B R I 
*ve find no where recorded. Lat. 49. 47. to 58.45. N. 
Ion. 12. o. to ig. 16. E. Ferro, l'or the natural and poli¬ 
tical hiftory of breat-Britain and her dependencies, lee 
die articles Eng land, Scotland, and Wa les. 
BRI'TAIN (New), 'pr Labrador. See Labrador. 
BRUT AIN (New), aniflatid in the E a ft-Indian fen, feen 
by Dampier, Roggeween, and Carteret. What Dampier 
and Roggeween thought was only one ifland, Capt. Car¬ 
teret has lince found divided into two, by a narrow chan¬ 
nel, which he failed through, from fouth-eaft to north- 
weft, and gave the name of New Ireland to the moft north¬ 
ern. The coafts of New Britain are high and mountainous, 
covered here and there with wood. The inhabitants are 
ot a dark copper colour, well made, and hardy ; near the 
fouthern coaft are a number of fmaller Elands, among 
which is one with a volcano. Lat. 1. 30. to 6. 50. S. Ion. 
248. 5. to 148. 55. E. Greenwich. 
BRITAN'NiC,<2£f/. \_britannicus, Lat. Gr.] 
Belonging to Britain, Diod. Sic. Bibl. lib. i. p. 4, 5. vgoe. 
T'/jv ny£[/.on»v Tr,v vr.crav, 
i. e. Caefar extended the Roman empire as far as the Bri- 
tifti illes. App. ad Thefaur. H. Stephani, Conftantini, &c. 
BRITAN'NIC A,f in botany. See Rumlx. 
BRITAN'NICUS, a foil of Claudius Casfar by Mefla- 
lina. Nero, who was railed to the throne in preference to 
him, by means of Agrippina, caufed him to be poifo^ed. 
His corpfe was buried in the night; but it is laid that a 
fttower of rain waftied away the white paint which the - 
murderer had put over his face, fo that it appeared quite 
black, and dilcovered the effeCts of poifon. This poifon 
had been prepared by an expert poifoner, named Locufta, 
who had been condemned to death for her infamous ac¬ 
tions, but was laved that fhe might be employed as a Rate 
Engine. The poifon firft given occalioned only a dyfentery, 
and was too flow in its operation; the emperor compelled 
I.oculia by blows, and by threatening her with death, to 
prepare, in his prefence, one more powerful. It was firft 
tried on a kid; but, as the animal did not die till the end 
•of five hours, flie boiled it a little longer, until it inftanta- 
neoully killed a pig to which it had been given, and this 
poifon difpatched Britannicus as foon as he had tailed it. 
F'or this fervice the emperor pardoned Locufta, rewarded 
her liberally, and'gaye Iter pupils whom Ihe was to inftruCt 
in her art, in order that it might not be loft. 
BRITAN'NICUS (John), an Italian critic and gram¬ 
marian, born at Palazzolo near Brefcia, about the middle 
of the 15th century. He publilhcd notes on Perfius, Te¬ 
rence, Statius, Ovid, Juvenal; fome rules of grammar; 
feveral little tracts and letters; and a panegyric upon Bar¬ 
tholomew Cajetan, a brave and learned man. He taught 
with great application in Brefcia; and died there in 1510. 
BRI'TANY. See Bretagne. 
To BRITE-, or BRIGHT, v. ni Barley, wheat, or hops, 
are faid to brite, when they grow over-ripe. 
BRUTISH, adj. of or belonging to the ifland of Great 
Britain. 
BRI'TISH MUSEUM. See Museum. 
BRUTO (Bernard de), a Ciftercian monk, hiftoriogra- 
pher of the kingdom of Portugal, born in the city of Al- 
mai’eda in 2569, and died in 1617 at the age of forty-eight. 
He wrote, 1. Monarchia Lufitana, 7 vols.fol. Lifbon, 1597 
to 1612. It is a hiftory of Portugal, going back as far as 
count Henry. It is written with elegance ; and was brought 
down to Alfonfus III. by Anthony and Francis Brandamo, 
monks of the fame order. ' 2. Panegyrics of the Kings of 
Portugal, with their portraits. 3. Ancient Geography of 
Portugal. 4. Chronicle of the Ciftercian Order. The 
Guerra Brafilica, 1675, 2 vols. fol. Lilbon, is b_y Francis de 
Brito, a different perfon from Bernard. 
BR 1 TOMAR'TIS,’ in fabulous hiftory, a beautiful 
nymph of Crete, daughter of Jupiter and Charme. She 
threw herfelf into the fea to avoid the importunities of 
Minos, and was made immortal at the requeft of Diana. 
BRIT'TEN, an ifland in the Frozen Ocean, near the 
Vo l. JI 1 . No. 139. 
B R I ~ / - 
foutli-vveft coaft of Nova Zembla. Lat. 71. 6 . N. Ton. 
73. o. E. Ferro-. 
BRIT'TLE, adj. [brittan, Sax.] Fragile; apt to break; 
not tough: 
From earth all came, to earth muft all return, 
Frail as the cord, and brittle as the urn. Prior. 
BRIT'TLF.NESS, f. Aptnefs to break; fragility.— 
.Artificers, in the tempering of fteel, by bolding it but a 
minute or two longer or lefler in the flame, give it very 
differing tempers, as to bri(tlcnejs or toughnefs. Boyle. 
BRIT'TON (Thomas), the famous muftcal fmall-coal 
man, was born at Higham Ferrers in NjprtJwynptonftrire. 
Fie ferved his tinle in London, where he fet up in 3 liable, 
next door to the little gate of St. John of Jerufalemy on 
Clerkenwell-green, which he converted into a houfe. Here 
getting acquainted with Dr. Garenciers, he became an ex¬ 
cellent chemift, and conftruCted a moveable laboratory, 
which was much admired. His tafte for mulic was not in¬ 
ferior to his Ikill in chemiftry ; he had for many years a 
muficftl club meeting at his own little cell; and was as 
well relpetted as known by .perfons of the firft quality. 
This meeting was the firft of the kind, and the undoubt¬ 
ed parent ot fome of the raoft celebrated concerts in Lon¬ 
don. Ward, who was his cotemporary, fays, that at the 
firft inftitution of it, his concert was performed in his own 
houfe, which is thus defcribed. “ On the ground floor 
was a repofitory for final] coal: ever that was the concert- 
room, which was very long and narrow ; and had a ceiling 
fo low, that a tall man could but juft Hand upright in it. 
The flairs to this room were on the outfide of the houfe, 
and could IcarCely be afcended without crawling. The 
houfe itfelf was in every refpeCt fo mean, as to be a fit ha¬ 
bitation only tor a very poor man.” Yet this defpicable 
manfion attracted to it a verv polite audience. Sir Roger 
l’Eftrange, Dr. Pepufch, Mr. Handel, Mr. Bannifter, Mr. 
Henry Needier, and other diftinguiflved perfor.s, were 
members. At the firft inftitution, it is certain Britton 
would receive no gratuity from his guefts. He, however, 
departed from this ; and the rules were, Britton fpund the 
inftruments, the fubfcription was 10s. a-year, and they 
had coffee at a penny a difti. The fingularitv of his cha¬ 
racter, and the connexions he formed, induced fufpicions 
that BrittGn was not the man he pretended to be. Among 
other groundlefs conjectures, his muftcal aftembly was 
thought by fome to be only a cover for feditious meetings; 
by others, for magical purpofesand Britton himfelf was 
called an atheift, a prefbyterian, a Jefuit, &c. The cir- 
cumftances of this man’s death- are not lefs remarkable 
than thofe of his life. There lived at that time one Sa¬ 
muel Honeyman, a blackfmith, who became very famous 
for a faculty of (peaking as if his voice proceeded from 
fome diftant part of the houfe ; in fhort, he was one of 
thofe called ventriloquijls , w'ho (peak from their bellies. 
One Robe, an acquaintance of Britton’s, introduced this 
man, unknown to Britton, for the foie purpofe of terrify¬ 
ing him; and lie fucceeded in it. Honeyman, without 
moving his lips, or feeming to {peak, announced, as from 
afar off, the death of Britton within a few hours, with an 
intimation that the only way to avert his doom was for him 
to fall on his knees and fay the Lord’s Prayer: the poor 
man did fo ; then went home and took to Iris bed, and in 
a few days died, leaving his friend Robe to enjoy the fruits 
of his mirth. This happened in September 1714. Brit¬ 
ton left a large collection of books, mulic, and muftcal in¬ 
ftruments. Of the former Sir Hans Sloane was aconlide- 
rable purchafer. His collection of mulic, moftly pricked 
by himfelf, and very neatly, fold for near 100I. His in- 
ftrumental mulic conlifts of «i60 different pieces, and his 
vocal of forty-turn. 
BRIT'VIN, a cape on the weft coaft of Nova Zembla. 
Lat. 74. 40. N. Ion. 70.0. E. Ferro. 
BRI'VA ISA'RfE, anciently a town of Gallia Belgica, 
on the river Ifara or (Fife: now Pontci/e. 
5 O BRIVATTES* 
