Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume III.djvu/275

BRICK BRIDAINE width ; of these the weight is 7 Ibs. These bricks, specially adapted to each pattern, are also employed as a lining for the anthracite coal stoves so extensively in use in the United States. Bricklaying. The form and propor- tions of the faces of brick to each other are such that they may be laid in various methods, according as the object is to produce the greatest strength of wall or the most pleasing effects. Ornamental work, as cornices, beads, &c., is produced by causing courses of brick to pro- ject beyond the plane of the rest. By the in- troduction of mortar, bricks, notwithstanding their rectangular shape, are carried round to form arches of any desired curve ; they are easily broken also into any required shape by the trowel, and thus are made to receive, if desired, the approximate form of an arch. Fire bricks, as mentioned above, are moulded in shapes for laying curves, as also common bricks for the lining of wells, &c. In laying walls, the first principle to be observed is caus- ing the bricks of successive courses to overlap each other, so that the joint between two is overlaid by the middle of a brick. The courses are thus bound together, and the greatest re- sistance is offered to any force tending to sep- arate the bricks. As the width of two bricks laid side by side equals the length of one, the position may be reversed with each course, thus securing additional strength. What is called the old English bond method of laying a wall, which is the strongest mode, is to ar- range the bricks in alternate courses of stretch- ers and headers, the former being bricks laid longitudinally with the wall, and the other transversely, presenting their ends or heads only to the face of the wall. Next the corner, T~T FIG. 2. Old English Bond. a quarter brick on the row of headers must be introduced, so that the stretchers overlying may lap to the middle of the second headers. The headers are also called binders, from their effect in binding the bricks of the other courses together. Owing to their presenting a greater number of joints in the face of the wall, their effect is not so pleasing as is that of the stretch- ers. In New York city, it is required by the fire laws that one course in five shall be head- ers. This is effected, while stretchers only are seen on the face, by laying every fifth course in what is called herring-bone, breaking off the back corners of the stretchers to let the cor- ners of the brick behind come nearly to the outside line of the wall. In the Flemish bond the bricks are laid alike in each course, a head- er and stretcher alternating along the course. The effect is more pleasing than the English bond, but at the sacrifice of some strength. Walls vary in thickness by the difference of the width of a brick. They are 8 inches or the length of a brick thick, 12 inches or a brick i . , 'i , ll FIG. 8. Flemish Bond. and a half, 16 inches or two bricks, and so on. Laid in English bond, all the bricks on one course must be placed in the same direction, even when the wall turns at right angles ; and in turning the corner no two bricks must be arranged side by side, but the end of one must lap to the middle of the next contig- uous to it, excepting when the quarter brick is introduced at the corner to prevent a contin- ued upright joint in the face work. The work is strengthened by the occasional introduction of pieces of hoop iron, which bind it together. If bricks were laid dry, they would absorb the moisture of the mortar, and, the pores being filled with air and the surface covered with dust, there would be no adhesion; but when the bricks are wet and the mortar moist, the evaporation makes the attachment complete. As the wall is built up, no part should at any time reach more than four or five feet above the rest ; for unless all upon the same level set- tles together, cracks will be produced where the newer work is joined upon the older. In attaching new walls to old, a brick in every other course of the old work is drawn and the new work is toothed in. BRIDAIA'E, Jacques, a French preacher and missionary, born at Chuslan, March 21, 1701, died at Roquemaure, Dec. 22, 17G7. lie stud- ied for the priesthood in the Jesuit college at Avignon, and the seminary of the royal mis- sions of St. Charles of the Cross in the same town, and on taking orders began to preach at Aigues-Mortes. Failing to secure a large con- gregation by ordinary means, he one day went into the streets ringing a bell, and continued to walk through the town until he had collected nearly all its inhabitants, whom he induced to follow him to church. Here he addressed them with extraordinary eloquence, and from that time he enjoyed a constantly increasing repu- tation. He travelled through the villages of the south of France, and his " missions " to dif- ferent towns reached the number of 256. He was asked to go to Paris, and delivered there, in the church of St. Sulpice, a sermon on eter- nity, rousing the audience to the highest pitch of excitement, and making, as it has been de- scribed, "a terrible impression" on all who heard him. His language was simple, direct, and often rough; but his power over an au- dience was remarkable. There is a complete edition of his sermons (5 vols., Avignon, 1821).