B R I 



B R I 



focks ; anj veiling Iier with xhcjlair.mc'iim. She was to fccm 

 to be ravlfhed or torn by force troni her mollicr, in memory 

 of the rape of the Sabincs under Romuhis ; (he was to he 

 carritd home in the night-time to the bridegroom's honfe, 

 accompanied by three boys, called J/alnmi and miilnmi, one 

 of whom carried a torch, and the otlier tvro, called pant- 

 nymphi, led the bride, a fpindle and a diftatY being carried 

 with her : ihe brought three pieces of money, called iijjts, in 

 her hand to the bridegroom, whofe doors, on this oceafion, 

 were adorned with floweri and branches of tries : being liere 

 interrogated who (he was, flie was to anfwer, Caia, in me- 

 mory of Caia Ca:cilia, wife of Tarqnin the Elder, who was 

 an excellent lan'ifica, or fpinflrefs ; for the lilie reafon, be- 

 fore her entrance, {he lined the door-polls with wool and 

 fmeared them with greafe. 



Fire and water being fct on the threfho'id, (he touched 

 both ; but ftatting back from the door, refufed to enter, 

 till at length (he paflld the threfhold, being careful to ftep 

 over, without touching it; here the kers were given her; 

 a nuptial fupper was prepared for her, and mindrels to divert 

 her ; (lie was feated on the figure of a Prinpus, and here the 

 patrimi and w<7^;,v«;refigncd her to \.\\e pronuLc, who brougiit 

 her into the nuptial chamber, and put her into the genial 

 bed. This office was to be performed by matrons who had 

 only been once married, to denote that the marriage was to 

 be for perpetuity. When the bridegroom was brought to 

 her, epithalamia were fung by the women, who were divid- 

 ed for that purpofc into two band=, one whereof fung in 

 the evening, the other the next morning ; and, for the like 

 purpofe, nuts werealfo thrown about for the boys to fcram- 

 1)le for. Potter Archxol. lib. iv. cap. ii. tom. ii. Val. 

 ■Mas. lo. Plut. Qiiasft. Rom. 30. Seiv. ad .iEn. lib. iv. 

 ver. 450. Kenn. Rom. Ant.p. ii. lib.i. c. 9. Fabr. Bibl. 

 Ant. cap. 10. § 5. 



Br IDE, in Gcogi-nphy, the name of a river in Ireland, which 

 rifcs in the Nagle mountains, county of Cork, and having 

 patTcd near the towns of Rathcormuck and Tallow, from 

 the latter of which it is navigable, joins the Blackwater 

 about 8 miles above Yonghall. 



Bridf, in Ichthyology, a French name of the fifh called 

 by Linnrcus Chtctrnhr. cap'ijlralvs, which fee. Sparus ca- 

 fiPii-alus of LinufEus alio bears this name among the 

 Trench. 



Bride's lay, St. in Geography, a bay of St. George's 

 channel, on the well coaft of the county of Pembroke, in 

 South Wales, having good anchorage in 7 to 10 fathoms ; but 

 as the wefterly winds caufe a great fea, in the mo-uth of the 

 bay, the ifland of Ramfey affords fheltcr. This illand is its 

 northern limit, and Scaumore is its fouthern point ; and on 

 the north of the bay is the city of St. David's. N, lat. 

 51° 4S'. W. long. ^° Zj'. In fpring tides it has high wa- 

 ter at 6 o'clock. 



BRIDEGROOM, the fpoufe or mate of a bride. 

 Among the Spartans, the bridegroom, as we are informed 

 by Plutarch, in his " Lycnrgus," (Op. t.i. p. 43. ed. 

 Xylandr. ) committed a kind of rape on his bride. After 

 the preliminaries of marriage were fettled, the woman, that 

 condufted the bufinefs, (haved off the bride's hair clofe to 

 her (kin, drtfTed her in man's clothes, and left her upon a 

 mattrtfs ; wiiilft (he was in this ftate the bridegroom dole 

 privately into the room, untied her virgin girdle, and tock 

 her into his embraces ; and after a ikort interval, he returned 

 to his companions, with whom he continued to fpend his 

 life, remaining with them by night as well as by day, unlefs 

 he Hole a fhort vilit to his bride, which he had no opportu- 

 nity of doing without gieat ciicuinfpeftioii, and fear ofbe- 

 insi difcove.ed. 

 'Vot.. V. 



Among the Romans, the bridegroom was decked to re- 

 ceive hio bride ; his hair was combed and cut in a pccuiiai 

 form ; he had a coronet or chapiet 011 his head, and v. as 

 dreffed in a white garment. Pitifc. Lex. Ant. tom. i. 



By the ancient canons, the bridegroom wjs to forbear the 

 enjoyment of his bride the full niglit, in lionour of the r.iip- 

 tial bcnediftion given by the prielt on t!i,it day. Joliiif. 

 Ecelef. Law. aim. 740. J 8S. 



In Scotland, and perl:tips alfo fome parts of England, a 

 cuftom called marchtt, obtained, by which the loid of tiic 

 manor was entitled to the firft night's habitation with his 

 tenants' brides. See Borough Eni^ujh, and Marchkt. 



BRIDEMIF, ill the Pcrfum TMa, tlie conllellatioji Lv- 

 pvr, or the Wolf. 



BRIDEWELL, in our Cnjloms, denotes a work-houfc, 

 partly for the corretlion of vagrants and diforderly perfons, 

 and partly for the employment of the parifli poor. 



Tlicy are fupplied during their abode here with cloathing 

 and diet ; and tliofe who are committed for correttion arc 

 not only made to work, but, according to their crimes, tliey 

 receive cccafionally fnch a number of ftripes as tlie governor 

 of the houfe of correftion ordain'!. 



Bridewell, near Fleet-ftreet, is a foundation of a mixt and 

 fiEgular nature, partaking of the hofpital, the ptifon, and 

 work-houfe ; it was fouiidad in 155,^ by Edward VI. who 

 gave the place, where king John had formerly kept his 

 court, and which had been repaired by Henry X'lII. to the 

 city of I„ondon, with 700 marks of land, bedding, and other 

 furniture. Seveial youths are fent to this hofpital as ap- 

 prentices to manufaiftnrers, who refide there; they are cloth- 

 ed in blue doublets and breeches, with white hats. Having 

 faithfully ferved their time of feven vears, they have their 

 freedom, and a donation of ten pounds each, for carrying- 

 on th.tir refpeflive trades. 



BRIDGE, in ArchiteHure, from the Saxon bfiic, isa (Irnc- 

 ture of carpentry, mafonry, or iron-work, built over a ri\er, 

 canal, or valley, for the convenience of pafllng from one fide 

 to the other, and may be confidered as a road fupportcd in 

 the air by arches or lintels, and thcfe again fupported by- 

 proper piers or hutments. 



Bridges generally form the continuation cither of an hii;h. 

 way or of a (Ireet ; in the firll cafe they are frequently built 

 in a rude and cheap manner, and too often witl'.ont proper 

 attention to thofe principles which would tnfure permanence 

 and fulidity to the llructure ; but when they take their lead 

 or direftion from a principal llreet in a capita! city, their cor.- 

 (Iruftion is attended with great expence, and a degree of 

 elegance and durability is required in their formation, which 

 calls fortheutmoil judgment and fl<ill in the archil ee\. The 

 magnitude of bridges alfo varies withtheir lunation. \\'heu 

 they are erefted in places not much frequented, they are often, 

 without any impropriety, made about eight or ten yards 

 wide, but the breadth ol a bridge for a great city (hould at 

 lead be fuch as to allow a fafe and eafy pall'age for three 

 carriages, and two horfcmen ahreaA, and for three or for.r 

 foot paficngtrs in the fame manner on each banquet. 



A (lately bridge over a large and rapid river, v.liile it is 

 one of the moll difficult, is jullly elleemcd one of the moit 

 noble and (biking fptcimens of human art. To behold 

 grand arches compoftd of an immenfe quantity of fmall ma- 

 terials, fo difpofed and united together as to form one com- 

 pared body, which, bellrit'ing the llream, affords above an 

 amjile communication with ihedillant (hores, and allows be- 

 low ?.n uninterrupted patl'iigc to navigation, is enough to 

 awaken the admiration of every fpeflator. The art of bridge 

 building, accordingly, has received coiifiderable attention i'rcin 

 writers on arcliitetlure, the earliell of whom is Alberti, who 



