BRUSSELS SPROUTS 



963 



BRYAN 



Villeroi in 1695. It was captured in 1794 by 

 the French, who retained it till 1814. Near 

 Brussels the Battle of Waterloo was fought, 

 which decided the fate of Europe and brought 

 about the exile of Napoleon. From 1815 to 

 1830 it was one of the capitals of the kingdom 

 of the Netherlands, and in 1830 it was the 

 center of the revolt which separated Belgium 

 from Holland. 



In September, 1914, the city was occupied by 

 the Germans when they swept over Belgium; 

 it surrendered without a battle in order to 

 save its beautiful buildings from bombardment 

 (see WAR OP THE NATIONS). The conquering 

 forces at once levied a tribute of $40,000,000 

 upon the city, and later other demands in- 

 creased this tax to nearly $100,000,000. See, 

 also, BELGIUM. O.B. 



BRUSSELS SPROUTS, a cultivated variety 

 of cabbage originating in Belgium. It is long- 

 stemmed, four or five feet high, with small 

 clustering green heads an inch or two thick. 

 Brussels sprouts are an autumn crop, cultivated 



BRUSSELS SPROUTS 



and served for the table much the same as cab- 

 bage and cauliflower. The heads need plenty 

 of room, therefore when they begin to crowd 

 each other the leaves should be broken away, 

 leaving but a few at the top where new heads 

 form. 



BRUTUS, broo'tus, MARCUS JUNIUS (85-42 

 B.C.), a distinguished Roman, one of the con- 

 spirators against the life of Caesar. He fought 

 with Pompey against Caesar, but when Pompey 

 was defeated at Pharsalia he was pardoned by 

 Caesar, who made him governor of that part 

 of Gaul lying south of the Alps. Although 



Caesar had thus befriended him, Brutus allowed 

 himself to be drawn into the great conspiracy, 

 and actually was. one of those who raised a 

 dagger against Caesar. See CAESAR, CAIUS 

 JU.LIUS. 



When Mark Antony, with his ironic "And 

 Brutus is an honorable man," had roused the 

 people to fury in his oration over the dead 

 body of Caesar, Brutus took refuge in the 

 East and raised a large force in Greece and 

 Macedonia. With Cassius, he met Antony and 

 Octavius at Philippi, but when the battle went 

 against him he committed suicide by falling 

 on his sword. Shakespeare in his Julius Caesar, 

 of which Brutus is really the hero, has given a 

 more favorable picture of him than most his- 

 torians sanction. His defense of his action in 

 helping to kill Caesar is one of the most famous 

 speeches in all Shakespeare's works. It con- 

 cludes with the words: 



As Caesar loved me, I weep for him ; as he 

 was fortunate, I rejoice at it ; as he was valiant, 

 I honor him ; but as he was ambitious, I slew 

 him. There is tears for his love ; joy for his for- 

 tune ; honor for his valor ; and death for his 

 ambition. 



BRY'AN, WILLIAM JENNINGS (1860- ), an 

 American orator, statesman, journalist and 

 political leader, three times the unsuccessful 

 Democratic candidate for President of the 

 United States, and yet, in spite of defeat, the 

 man whom a large number of voters of his 

 party looked upon for years thereafter as the 

 greatest of their leaders. 



In the Democratic national convention at 

 Baltimore in 1912 the most conspicuous figure 

 was a middle-aged man of medium height. His 

 hair was much thinner than it was sixteen years 

 before, and it was fringed with gray, but he 

 was easily recognized as the same man who 

 was Democratic candidate for President in 1896. 

 In the intervening sixteen years he had met 

 one defeat after another, and his party in his 

 own state had refused his leadership as recently 

 as 1910. Yet here he was, in spite of all, the 

 leader of his party, bitterly attacking several 

 of the prominent candidates as the agents of 

 "reaction" and "predatory interests." Amid 

 great confusion he finally dominated the con- 

 vention, forced the nomination of the Presi- 

 dential candidate before the adoption of the 

 platform an action without precedent and 

 finally wrote into the platform the planks he 

 wanted. This picturesque fighting figure was 

 William Jennings Bryan, and the candidate to 

 whom he then gave his support was Woodrow 

 Wilson. 



