fantastic imagery and by abrupt, bizarre modes of expression. His first published writings consisted of satires and poetical dramas (Satiren und Poetische. Spiele, 1800); of his later dramas the best are Ponce de Leon, 1804, and Victoria, 1817; of his poems the best is Die Grundung Prays, 1816. On the whole his finest work is the short tale, or novelette, Geschichte vom braven Kaspar und dem schonen Annerl, a very perfect little piece, which has been translated into English. Brentano also assisted Ludwig Achirn von Arnim, his brother-in-law, in the collec tion of the tales and poems forming Des Knaben Wwiderhorn, 1800-8. The collected works appeared at
Frankfort in 1852.BRENTFORD, a town of England, in the county of Middlesex, 8 miles west of London, on a loop line of the South-Western Railway, in 51 28 N. lat. and 20 W. long. It is divided by the River Brent into two parts, known as Old and New Brentford (the former the larger of the two), and is separated from Kew by the Thames. The Grand Junction Canal joins the Brent some miles further up, so that the town has extensive water com munication, and is enabled to maintain a considerable trade. Among its manufacturing establishments are gin- distilleries, a brewery, malt-kilns, soap-works, saw-mills, and colour-works. The Grand Junction Water-works, which supply the west end of London, are stationed here, the great stand-pipe, 226 feet high, forming a striking tower-like structure. Market-gardening is largely carried on in the neighbourhood, and there is a weekly market which dates from the time of Edward I. The elections for the county of Middlesex are held in the town. Its population in 1871 was 11,091.
In 1016 Brentford, or, as it was often called, Braynford, was the scene of a great defeat inflicted on the Danes by Edmund Ironside. In 1280 a toll was granted by Edward I. for the construction of a bridge across the river, and in the reign of Henry VI. a hospital of the Nine Orders of Angels was founded near its Western side. In 1642 a battle was fought here between the royalists and the parliamentary forces, for his services in which the Scotsman Ruth- ven was made earl of Brentford, a title afterwards conferred on Marshal Schomberg. Brentford was during the 16th and 17th centuries a favourite resort of the London citizens ; and its inn of the Three Pigeons, which was kept for a time by John Lowin, one of the first actors of Shakespeare s plays, has been frequently alluded to by the dramatists of the period. We have also Shakespeare s " Fat Woman of Brentford" in the Merry Wives of Windsor, "Gillian of Brentford " in Westward Ho, and various other references in old plays. Thomson, in his Castle of Indolence, refers to the pigs for which the town was formerly famous—
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E en so through Brentford town, a town of mud, An herd of bristly swine is pricked along."
The two kings of Brentford, so well known from Cowper s allusion, seem to owe their mythical existence to Buckingham s Rehearsal, where Bayes prides himself on the skill of his plot, in which he supposes "two kings to be of the same place, as for example at Brentford." See Athenceum, 1847, p. 1196 ; and Notes and Queries, 2d ser. vol. viii.
BRESCIA, or Bresciano, a province of Italy, in Lombardy, bounded on the N.W. by Bergamo, N.E. by Tyrol, E. by Verona, from which it is separated by the Lago di Garda, S.E. by Mantua, and S.W. by Cremona. Its area is rather more than 1643 square miles. The northern part, or about one-third, is occupied by a chain of moun tains which belong to the Rhaetian Alps ; the remainder forms part of the great plain of Lombardy, and shares in its general fertility. The principal rivers, all tributaries or sub-tributaries of the Po, are the Oglio, the Mella, and the Chiese. Corn, flax, hemp, the olive, and the vine are extensively cultivated, and in some districts the traveller passes for miles through the midst of orchards. The mountainous parts, and especially the valley of Trompia, yield iron, copper, marble, alabaster, and granite. The manufactures consist principally of silk, woollen, linen, and cotton goods, iron, steel, and copper wares, glass, and paper. Among the principal townships are Rovato, Chiari, Orzinuovi, Monte-Chiaro, Salo, and Ponte-vico. Popula tion in 1871, 456,023.
Brescia, the capital of the above province, is situated between the Mella and the Garza, about 155 miles by rail from Turin, in 45 32 N. lat. and 10 14 E. long. It lies at the foot of a spur of the Alps, on the summit of which is a fine old castle formerly known as the Falcon of Lombardy. The town is well built, has fine arcaded streets, and compares favourably in point of cleanliness with other cities in the North of Italy ; but it has hardly so many buildings of first-class importance. The old cathedral, a remarkable specimen of the circular form, is sadly disfigured and neglected, and the new cathedral by its side (1604-1825), though built of white marble, is of little architectural merit, St Afra and San Francesco being more worthy of notice. The Broletto, or old palace of the republic, dating originally from the 12th or 13th century, is a large and interesting building ; but it has suffered greatly by successive alterations. The episcopal palace contains an extensive public library, consisting principally of the books and manuscripts many of great antiquity and value bequeathed to the city by Cardinal Quirini in 1750. There is an exceptionally rich collection of both mediaeval and classical antiquities, preserved in a beautiful Roman building, usually known as the Temple of Hercules, built by Vespasian and excavated in 1822 ; and throughout the numerous churches and mansions of the city are to be found many of the masterpieces of Italian art. Among the other buildings are the Loggia or communal palace erected in 1508, a theatre, a hospital, a lyceum, and vari ous public fountains. The botanical gardens are worthy of notice. Brescia is a busy town. Its arms and cutlery have been famous for centuries ; whole streets are occu pied by coppersmiths ; silk, woollen, and linen goods, paper, leather, and oil are manufactured ; and an exten sive transit-trade is carried on. The population in 1871 was 38,906.
Brescia, the ancient Brixia, is supposed to have been founded by the Etruscans. It was afterwards a town of the Cenomani, and, finally, a Roman free town. After the fall of the empire it was several times pillaged by the barbarians, especially by Attila in 452. From the Lombards, under whom it was the capital of a duchy, it passed to the Franks. It was made a free imperial city by Oth o the Great, and shared and suffered in the contests between the Guelfs and Ghibellines. It then fell into the power of the Signiors of Verona, and in 1378 into the hands of the Milanese. It was taken in 1426 by Carmagnola the Venetian general ; besieged by the Milanese general Piciuino in 1483, but assigned to the Venetians by Pope Martin V. ; surrendered by the inhabitants to the French after the battle of Agnano (1509) ; taken in 1512 by the Venetian general, Andrea Gritti ; delivered by Gaston de Foix ; and besieged again in 1573, 1575, and 1576. It remained under the Venetian dominion till the dissolution of the republic. It was the capital of the depart ment of Mella during the existence of the Cisalpine republic and the Napoleonic kingdom of Italy, and fell in 1814 under the yoke of Austria. In the revolution of 1849 the inhabitants rose in arms, but were overpowered, after a destructive siege, by the troops of Haynau. In the war of 1859 it again sided with the patriotic party, and followed the destinies of the rest of Lombardy. Brescia has at various times suffered severely from pestilence and epidemics. It was the birthplace of Tartaglia the mathematician and the writer Mazzuchelli.
of Silesia, is situated mainly on the left but partly also on the right bank of the Oder, at the influx of the Ohlau, and on the railway from Berlin to Vienna, 190 miles S.E. of the former city. The latitude of the observatory is 51 6 56" N., and its longitude 17 2 18" E. The city consists of a new and an old town, and a number of extensive suburbs stretching out in all directions. The fortifications, which were dismantled shortly after 1813, have given place to beautiful promenades ; and even in the older parts of the
town, where the streets are generally narrow, there are
