B R E 
Nevvmarch, and was a (lately fortrefs, but now in ruins.; 
a few walls; and lome remnants of Ely tower, on the Keep, 
are dill remaining. The walls beJiind the great church on 
the hill are exceedingly pleafmg, are laid out with tafte, 
and very neatly prelerved. They are formed on the lhady 
declivity of a hill, the foot of which is wafhqd by the tor¬ 
rent of the river Horthy. The remains of the old college 
are near the Ulke; and part of them, as well within tiie 
prefent chapel as without, ate as old as the original foun¬ 
dation, which was laid in the reign of Henry I. The town, 
as to its prefent date, is well built, of an ovkl form, and 
well walled with towers for its defence. Its inhabitants, 
who are very numerous, have lome fmall lliare in the 
clothing trade. A little to the baft is a confiderable lake 
Well ftored with fill), out of which a rivulet runs to the 
Wye. The town contains three pafilh churches, one of 
which is collegiate ; and fends one member to parliament. 
The government is veiled in two bailiffs, fifteen aldermen, 
two chamberlains, two conftables, a town-clerk, and other 
inferior officers. Its markets are Wednefdays and Satur¬ 
days'. Fairs, May 4, July 3, Sept. 10, and Nov. 17. 
BRECKNOCKSHIRE, an inland county of South 
Wales, in the diocefe of Landaff, bounded on the north 
by the county of Radnor, on the ettfl by the counties of 
Hereford and Monmouth, on the fouth by the county of 
Glamorgan, and on the weft by the counties of Cardigan 
and Carmarthen. Its form is irregular, and contains about 
900 fquare miles, and near 600,boo acres. The borders of 
the county are for the moft part mountainous, and every 
where it is interfperfpd with hills. The higher mountains 
are barren, but the fmaller hills are cultivated to the fum- 
mits : the vallies are in general fertile, but the proportion 
of good land to bad does not amount to one-third. It is 
divided into fix hundreds, and contains four market-towns, 
and fixty-one pariihes: the towns are Brecknock, Beaith 
or Builth, Crickhowel, and Hay. The number of inha¬ 
bitants is effimated at rather more than 30,000. The prin¬ 
cipal rivers are the Wye and the Ufke. One member is 
returned" to parliament for this county. Two miles to the 
caff of Brecknock is a beautiful lake, called Brecknock 
Meer, and by the Welch, Lhyn Savaddan ; it is two miles 
in length, and nearly the fame in breadth. 
BRED, part. pafj. [from to breed. ]—Their malice was 
bred in them, and their cogitation would never be changed. 
fVifdom, xii. 10. 
“ What is Bred in the bone, will never be out of the 
fleffi.” According to father Tarteron : 
Quand, Lafourche a la main , nature on chaferoit , 
Nature , cepefidant, toujours retourneroit. 
From Horace: Naturam expellas. fared licet vfque rccurret. 
Ifal. Chi Vka per natura fin alia fofa dura . What a man has 
by nature, lafts to tire grave. Ovwole .ttoiuctsk tok 
eftx Anf. Yon will never teach a crab to go 
ftrait forwards. The Germans fay, Artk Icefzt von arth 
nicht. There is no oppofing nature. Or, Die katze Iceefzt 
das maufen nicht. The cat won’t leave off moufing. This 
proverb is applied to fuch as imitate fome vice of their 
parents ; and intimates, that perfons naturally addicted to 
any vice will fcarcely ever be reclaimed afterwards by the 
art of rhetoric, or the power of perfuafion, authority, or 
command. So fay the Latins, Lupus pilum mutat, non 
mentem ; the Greeks, Svhov ayy.vXov uSlitot’ o^Gov ; the He¬ 
brews, irsoab njhit 'raw 3«. 
BREDA', a city of the Netherlands, in the duchy of 
Braba'nt, belonging to the Dutch, fituated on the Aa and 
Mercke, two final! rivers which unite here, and form the 
river Roevert. It is the capital of an ancient barony, 
which comprehends feventeen confiderable villages, and a 
wood of fir-trees, called Majl-bofch, about a league and a 
half irv length, and half a league in breadth. In 1212, this 
barony belonged to Godfrey de Bergue, from whom it de- 
feended to Henry, whofe daughter Elizabeth married Ar¬ 
nold de Louvain, whofe only daughter Alix brought the 
barony of Breda to R.afonde Gavre; from him defeended 
B R E 37-t 
Philip, whofe daughter Alix efpoufed Gerard de Raffeg- 
hem, who fold Breda to John III. duke of Brabant, who 
again fold it to John de Polane, lord of Leek : this laid left 
art,only daughter, named Jeanne, married in 1404 to En¬ 
gelbert de Naffau, from which alliance this city remained 
in the houfe of Nallau till William 111 . king of England, 
who dying without ilfue, the barony was left in abeyance. 
Henry of Naffau began the old caffie in 1350, but about 
the year 1680, William, prince of Orange, afterwards king 
of England, ereiffed the new one, which is & magnificent 
fquare ffrufture, furrounded by the waters of the Mercke. 
Breda, in fpirituals, is dependent on the diocefe of Ant¬ 
werp ; in civil affairs it is governed according to the cuf- 
toms of Brabant. It fuffered exceedingly in the wars of 
the lixteenth century. In the year 1566, the proteftants 
committed many violences; the year following, it was an¬ 
nexed to the domains of the king of Spain, by the duke of 
Alva, on account of the rebellion of William of Naffau, 
prince of Orange. In 1575, the emperor Maximilian hav¬ 
ing ottered his mediation for peace, the city of Breda was 
the place fixed on for the conference ; but the Spaniards 
being too pertinacious in their propoiitions, and diffrulted 
by the confederates, the affembly was ditfolved without 
coming to any agreement. In 1577, the garrifon delivered 
up the city to the ftates. In 1581, Claude de Bcrlamont, 
lord of Hautepenne, took it furprife, on the 18th of June, 
and gave it up to pillage. Prince Maurice made himfelf 
matter of it again, in March, 1590, by a ftratagern, fend¬ 
ing a party of chofen men hid in a boat loaded with turf, 
by whofe means the prince was admitted, and the city fur- 
rendered. It was again attacked and taken by Spinola, 
the celebrated Spanilh general, the 5th of June, 1^25, af¬ 
ter a (iege of fix months. The circumftances of this liege 
are too remarkable not to deferve a particular detail. The 
citadel being furrounded by a ditch of prodigious depth 
filled with water, and a ffrong wall defended by three great 
bullions, was deemed impregnable. The arfenal was cele¬ 
brated for its extent, and the vaft quantities of arms and 
military ffores it contained. Spinola, perfectly acquainted 
with the ftrength of the place, thought he fhould expofe 
his whole army to imminent deftrudffionplhould he attempt 
analfault before he had regularly carried on his approaches. 
He even refolved upon reducing the city by famine, as at¬ 
tended with leaft danger to his army ; and accordingly l>e r 
gan with drawing trenches round, for the fpace. of four 
miles, erecting forts and redoubts at certain difiances. 
On the other hand, the garrifon, confiding of feveil 
thoufand infantry, and leveral troops of horfe, compofed 
of Englifh, French, and Dutch, foldiers, took the moft 
vigorous meafures for their own defence. The.Engliffu 
were under the command of colonel Morgan, who had fre¬ 
quently diftinguiffied his valour in the fervice of the ftates • 
the French were directed by colonel de Hamerive; and 
the Dutch troops were lubjecft to the immediate orders off 
colonel Lohre, though the whole received their inftruc- 
tions from Juftin de Naffau, the governor. The firft ad¬ 
vantage was gained by Bagiioni, who feized a large con¬ 
voy of provifions and ftores coming up the river, convert¬ 
ing the boats into a bridge. This lofs difpirited the be- 
fieged, and reduced them to a dated allowance of bread ; 
and what added to their misfortunes, though they were 
ignorant of it, was the death of prince Maurice, from 
whom they were in hopes of receiving relief. Meanwhile 
Spinola profeeuted the (iege with the utmoft diligence and 
vigour. On his pulhing his trenches nearer the bullions, 
the befieged began a terrible fire to retard hi$ approaches, 
and kept it up with fuch vehemence and obduracy, that 
Spinola was in hopes they rauft foon furrender for want of 
ammunition. But here he formed a.falfe judgment of the 
prudence of Juftin de Naffau, who finding he could not ac- 
complifh Iris purpofe by his firing, refolved to try the ef- 
fedt of water. With this view, he flopped up the courfe 
of the river Mercke ; and, having formed a large bafon of 
water, opened the (luices, fwept away men, horfes, and 
houffes, in an inundation, and overflowed the whole coun¬ 
try. 
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