B R 1 
To BRIM, v. a. To fill to the top : 
This faid, a double wreath Evander twin’d ; 
And poplars black and white his temples bind : 
Then brims his ample bowl; with like defign. 
The reft invoke the gods with fprinkled wine. Dryden. 
To go to brim T is faid of a fow, when die is ready or in¬ 
clined to take the boar; lienee, probably, the vulgar phrafe 
of brim, applied to a common proftitute. 
To BRIM, v. n. To be full to the brim : 
Now horrid frays 
Commence, the brimming glaffes now are hurl’d 
With dire intent. Philips. 
BRIMFUL', adj. Full to the top ; overcharged: 
The good old king at parting wrung my hand. 
His eyes brimful Of tears ; then fighing cry’d, 
Prithee, be careful of my fon. Addifon. 
BRlMFUL'NESSjy. Fulnefs to the top : 
The Scot on his unfurnilh’d kingdom 
Came pouring like a tide into a beach. 
With ample and brimfulnefs of his force. Shahefpeare. 
BRIM'MER,y. A bowl or glafs full to the top : 
When healths go round, and kindly brimmers flovy, 
Till the frefti garlands on their foreheads glow. Dryden. 
“ There is no deceit in a brimmer.” The meaning is, 
that, when a glafs is full, there can be no more put in, and 
fo a man cannot be deceived of his quantity ; otherwife 
brimmers feldoin fail of deceiving men into intoxication 
and folly. 
BRIM'MING, adj. Full to the brim : 
And twice befides her beeftings never fail, 
To (tore the dairy with a brimming pail. Dryden. 
BRIM'STONEjy. [corrupted from brin or brenjlone, 
that is, fiery ftone.] Sulphur. See Sulphur. 
From this infernal furnace forth he threw 
Huge flames, that dimmed all the heaven’s light, 
Enroll’d in dufkifli fmoke and brimjlone blue. Fairy Queen. 
BRIM'STONE MEDALS, Fig ures, &c. may be caft 
in the following manner: Melt half a pound of brimftone 
over a gentle fire; mix with it half a pound of fine ver¬ 
milion; and, when you have cleared the top, take it off 
the fire, ftir it well together, and caft it into the mould, 
which fhould be firft anointed with oil. When cool, the 
figure may be taken out; and, in cafe it changes to a yel- 
lowifh colour, wipe it over with aquafortis, and it will look 
like the fineft coral. 
BRIM'STONY, adj. Full of brimftone; containing 
fulphur; fulphureous. 
BRIN'DED, adj. \_brin, Fr. abranch.] Streaked; tab¬ 
by ; marked with ftreaks: 
She tam’d the brinded lionefs 
And fpotted mountain pard. Milton. 
BRIN'DICE, or Bren'dice,/! [ brinde , Fr. brindiji. It.] 
A'health; as. To drink a brindicc, or health, to one. 
BRINDI'SI, a once-celebrated town of Italy, in the 
province ot Otranto, and kingdom of Naples, with an arch- 
biftiop’s fee. Its walls are ftill of great extent, but the 
interior is more than half depopulated. Little remains of 
its ancient fplendour, except innumerable broken pillars 
fixed at the corners of ftreets to defend the houfes from 
carls; fragments of coarfe Mofaic, the floors of former 
habitations; the column of the lighthoufe ; a large mar¬ 
ble bafon, into which the water runs from the ruins of 
aqueducts, &c. Its caftle, built by the emperor Frede¬ 
ric II. to protefi the northern branches of the harbour, is 
large and (lately. Charles V. repaired it. The port is 
double, and the fineft in the Adriatic. The outer part is 
formed by two promontories, which ftretch off gradually 
from each other as they advance into the fea, leaving a nar¬ 
row channel at the bale of the angle. The ifland of St. 
Andrew, on which Alphonfus I. built a fortrefs, lies be- 
Vol. III. No. 138. 
B R I 405 
tween the capes, and fecures the whole road from the fury 
of the waves. In this triangular fpace, large fhips may 
ride at anchor. At the bottom of the bay the hills recede 
in a fenticirCular lhape, to leave room for the inner haven ; 
which, as it were, clafps the city in its arms, or rather en¬ 
circles it, in the figure of a flag’s head and horns. This 
form is faid to have given rife to the name of Brundufium, 
which, in the old Meffapian language, fignified ‘ the head 
of a deer.’ In ancient days, the communication between 
the two havens was marked byjights placed upon columns 
of the Corinthian order, Handing on a riling ground, pa¬ 
rallel with the channel. Of thefe one remains entire up¬ 
on its pedeftal. Its capital is adorned with figures of Sy¬ 
rens and Tritons, intermingled with the acanthus leaf, and 
upon it a circular vafe, which formerly held the fire. The 
fpace-between thefe pillars anlwered to the entrance of the 
harbour. The extenlive territory of Naples, fays Mr. 
Swinburne, cannot produce a more complete fituation for 
trade than Brindifi. Here goodnefs of foil, depth of wa¬ 
ter, fafety of anchorage, and a centrical polition, are all 
united ; yet it has neither commerce, hufbandry, nor po- 
puloufnefs. From the obftruCtions in the channel, which 
communicates with the two havens, ariles the whole tribe 
of evils that affliCt and defolate this unhappy town. Ju¬ 
lius Caefar may be faid to have begun its ruin, by attempt¬ 
ing to block up Pompey’s fleet. He drove piles into the 
neck of land between the two ridges of hills; threw in 
earth, trees, and ruins of houfes; and had nearly accom- 
plilhed the blockade, when Pompey failed out and efcaped 
to Greece. In the 15th century, the prince of Taranto 
funk fome fiiips in the middle of the paflage, to prevent 
the royalifts from entering the port, and thereby provided 
a refting-place for fea-weeds and land, which foon accumu¬ 
lated, choked up the mouth, and rendered it impracticable 
for any veffels whatfoever. In 1752 the evil was increa- 
fed, fo as to hinder even the waves from beating through ; 
and all communication was cut off, except in violent eaft- 
erly winds, or rainy feafons, when an extraordinary quan¬ 
tity of frefh water raifes the level. From that period the 
port became a fetid green lake, full of infection and noxious 
infedts; no fifli but eels could live it, nor any boats pjy 
except canoes made of a Angle tree. The low grounds at 
each end were overflowed and converted into marfhes, the 
vapours of which created every fummer a peftilence, that 
in a few years fwept off or drove away the largeft portion 
of the inhabitants. From the number of 1 8,000, they 
were reduced in 1766 to 5000 miferable wretches, tor¬ 
mented with agues and malignant fevers. In 1775, above 
1500 perfons died during the autumn; yet, about fifty 
years ago, the air cf Brindifi was efteemed fo whole fome 
and balfamic, that the convents of Naples were wont to 
fend their confumptive friars to this city for the recovery 
of their health. In confequepce of the laft-mentioned fa¬ 
tality, application was made to the government to remove 
the caufe of thefe putrid diforders, by having the channel 
cleared of its filth ; and this falutary work has been lately 
put in hand, fo that large boats can now navigate the inner 
haven; the t-ide again reaches the ancient quay, and there 
is fome profpect of yet reftoring the channel to fuch a (late 
as will admit fhips of burthen, and once more open to it a 
commerce with the world. The country round is extremely 
fertile, the foil is light and good, and produces excellent 
cotton, with which the Brindilians manufacture gloves and 
ftockings. 
It is impoflible to determine who were the founders of 
Brundufium, or when it was firft inhabited. The Romans 
took early polfeflion of a harbour fo convenient for their 
enterprifes againft the nations dwelling beyond the Adria¬ 
tic. In the year of Rome 509, they lent a colony hither. 
Pompey took refuge here; and in this city Oftavianusfirft 
alfumed the name of Cajar. Brundufium had been alrea¬ 
dy celebrated for giving birth to the tragic poet Pacuvius, 
and aboufthis time became rtfcnarkable for the death of 
Virgil. The Saracens, who ravaged every corner of Italy, 
did not fpare fo rich.a town: and, in 836, they gave a ft- 
