B O R 741 B O R 





Borough- 

 Courts 



u 



Borough 

 Bridge. 



BOROUGH-Courts, are certain courts of pri- 

 vate and special jurisdiction, held in different cities, 

 boroughs, andc 'porations, throughout the kingdom, 

 by prescription, charter, or act of parliament. Of 

 this species are the Sheriffs Court, and Court of 

 Hustings in London, (z) 



BOROUGH-Englksh, so called in contradistinc- 

 tion, as it were, to the Norman customs, is a custo- 

 mary descent of some tenements held in ancient bur- 

 gage, and copyhold manners, in consequence of which 

 the youngest son, and not the eldest, succeeds on the 

 death of his father ; and if the proprietor leaves no 

 issue, the estate descends to his younger brother. 

 Various reasons have been assigned for this singular 

 custom. Littelton ( 211. ) alleges it is because the 

 youngest son, by reason of his tender age, is presu- 

 med to be more helpless than the rest of his bre- 

 thren. Other authors have given a much stranger 

 reason for this custom. It originated, they say, from 

 the lords of certain lands having anciently the privi- 

 lege of breaking the seventh commandment with their 

 tenants' wives, on their wedding night ; and there- 

 fore the tenement descended not to the eldest, but to 

 the youngest son, who was more certainly the off- 

 spring of the tenant. The custom alluded to, how- 

 ever, never prevailed in England, although it appears 

 to have obtained in Scotland, under the name oimer- 

 cheta, or marcheta, until it was abolished by Malcolm 

 III. 



Blackstone, on the other hand, endeavours to trace 

 the origin of this species of descent in a more rational 

 way, by deducing it from the practice of the Tar- 

 tars, and other pastoral tribes ; among whom, accord- 

 ing to Father Du Halde, thi3 custom of descent to 

 the youngest son also prevails. The reason assigned 

 for it is this, that among nations composed totally of 

 shepherds and herdsmen, the elder sons, as soon as 

 they are capable of leading a pastoral life, migrate 

 from their father with a certain allotment of cattle, 

 and go to seek a new habitation ; while the young- 

 est son, who remains last at home with the father, is 

 naturally the heir of his house, the rest being already 

 provided for. This custom of the elder son's separa- 

 ting from the father, is also to be found among other 

 northern nations ; and the species of descent, called 

 Borough-English, where it prevails, may be presu- 

 med to be a remnant of that pastoral state of society, 

 which Caesar and Tacitus describe as obtaining among 

 our British and German ancestors. See Blackstone's 

 Comment, b. ii. ch. 6. Jacob's Lain Diet, (z) 



BOROUGH-Head, or Head-Borough, called 

 also, in some places, the Borsholder, or Borough's 

 'alder, Tithing-man, &c. was a magistrate annually 

 appointed to preside over a tithing, according to the 

 institution of Alfred. He was one of the principal 

 inhabitants, and presumed to be the discreetest man 

 m the town or tithing. These head-boroughs are now 

 a species of petty constables. See Constable, and 

 Tithing, (z) 



BOROUGH-BREACH.or Burgh-Breche, ( Bor. 

 gifractura,) signifies a breach of the peace by the 

 inhabitants of a tithing, which was punishable by a 

 fine imposed upon the community. LL. Canut, c. 

 .05. (z) 



BOROUGH-Bridge, a market town of England, 



in the west riding of Yorkshire, situated upon the Borreme2.11 

 liver Eyre, over which there is a good stone bridge. Islands. 

 In a field near the bridge there are three large stones ' 



of a huge size, and of the form of obelisks, standing 

 upright in the ground. They are called the Devil's 

 Arrows, and are supposed by some to be trophies 

 raised by the Romans, while others imagine that 

 they were placed there by the Britons. The highest 

 stone is 22 feet, and 16 feet in circumference ; the 

 second is 21 feet high, and 17 feet round ; and the 

 third is' 17 feet high, and 24 feet in circuit. There 

 was formerly a fourth stone, but it was long ago 

 demolished. Several Roman coins and antiquities 

 have been found in the neighbourhood. The town 

 carries on a considerable trade in hardware, which is 

 the only manufacture it possesses. Number of 

 houses 1 13. Population 680. See Gough's Camden's 

 Britannia, and Pennant's Tour from Alston Moor to 

 Harrowgate, 1804. (j) 



BORROMEAN Islands, the name of two 

 islands called Isola Bella and Isola Madre, situated 

 iii the most western bay of the Lago Maggiore, and 

 deriving their general name from the family of Bor- 

 romeo, to whom they belonged. 



The Borromean islands have been described with 

 the greatest enthusiasm by Bishop Burnet and by 

 Keysler as among the finest places in the world. 

 Keysler says, " that these islands can be compared 

 to nothing more properly, than to pyramids of sweet- 

 meats, ornamented with green festoons and flowers." 

 Keysler has given a very minute description of these 

 islands, of which we shall avail ourselves in our ac- 

 countof the Lago Maggiore. At present weshallcon- 

 tent ourselves with laying before our readers the brief 

 description of them given by Mr Coxe, who does not 

 seem to be such an enthusiastic admirer of these arti- 

 ficial islands. " As the taste of mankind alters with 

 the succession of years, I considered it only as a mo- 

 nument of expence and folly. Terrace rises above 

 terrace in regular gradations, bordered with flower- 

 pots, or gigantic statues of horses, gods, and god- 

 desses. The whole is raised upon arches, and the. 

 soil has been brought from the shore to cover them. 

 The palace is magnificent, and contains a profusion 

 of marbles and paintings. The lower part of the 

 house overhangs the lake on one side, where several 

 apartments arc furnished in the style of grottos j the 

 floors, pillars, and walls, are inlaid with various co- 

 loured stones, marbles, and shells ; the view and the 

 coolness united make this part a delicious summer 

 retreat. If any thing justly gives this island the ap- 

 pellation of enchanted, it is the prospect from the 

 terrace. The gradual diminution of the mountains, 

 from the regions of eternal snow to the rich plain ; . 

 the sinuosity of the lake ; its varied banks ; the bay 

 of Marzozzo, bounded by vast hills ; the neighbour- 

 ing burgh of Palanza, and more distant view of La- 

 veno ; the numerous villages j the Isola Madre, on 

 which is a palace of the Borromean family ; and ano- 

 ther island, sprinkled with fishermen's huts, form a 

 delightful assemblage. These islands, and the whole 

 western coast of the lake to the village of Locarno, 

 was ceded to the King of Sardinia by. the late Em- 

 press Queen at the treaty of Worms, in consideration , 

 of the assistance which she received from that mo- 



