BRITTLE, J. [ brijll , Sax.] The ftiff hair of fwine.— 
He is covered with hair, and not, as the boar, with brifltcs, 
which probably fpend more upontlie fame matter, which, 
in other creature*:, makes the horns ; for brijlt.es Teem to 
be nothing elfe but a horn Iplit into a multitude of little 
ones. Grew. 
To BRIS'TLE, v. a. To ereft in bridles: 
Now for the bare-pickt bone of majefty, 
Doth dogged war brijllt his angry creft, 
And fnarleth in the gentle eyes of peace. Shakcfpcart. 
To BRIS'TLE, v. n. To (land eredd as bridles : 
Thy hair fo brijtles with unmanly fears, 
As .fields of corn that rife ki bearded ears. Dryden. 
To BRIS'TLE a thread. To fix a bridle to it. 
BRISl'LY, adj. Thick, let with bridles.—If the eye 
were (o acute as to rival the fined: microfcope, the fight ot 
pur ownfelves would affright us; the Imo.othed fkin would 
be befet with rugged fcales and bnjlly hairs. Bentley. 
BRIS'TOL, a large city and fea-port in the counties of 
Gloucelier and Sumerfet, on the rivers Avon and Frome, 
which unite here, and form one dream under the name of 
the former, navigable for large and heavy diips, till it 
joins tiie Severn at King Road, there known by the name 
of The Bnjiol Channel. It was called by the Britons Caer 
Oder nant Badon, i. e. the city Oder in Badon valley. In 
the catalogue of ancient cities it is named Caer Brito ; and 
in Saxon Bi ightjlczoe, a bright, pleafant, or famous, place ; 
from lienee Bnjtozu, and ot late Brijtol. It is firft mention¬ 
ed by Florence of Worceder, who tells us that in 1063, 
Harold let fail from Brydowe to invade Wales. It was 
rated’to the king in doomfday-book no marks of diver. 
GeodVy bidiop of Conftance, railing a rebellion againd 
William Rufus, vvell fortified tliis city: its walls, &c. 
were afterwards dedroyed by the fame king. Bridol was 
formerly a place of great (Length. King Stephen was im- 
prifoned in its cadle by Maud the emprefs. It was built 
by Robert, illegitimate Ton of Henry I. who bedeged king 
Stephen in it. It was finally demolilhed by Oliver Crom- 
well,and afterwards built into dreets. In 1362, the ftaple 
of wool was ellablidied here by Edward III. who made it 
a county of itfelf. In 164.3, Bridol was garrifoned by the 
parliament troops, under the command of colonel Fiennes, 
who was joined by Waller and his followers, after the bat¬ 
tle of Roundway-down, near Devizes. Prince Rupert at¬ 
tacked it, and, though the town and cadle were well for- 
tided, and in want of neither men, provifion, or warlike 
dores, it was taken by capitulation, but not before a great 
number of brave men and officers had loft their lives. 
The merchants of this city (the metropolis excepted) 
have not only the greated trade, the annual amount of the 
cuftoms being more than 300,000!. but they trade with 
more independence on London than any other town in Bri¬ 
tain. Whatever exports they make, they are able to bring 
the full returns back, and difpofe of them at their own 
port; and, as they have great trade abroad, fo they have 
always fufficient buyers at home for their returns. About 
flxty years ago it was computed that they employed 3000 
Ihips to trade to the feveral parts of the world. Their 
trade with Ireland is prodigioully increafed ; from whence 
they import tallow, linen, woollen, and bay yarn. Their 
trade to the Wed Indies, of which they were forne of the 
fird dilqoverers and adventurers, is very condderable; as 
is alio their Guinea trade. Their Wed-India diips fail 
and arrive in fleets. They carry on the Dutch, Hamburgh, 
Norway, Eadlin. 1 , and Ruffian, commerce. They fend 
diips to Newfoundland anti the Mediterranean, and import 
great quantities of fruit, wine, and oil. 
The convenient dtuation of Bridol for an extenlive com¬ 
merce ; its deep river, which is very rapid, and flows forty 
feet and lotiietimes into the dreets, and will bring a (hip 
of 1000 tons up'to Bridol-bridge ; its having ftich plenty 
of coals dug all round it, and of bones for lime, building, 
and paving, and thefe and the coals rendered at fo cheap 
B R I 
a rate ; its enjoying the benefits of a mineral water; the 
delightful and populous country about it; its falubpimiy 
air; many fine land and lea profpedis ; well-built I1011 fes 
and romantic fcenes ; greatly attradl the attention and re- 
fpefit of travellers and foreigners. The greater part of 
Bridol lies in a vale of uneven lurface, furrounded with 
pleafant hills; from w hich the city and its lofty towers 
make an augud and venerable objefit. This city is laid 
very much torefemble ancient Rome, its plan being nearly 
circular, with a greater diameter one way than the other, 
and the river cutting oh’ about a fixth part from the red; 
alfo, it hands on feven hills, that to the north being very 
lofty and the houfes overlooking the city and country, and 
its river is dtnilar to the Tyber in width and colour. 
Bridol-bridge was fird built about 500 years ago, and 
rebuilt in 1768, over the Avon ; it conlids of three wide 
and lofty arches ; lias a bne done balluftrade on each fide, 
feven feet high; raifed foot-ways chained in.; and is well 
lighted with lamps. Over the river Frome is the draw¬ 
bridge, raifed by a curious piece of mecliahifm, which has 
two arches of done, and an handfome octagon-houfe at 
each end. From hence the (hips at the quay appear as 
trees in a foreft. There are, belides, over this river, twelve 
bridges of done, and four of wood. Thefe rivers afford 
falmon, plenty.of eels, plaife, flpunders, and fand-dabs, 
and immenfe quantities ot elvers; and higher up, trout, 
roach, and dace. 
The quay is generally edeemed one of the fined of any 
mercantile haven in Europe; it is upwards of a mile in 
extent, reaching from St. Giles’sbridge to Bridol-bridge, 
and is all the way embanked by a brm wall coped with 
large hewn done, from which, to the front buildings, is 
Inch a condderable breadth, without interruption, as to 
make it one continued wharf. Beyond thi? are feveral 
dock-yards, and dry and floating-docks, for building and 
repairing (hipping. The merchants’ floating-dock is very 
extenlive; and about two miles below is a fine dock, ca¬ 
pable of containing one hundred and fifty Ihips, and a 
bafon, called Sea.-mill-dock. 
By tiie charter of queen Elizabeth, every man who mar¬ 
ries the daughter of a citizen of Bridol becomes free of the 
city ; but this, like many other well-intended privileges, 
is fhamefully perverted, and made fubfervient to the pur- 
pofes of corruption ; for, upon all conteded ele&ions, the 
grand effort of the contending parties is to patch up all 
the matches they can with the lower order of freemen’s 
daughters, by giving a douceur to any man who is willing 
to facrifice at the altar of Hymen. And this is no looner 
done, than the new-made huiband is carried up to the 
findings to give his vote ; but feldom or ever returns to 
his bride again. 
The city is fupplied with water from public pumps and 
conduits; the molt remarkable of whicn is the conduit in 
Temple-ltreet, which is of done, and has upon it a noble 
datue of Neptune, much admired. The whole is-inclofed 
by an iron pallifade. Alfo, the river water is brought 
under ground into every (i.reet, and may be had in every 
houfe for an annual dipend. There are vaults or common 
fewers (here called goutes) throughout the whole city; 
and perhaps there is not an houfe which has not a com¬ 
munication with them. Carts are not admitted into the 
city, for fear of damaging the arches of the vaults, and. 
gutters that are made under ground far carrying off the 
foil into the rivers; fo that the c-ondant draught here is by 
hedges, which renders the pavements exceeding flippery. 
The gates of Bridol, which were fourteen or fixteen, 
are modly demolilhed. Temple-gate, a modern and very 
noble triumphal arch of done, .with two poderns, remains; 
as does Newgate, which is the city-gaol for felons and 
debtors. St. John’s-gate is remarkable for two ancient 
ftatues of the kings Belinus and Brennus; and for its ha¬ 
ving on it the deeple of the adjacent church, and on that 
a done fpire; the whole ftrudhire is 150 feet from the 
ground. A piece of the city-wall, near half a mile in 
length) remains on the Soroerfetdure fide. 
According; 
t 
