BRA 



-103 



BRA 



|ihr. 



and he kept an idiot constantly beside him, who.,e 

 incoherent expression-; \\viv stored up and examined 

 by T) cho as the predictions of some supernatural 

 being. A desire lo be consulted as a fortune-teller, 

 was another of the failings of this extraordinary man. 

 He calculated the nativity of his patron Rodolph, 

 and having predicted that some wicked designs would 

 be practised against him by his relations, the timid 

 emperor was seized with alarm ; and when the bad 

 conduct of his brother seemed to verify the pre- 

 diction, he confined himself to his palace, and actual- 

 ly fell a prey to the fear which it inspired. 



From these facts, we cannot be surprised at his at- 

 tachment to alchemy and astrology ; but we can find 

 no explanation of the deceit which he must have 

 practised, when he made an apology for not publish- 

 ing his chemical experiments. " On consideration," 

 lays he, " and by the advice of the most learned 

 men, he thought it improper to unfold the secrets of 

 the art (of alchemy) to the vulgar, as few people 

 were capable of using its mysteries to advantage, and 

 without detriment." 



Medicine was also a favourite study with Tycho. 

 He gave his medicines and his advice gratis ; and he 

 published an account of the composition of an elixir 

 for the plague, which was addressed to the Emperor 

 Rodolph. 



Tycho was likewise a worshipper of the muses. 

 He wrote Latin verses, and composed a poem on his 

 exile, which was published at Rostock in 1614'. His 

 taste for architecture seems to have been good. He 

 drew the plan of the castle of Cronberg, and sketch- 

 ed the design for the mausoleum of Frederick the 

 Second, which was executed in Italy, and erected in 

 the cathedral of Roschild. 



Beside the works which we have mentioned, Ty- 

 cho wrote the following : Astronomies instanratw Pro- 

 gymnasmata : quorum Itcec prima pars dc restitulione 

 motuuin solis ct hincE, xtelltirumque incrrantium trac- 

 tat, 1602, 4to ; De mundi cetherci rccenliorifms phe- 

 nomenis liber sccundus, 1603, 4to ; De discijitinis 

 mathematicii oratin, in qua simi/l a.tlrolo^iu drfcndi- 

 tur, et al> object innihus dissentienlium vindicatur, 

 Hamburg, 4to, 1621. The works of Tycho wore pub- 

 lished at Frankfort in 4to, in lb"48. In 1657 a col- 

 lection of his observations was published at Vienna in 

 folio, under the title of Litcii Baretli (Alberti Ci/rlii) 

 Sy/loge Ferdinnndca, sive Collectanea huloriee celes- 

 tis e comment frrii.t MSS. obserrationum Ti/chonis 

 Brake nb anno 1582 or/ annum 1601 ; and afterwards 

 in 2 vols folio, at Augsburg, under the title of Ilis- 

 toria Celeslis complectens obserrat tones Tyclwnis. 

 The last of these works, which is a most valuable 

 collection of observations, occupies more than 1000 

 folio pages ; and was afterwards reprinted at Augs- 

 burg and Vienna in 1668 ; at Ratisbon in 1672, and 

 at Diflmgen in 1675, &c. &c. The Rudolphine Ta- 

 bles, which Tycho left unfinished, were published at 

 Ulm in 1627, in folio, entitled Jo. Ktfteri Tabula' 

 liuilolphiiKc, (juifjiis Astronomicie sciential, Icmporum 

 longiiiaitilaie collnpsce, reslattratio conti/ietur, a Ty- 

 ehone Brake primitm animo concepta et deslinala anno 

 Chr. 1561' exinde observulionibiis sidermn accnrat/sxi- 

 mis post annum precipue 1572, serio affeclata, tan- 



dem tradurtu in (li-rinnniani V;Wf aulam ft 

 Itudolp/ii Imp. anno I5<)8. 



The. instruments of Tycho were purchased bv the 

 Emperor Rodolphus for 22,000 crowns of gold. 

 During the troubles of Bohemia, the army of the 

 Elector Palatine destroyed the greater part of them ; 

 but the great celestial globe of brass was preserved, 

 and deposited with the Jesuits of Neyssa in Silesia. 

 In 1 (;:!:?, Udalric the son of Christian, Jcing of Den- 

 mark, carried it to Copenhagen, and placed it in the 

 hall of the Royal Academy. 



See Gassendi f'ita Tyc/ionis Brake, &c. Paris, 

 1654 ; Coxe's Travels in Denmark, vol. v. p. 191 ; 

 DC vita ct mortc illustrix ft genrrosi niri TVCIIONIS 

 BuAHEi,orrt/iq/cAra Joh.Jessenii iijcssen. Praga; 

 1601 ; and a Life of Tycho by Weistriss, published in 

 Danish and in German. The German translation ap- 

 peared at Leipaig in 1756, in 2 vols. 8vo. () 



BRAIN. See ANATOMY, PHYSIOLOOV, and 

 SURGERY. 



BRAINTREE, a market town of England in 

 Essex, situated on a rising ground, and chiefly re- 

 markable for its baize manufactory, which was intro- 

 duced here, by the Flemings, who were expelled from 

 the Netherlands by the cruelties of the Duke of Al- 

 va. The streets are narrow and inconvenient, and 

 many of the buildings are very old, and formed of 

 timber. The church is a large building erected on a 

 high piece of ground, which seems to have been once 

 occupied by a camp. This church underwent seve- 

 ral alterations in the reign of Henry VIII., the ex- 

 pence of which was defrayed from the profits of 

 three plays acted in the church. The first of these, 

 called St Sivithin, was performed in 1523; the se- 

 cond, entitled St Andrew, was performed on the Sun- 

 day before Relique Sunday in 1525; and the third, 

 called Plitcij Dacy alias St Emesiacy, in 1534. Af- 

 ter the Reformation, the church wardens sold the con- 

 tents of the players wardrobe for 50 shillings, and 

 the play books for 20 shillings. The number of 

 houses in this town in 1801 was 454, and the popu- 

 lation 2821. The village of Bocking, consisting of 

 one long street, forms now a part of the town, ai;<! 

 contains no fewer than 6123 houses and 2680 inhabi- 

 tants, of whom above 600 were employed in the manu- 

 facture of baize. See Morant's History of Essex, (j) 



BRAMAH'S MACHINE, or PRESS Von PRINT- 

 ING BANK NOTES. Contrary to our usual practice, 

 we have been obliged to introduce a description of this 

 ingenious machine under the name of its inventor. It 

 was out of our power to obtain a drawing and de- 

 scription of it when we we were engaged in that 

 part of our work which contains the word BANK, 

 and we have therefore thought it more advisable to 

 insert our account of it in this place, than to refer it 

 to some more distant article, where the insertion of 

 it would be equally inconsistent with our general 

 plan. 



In many other parts of our work we shall have 

 occasion to direct the attention of the reader to the 

 inventions of Mr Bramah, which are no less credit- 

 able to his genius, than they have been useful to so- 

 ciety. His improvements upon locks ; his rotatory 

 engine for raising water ; his hydrostatic preys, ap- 



Br.imali'i 

 Machine. 



