. The latter capture 

 was accomplished by means of a boat loaded with 

 turf, in which seventy Dutch soldiers were concealed. 

 Spinola took B., in 1C25, after a siege of ten, and 

 Henry of Orange after one of four months. During 

 the French revolutionary war, Dumouriez made him- 

 self master of the city and fortress in February, 1793, 

 and would thereby have prepared the way for the 

 conquest of Holland, had he not been forced, by the 

 loss "of a battle at Neerwinden, to evacuate the city 

 and fortress, April 4. In September, 1794, B. was 



