Chapter 46

BRIVE, or BRIVES-LA-GAILLARDE, a town of south-central France, capital of an arrondissement in the department of Corrèze, 62 m. S.S.E. of Limoges on the main line of the Orléans railway from Paris to Montauban. Pop. (1906) town 14,954; commune 20,636. It lies on the left bank of the Corrèze in an ample and fertile plain, which is the meeting-place of important roads and railways. The _enceinte_ which formerly surrounded the town has been replaced by shady boulevards, and a few wide thoroughfares have been made, but many narrow winding streets and ancient houses still remain. Outside the boulevards lie the modern quarters, also the fine promenade planted with plane trees which stretches to the Corrèze and contains the chief restaurants and the theatre. Here also is the statue of Marshal Guillaume Marie Anne Brune, who was a native of Brive. A fine bridge leads over the river to suburbs on its right bank. The public buildings are of little interest apart from the church of St Martin, which stands in the heart of the old town. It is a building of the 12th century in the Romanesque style of Limousin, with three narrow naves of almost equal height. The ecclesiastical seminary occupies a graceful mansion of the 16th century, with a façade, a staircase and fireplaces of fine Renaissance workmanship. Brive is the seat of a sub-prefect [v.04 p.0619] and has a tribunal of first instance, a tribunal of commerce, a communal college and a school of industry. Its position makes it a market of importance, and it has a very large trade in the early vegetables and fruit of the valley of the Corrèze, and in grain, live-stock and truffles. Table-delicacies, paper, wooden shoes, hats, wax and earthenware are manufactured, and there are slate and millstone workings and dye-works.

In the vicinity are numerous rock caves, many of them having been used as dwellings in prehistoric times. The best known are those of Lamouroux, excavated in stages in a vertical wall of rock, and four grotto-chapels resorted to by pilgrims in memory of St Anthony of Padua, who founded a Franciscan monastery at Brive in 1226. Under the Romans Brive was known as _Briva Curretiae_ (bridge of the Corrèze). In the middle ages it was the capital of lower Limousin.

BRIXEN (Ital. _Bressanone_), a small city in the Austrian province of Tirol, and the chief town of the administrative district of Brixen. Pop. (1900) 5767. It is situated in the valley of the Eisack, at the confluence of that stream with the Rienz, and is a station on the Brenner railway, being 34 m. south-east of that pass, and 24 m. north-east of Botzen. The aspect of the city is very ecclesiastical; it is still the see of a bishop, and contains an 18th-century cathedral church, an episcopal palace and seminary, twelve churches and five monasteries. The see was founded at the end of the 8th century (possibly of the 6th century) at Säben on the rocky heights above the town of Klausen (some way to the south of Brixen), but in 992 was transferred to Brixen, which, perhaps a Roman station, became later a royal estate, under the name of _Prichsna_, and in 901 was given by Louis the Child to the bishop. In 1027 the bishop received from the emperor Conrad II. very extensive temporal powers, which he only lost to Austria in 1803. The town was surrounded in 1030 by walls. In 1525 it was the scene of the first outbreak of the great peasants' revolt. About 5½ m. north of Brixen is the great fortress of Franzensfeste, built 1833-1838, to guard the route over the Brenner and the way to the east up the Pusterthal.

(W. A. B. C.)

BRIXHAM, a seaport and market town in the Torquay parliamentary division of Devonshire, England, 33 m. S. of Exeter, on a branch of the Great Western railway. Pop. of urban district (1901) 8092. The town is irregularly built on the cliffs to the south of Torbay, and its harbour is sheltered by a breakwater. Early in the 19th century it was an important military post, with fortified barracks on Berry Head. It is the headquarters of the Devonshire sea-fisheries, having also a large coasting trade. Shipbuilding and the manufacture of ropes, paint and sails are industries. There is excellent bathing, and Brixham is in favour as a seaside resort. St Mary's, the ancient parish church, has an elaborate 14th-century font and some monuments of interest. At the British Seamen's Orphans' home boys are fed, clothed and trained as apprentices for the merchant service. A statue commemorates the landing, in 1688, of William of Orange.

_Brixham Cave_, called also Windmill Hill Cavern, is a well-known ossiferous cave situated near Brixham, on the brow of a hill composed of Devonian limestone. It was discovered by chance in 1858, having been until then hermetically sealed by a mass of limestone breccia. Dr Hugh Falconer with the assistance of a committee of geologists excavated it. The succession of beds in descending order is as follows:--(1) Shingle consisting of pebbles of limestone, slate and other local rocks, with fragments of stalagmite and containing a few bones and worked flints. The thickness varies from five to sixteen feet. (2) Red cave earth with angular fragments of limestone, bones and worked flints, and having a thickness of 3 to 4 ft. (3) Remnants (_in situ_) of an old stalagmitic floor about nine inches thick. (4) Black peaty soil varying in thickness, the maximum being about a foot. (5) Angular debris fallen from above varying in thickness from one to ten feet. (6) Stalagmite with a few bones and antlers of reindeer, the thickness varying from one to fifteen inches. Of particular interest is the presence of patches or ledges of an old stalagmitic floor, three to four feet above the present floor. On the under-side, there are found attached fragments of limestone and quartz, showing that the shingle bed once extended up to it, and that it then formed the original floor. The shingle therefore stood some feet higher than it does now, and it is supposed that a shock or jar, such as that of an earthquake, broke up the stalagmite, and the pebbles and sand composing the shingle sunk deeper into the fissures in the limestone. This addition to the size of the cave was partially filled up by the cave earth. At a later period the fall of angular fragments at the entrance finally closed the cave, and it ceased to be accessible except to a few burrowing animals, whose remains are found above the second and newer stalagmite floor.

The fauna of Brixham cavern closely resembles that of Kent's Hole. The bones of the bear, horse, rhinoceros, lion, elephant, hyena and of many birds and small rodents were unearthed. Altogether 1621 bones, nearly all broken and gnawed, were found; of these 691 belonged to birds and small rodents of more recent times. The implements are of a roughly-chipped type resembling those of the Mousterian period. From these structural and palaeontological evidences, geologists suppose that the formation of the cave was carried on simultaneously with the excavation of the valley; that the small streams, flowing down the upper ramifications of the valley, entered the western opening of the cave, and traversing the fissures in the limestone, escaped by the lower openings in the chief valley; and that the rounded pebbles found in the shingle bed were carried in by these streams. It would be only at times of drought that the cave was frequented by animals, a theory which explains the small quantity of animal remains in the shingle. The implements of man are relatively more common, seventeen chipped flints having been found. As the excavation of the valley proceeded, the level of the stream was lowered and its course diverted; the cave consequently became drier and was far more frequently inhabited by predatory animals. It was now essentially an animal den, the occasional visits of man being indicated by the rare occurrence of flint-implements. Finally, the cave became a resort of bears; the remains of 334 specimens, in all stages of growth, including even sucking cubs, being discovered.

See Sir Joseph Prestwich, _Geology_ (1888); Sir John Evans, _Ancient Stone Implements of Great Britain_, p. 512; Report on the Cave, _Phil. Trans._ (Royal Society, 1873).

BRIXTON, a district in the south of London, England, included in the metropolitan borough of Lambeth (_q.v._).

BRIZEUX, JULIEN AUGUSTE PÉLAGE (1803-1858), French poet, was born at Lorient (Morbihan) on the 12th of September 1803. He belonged to a family of Irish origin, long settled in Brittany, and was educated for the law, but in 1827 he produced at the Théâtre Français a one-act verse comedy, _Racine_, in collaboration with Philippe Busoni. A journey to Italy in company with Auguste Barbier made a great impression on him, and a second visit (1834) resulted in 1841 in the publication of a complete translation of the _Divina Commedia_ in _terza rima_. With _Primel el Nola_ (1852) he included poems written under Italian influence, entitled _Les Ternaires_ (1841), but in the rustic idyl of _Marie_ (1836) turned to Breton country life; in _Les Bretons_ (1845) he found his inspiration in the folklore and legends of his native province, and in _Telen-Aroor_ (1844) he used the Breton dialect. His _Histoires poétiques_ (1855) was crowned by the French Academy. His work is small in bulk, but is characterized by simplicity and sincerity. Brizeux was an ardent student of the philology and archaeology of Brittany, and had collected materials for a dictionary of Breton place-names He died at Montpellier on the 3rd of May 1858.

His _Oeuvres complètes_ (2 vols., 1860) were edited with a notice of the author by Saint-René Taillandier. Another edition appeared in 1880-1884 (4 vols.). A long list of articles on his work may be consulted in an exhaustive monograph, _Brizeux; sa vie et ses oeuvres_ (1898), by the abbé C. Lecigne.

BRIZO, an ancient goddess worshipped in Delos. She delivered oracles in dreams to those who consulted her about fishery and seafaring. The women of Delos offered her presents consisting of little boats filled with all kinds of eatables (with the exception of [v.04 p.0620] fish) in order to obtain her protection for those engaged on the sea (Athenaeus viii. p. 335).

BROACH, or BHARUCH, an ancient city and modern district of British India, in the northern division of Bombay. The city is on the right bank of the Nerbudda, about 30 m. from the sea, and 203 m. N. of Bombay. The area, including suburbs, occupies 2-1/6 sq. m. Pop. (1901) 42,896. The sea-borne trade is confined to a few coasting vessels. Handloom-weaving is almost extinct, but several cotton mills have been opened. There are also large flour-mills. Broach is the Barakacheva of the Chinese traveller Hsüan Tsang and the Barygaza of Ptolemy and Arrian. Upon the conquest of Gujarat by the Mahommedans, and the formation of the state of that name, Broach formed part of the new kingdom. On its overthrow by Akbar in 1572, it was annexed to the Mogul empire and governed by a Nawab. The Mahrattas became its masters in 1685, from which period it was held in subordination to the peshwa until 1772, when it was captured by a force under General Wedderburn (brother to Lord Loughborough), who was killed in the assault. In 1783 it was ceded by the British to Sindhia in acknowledgment of certain services. It was stormed in 1803 by a detachment commanded by Colonel Woodington, and was finally ceded to the East India Company by Sindhia under the treaty of Sarji Anjangaom.

The DISTRICT OF BROACH contains an area of 1467 sq. m. Consisting chiefly of the alluvial plain at the mouth of the river Nerbudda, the land is rich and highly cultivated, and though it is without forests it is not wanting in trees. The district is well supplied with rivers, having in addition to the Nerbudda the Mahi in the north and the Kim in the south. The population comprises several distinct races or castes, who, while speaking a common dialect, Gujarati, inhabit separate villages. Thus there are Koli, Kunbi or Voro (Bora) villages, and others whose lands are almost entirely held and cultivated by high castes, such as Rajputs, Brahmans or Parsees. In 1901 the population was 291,763, showing a decrease of 15%, compared with an increase of 5% in the preceding decade. The principal crops are cotton, millet, wheat and pulse. Dealing in cotton is the chief industry, the dealers being organized in a gild. Besides the cotton mills in Broach city there are several factories for ginning and pressing cotton, some of them on a very large scale. The district is traversed throughout its length by the Bombay & Baroda railway, which crosses the Nerbudda opposite Broach city on an iron-girder bridge of 67 spans. The district suffered severely from the famine of 1899-1900.

BROACH (Fr. _broche_, a pointed instrument, Med. Lat. _brocca_, cf. the Latin adjective _brochus_ or _broccus_, projecting, used of teeth), a word, of which the doublet "brooch" (_q.v._) has a special meaning, for many forms of pointed instruments, such as a bodkin, a wooden needle used in tapestry-making, a spit for roasting meat, and a tool, also called a "rimer," used with a wrench for enlarging or smoothing holes (see TOOL). From the use of a similar instrument to tap casks, comes "to broach" or "tap" a cask. A particular use in architecture is that of "broach-spire," a term employed to designate a particular form of spire, found only in England, which takes its name from the stone roof of the lower portion. The stone spire being octagonal and the tower square on plan, there remained four angles to be covered over. This was done with a stone roof of slight pitch, compared with that of the spire, and it is the intersection of this roof with the octagonal faces of the spire which forms the broach.

BROADSIDE, sometimes termed BROADSHEET, a single sheet of paper containing printed matter on one side only. The broadside seems to have been employed from the very beginning of printing for royal proclamations, papal indulgences and similar documents. England appears to have been its chief home, where it was used chiefly for ballads, particularly in the 16th century, but also as a means of political agitation and for personal statements of all kinds, especially for the dissemination of the dying speeches and confessions of criminals. It is prominent in the history of literature because, particularly during the later part of the 17th century, several important poems, by Dryden, Butler and others, originally appeared printed on the "broad side" of a sheet. The term is also used of the simultaneous discharge of the guns on one side of a ship of war.

BROADSTAIRS, a watering-place, in the Isle of Thanet parliamentary division of Kent, England, 3 m. S.E. of Margate, on the South-Eastern & Chatham railway. Pop. of urban district, Broadstairs and St Peter's (1901) 6466. From 1837 to 1851 Broadstairs was a favourite summer resort of Charles Dickens, who, in a sketch called "Our English Watering-Place," described it as a place "left high and dry by the tide of years." This seaside village, with its "semicircular sweep of houses," grew into a considerable town owing to the influx of summer visitors, for whose entertainment there are, besides the "Albion" mentioned by Dickens, numerous hotels and boarding-houses, libraries, a bathing establishment and a fine promenade. Dickens' residence was called Fort House, but it became known as Bleak House, through association with his novel of that name, though this was written after his last visit to Broadstairs in 1851. Broadstairs has a small pier for fishing-boats, first built in the reign of Henry VIII. An archway leading down to the shore bears an inscription showing that it was erected by George Culmer in 1540, and not far off is the site of a chapel of the Virgin, to which ships were accustomed to lower their top-sails as they passed. St Peter's parish, lying on the landward side of Broadstairs, and included in the urban district, has a church dating from the 12th to the end of the 16th century. Kingsgate, on the North Foreland, north of Broadstairs on the coast, changed its name from St Bartholomew's Gate in honour of Charles II.'s landing here with the duke of York in 1683 on his way from London to Dover. Stonehouse, close by, now a preparatory school for boys, was the residence of Archbishop Tait, whose wife established the orphanage here.

BROCA, PAUL (1824-1880), French surgeon and anthropologist, was born at Sainte-Foy la Grande, Gironde, on the 28th of June 1824. He early developed a taste for higher mathematics, but circumstances decided him in adopting medicine as his profession. Beginning his studies at Paris in 1841, he made rapid progress, becoming house-surgeon in 1844, assistant anatomical lecturer in 1846, and three years later professor of surgical anatomy. He had already gained a reputation by his pathological researches. In 1853 he was named fellow of the Faculty of Medicine, and in 1867 became member of the Academy of Medicine and professor of surgical pathology to the Faculty. During the years occupied in winning his way to the head of his profession he had published treatises of much value on cancer, aneurism and other subjects. It was in 1861 that he announced his discovery of the seat of articulate speech in the left side of the frontal region of the brain, since known as the convolution of Broca. But famous as he was as a surgeon, his name is associated most closely with the modern school of anthropology. Establishing the Anthropological Society of Paris in 1859, of which he was secretary till his death, he was practically the inventor of the modern science of craniology. He rendered distinguished service in the Franco-German War, and during the Commune by his organization and administration of the public hospitals. He founded _La Revue d'Anthropologie_ in 1872, and it was in its pages that the larger portion of his writings appeared. In his last years Broca turned from his labours in the region of craniology to the exclusive study of the brain, in which his greatest triumphs were achieved (see APHASIA). He was decorated with the Legion of Honour in 1868, and was honorary fellow of the leading anatomical, biological and anthropological societies of the world. He died on the 9th of July 1880. A statue of him by Choppin was erected in 1887 in front of the Faculty of Medicine in Paris.

BROCADE, the name usually given to a class of richly decorative shuttle-woven fabrics, often made in coloured silks and with or without gold and silver threads. Ornamental features in brocade are emphasized and wrought as additions to the main fabric, sometimes stiffening it, though more frequently producing on its face the effect of low relief. These additions present a distinctive appearance on the back of the stuff where [v.04 p.0621] the weft or floating threads of the brocaded or broached parts hang in loose groups or are clipped away.