Brewster, Sir

DAVID, F.R.S., LL.D., K.H., an eminent natural philosopher, B. at Jedburgh, Scotland, 1781. He was educated for the Church of Scotland, of which he became a licentiate; and in 1800 received the honorary degree of M. A. from the University of Edinburgh. In he was elected president of the British A ociation, and the same year had the high honor of being chosen, in the place of Berzelius, one of the eight foreign a ociates of the French Academy of Sciences. His discoveries in reference to the properties of light have led to great improvements in the illumination of light-houses. Among his more popular works are, a Treatise on the Kaleido scope, & Treatise on the Stereoscope, a Treatise on Optics, Letters on Natural Magic , The Martyrs of Science, and Memoirs on the Life and Writings of Sir Isaac Newton. D. Feb. 2, 1868. Brewster, in Ma achusetts, a post-township of Barns table co., 65 m. S.W. of Boston. Brewsterite, ( broos'ter -ite,) n. (Min.) A hydrated silicate of alumina, strontia, baryta, and lime, named after Sir David Brewster. It occurs in small gray or yellow transparent crystals at the Giant's Causeway, Ireland. Brewster's Law, n. ( Optics .) The tangent of the angle of polarization is equal to the refractive index of the polarizing material. This requires manifestly that the line of the reflected ray, when polarized, should be perpendicular to that of the refracted ray. There are several other optical laws discovered by Brewster, and pa ing current under his name. They have, however, generally been merged in higher laws. Brewster's Station, in New York, a post-office of Putnam co. Brexiaceæ, ( brex - i -ai'se-e,) n. pl. (Bot.) An order of plants, alliance Sari frag a les .-DIAG. Consolidated styles, a many-leaved calyx, alternate leaves, and no albumen. This small order comprises four genera, namely, Brezia , Izerba , Argophyllum , and Rou ea , belonging principally to Madagascar. The properties and uses of the plants are altogether unknown. They are trees with coriaceous, alternate, and simple leaves: the flowers are green, in axillary umbels; the calyx is five-parted and persistent; the petals and stamens are hypogynous, and equal in number to the divisions of the calyx; the fruit is drupaceous, five-cornered, and five-celled. Brez'iline, n. (Chem.) The coloring matter of Bra zil-wood. Brian, (surnamed Boroimhe,) ( bo - roo ',) a celebrated king of Ireland, son of Kennedy, king of Munster, son of Lorcan. He ascended the throne of both Munsters, i. e. the present counties of Tipperary and Clare, A. D. 978. His earlier exploits were against the Danes of Limerick and Water ford; but being elated by frequent succe es against these invaders, he deposed O'Maelachaghlin, the supreme king of the island, and eventually became himself monarch of Ireland. He derived his surname from the tribute which he now imposed upon the provinces. King B. supported a rude but royal from Piedmont into Italy, B. has always been looked upon as one of the keys of the kingdom on the side of Italy. In consequence, no expense has been spared on its fortifications, which are now deemed all but impreg nable. They consist principally of strong forts built on the contiguous heights, and which command all the approaches to the town. The two principal forts, Trois IMG:content-0747.jpg:[graphic] Tetes and Randouillet , communicate with each other and with the town by a bridge of a single arch, 130 feet in span, thrown over a deep ravine. With the exception of a single street, the town is ill-built, gloomy, and dirty. Manf. Cotton goods, hosiery, steel, and cutlery. Pop . 4,961. Briansk', a town of European Ru ia, govt. Orel, cap. of a district on the Desna, 55 m. W. of Orel; Lat. 530 16' N., Lon. 34°24′ E. This is a prosperous and well built place, having extensive manufactories of cannon, arms, and leather. Pop . 13,341. Briar Creek, in Pennsylvania , a township of Colum bia co. Bri'are, a town of France, dep. Loiret, on the Loire, 25 m. S. of Montargis. The canal, to which the town is indebted for its importance, is the oldest work of the kind in France, having been begun in the reign of Henry IV., though it was not finished till 1740. It establishes, by means of its junction with the canal of Loing at Montargis, a communication between the Loire and the Seine, and conveys the various products of the prov. watered by the former to Paris. Pop . 4,319. Bria'rean, a . Hundred-handed; relating to, or resembling, Briareus, q. v. Briareus, (bri-ai're-us.) ( Myth.) A famous giant, son of Cœlus and Terra, who had a hundred hands and fifty heads, and was called by men Ægeon , and only by the gods Briareus. He a isted the giants in their war against the gods, and, according to the accounts of some, was thrown under Mount Etna. Bribe, ( brib ,) n. [Fr. bribe , from Sp. bribár , to beg; W. briw , a break, also, broken; bar a briw , broken bread.] A price, reward, gift, or favor bestowed or promised with a view to pervert the judgment, or corrupt the conduct of a judge, witne , or other person. "Too poor for a bride , and too proud to Importune; He had not the method of making a fortune."-Gray. magnificence at his chief residence of Kincora, near the - Means of seduction; the thing that allures. present town of Killaloe, in the county of Clare. He had also castles at Tara and Cashel. B. continued for many years to rule his dominions with vigor and prosperity, reducing the Danes and subduing their native allies, building numerous duns or castles, causing roads and bridges to be constructed, and enforcing the law by taking hostages from all the petty kings of the country. Having, however, disputed with Maelmora, the king of Leinster, Maelmora revolted, and, inviting a new invasion of Danes to his a istance, brought on the battle of Clontarf, in which king B. fell, after gaining a glorious victory over the united forces of the invaders and revolted natives, on Good Friday, anno 1014. B. and his son Murrough, who fell in the same battle, were buried together in the Cathedral of Armagh. The funeral obsequies lasted twelve days and nights, and the po e ion of the heroic remains was afterwards contested by rival potentates. B. is said to have defeated the Danes in twenty-five pitched battles. Prior to the battle of Clontarf he had confined them to the cities of Dublin, Wexford, Water ford, and Limerick; and from the final blow which he gave their power in that engagement they never recovered. He was the founder of the numerous sept of O'Brien, O or Ua being a distinctive adnomen not a umed by Irish families till after his time. This national prefix means "descendant of," or, "of the kindred of," and was originally supplied by the more ancient Mac, which means "son."