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280 BRIDGEND BEIDGET in Christian co., Kentucky, 130 ft. high, with a span of 70 ft. III. California has five natu- ral bridges, the largest of which is on a small creek emptying into the Hay fork of the Trin- ity river, where a ledge of rock 3,000 ft. wide crosses the valley. Under this runs the creek, through an arch 20 ft. high by 80 ft. across. The rock above the arch is 150 ft. deep. On Lost river, in Siskiyou co., there are two natural bridges about 30 ft. apart. The rock is a conglomerate sandstone, and each bridge is from 10 to 15 ft. wide, while the distance across the stream is about 80 ft. One of these bridges is visited regularly by travellers. On Coyote creek, in Tuolumne co., 10 m. N. of Sonora, are two natural bridges, half a mile apart. The upper bridge is 285 ft. long with the course of the water, and 36 ft. high, with the rock 30 ft. deep over the water. The low- er bridge is similar in size and height to the other. KKIIM.KM), a market town of Glamorgan- shire, Wales, 17 m. W. by N. of Cardiff, 190 m. from London by rail ; pop. about 3,000. It is beautifully situated in a fertile district on the Ogmore, which divides it into two parts called Oldcastle and Newcastle, connected by two stone bridges. The Welsh name of the place is Pen-y-Bont-ar Ogwr. Its general appear- ance is picturesque ; the streets are irregular, and the houses mostly of stone and well built. The town is lighted with gas, and contains a new Gothic church and several other fine pub- lic buildings. Its chief support arises from its position as a market town placed between a mineral and an agricultural population. The river Ogmore is much resorted to for salmon fishing, and also for trout and a fish called the gwyniad, which is very abundant. About two miles from Bridgend are the extensive ruins of Coyty castle. BRIDGENORTH, a parliamentary and munici- pal borough and town of Shropshire, England, on both sides of the Severn, 18 m. S. E. of Shrewsbury ; pop. of the town and borough in 1871, 15,436, of whom 5,871 were in the town. It is said to be of Saxon origin, and was ancient- ly called Brugia, Brug, or Bruges. The town consists of an upper and a lower part, connected by a handsome bridge of six arches. The upper town is built on a rock, on the summit of which stand an old castle and two churches. A free grammar school founded in 1503, a national school founded in 1847, a town hall of consid- erable antiquity, a public library, and a theatre are among the most notable buildings in the place. An extensive carrying trade is main- tained on the Severn, and there are earpet manufactories and large mills for spinning worsted ; tobacco pipes and nails are also manufactured. BRIDGEPORT, a city and half shire town of Fab-field co., Conn., situated on Long Island sound, 59 m. N. E. of New York, by the New York and New Haven railroad. It is the most important station on the road, and a terminus of the Housatonic and Naugatuck railroads. The mouth of the Pequonnock creek furnishes a harbor safe and capacious, but somewhat injured by a sand bar. Much coasting busi- ness is done here, and steamboats make daily passages to and from New York. Near the shore the land is level, but soon rises to an elevation of 100 ft., called Golden hill, com- manding a beautiful view of the sound, and crowned with elegant residences. The city is well built, has a gas and a water company, and many of its streets are shaded with large elms. The immediate vicinity was settled in 1639, but the city (formerly called Newfield) is al- most wholly the growth of the present century. The town, formerly a part of Stratford, was in- corporated in 1821, and the city charter was obtained in 1836. The population of the city in 1850 was 6,080; in 1860, 13,299; and in 1870, 18,969; of the town in 1870, 19,835. The value of the taxable property of the town in 1871 was $10,512,156, which amount was exceeded only by that of three other towns in the state, Hartford, New Haven, and Norwich. In 1871 there were in the town 13 schools, with 7 male teachers, 43 female teachers, 3,605 pupils registered in the public schools, and 498 in private schools. The city contains 5 national banks and three savings banks, with deposits aggregating, Jan. 1, 1871, $4,473,102. Bridgeport is noted for its manufactures of firearms and sewing machines. Among the most extensive establishments are those of the Wheeler and Wilson and Howe sewing machine companies, the Union metallic cartridge com- pany, the New Haven arms company, and one of the largest carriage manufactories in the United States. There are seven other carriage factories, several iron founderies, manufactories of locks, saddles, harness, carriage springs, and coach lace, and two daily newspapers. BRIDGET, or Bride, Saint, patroness of Ire- land, born at Fochard, county Armagh, about the end of the 5th or the beginning of the 6th century. She withdrew from the world in early youth, received the habit of a nun at the hands of St. Mel, nephew and disciple of St. Patrick, and built herself a cell under a large oak, calling it Kill-dara, or Kildare, the cell of the oak. She was soon followed by other vir- gins from the surrounding country, and in a short time found herself at the head of a flour- ishing order, which extended into different parts of Ireland, and even passed into England, Scotland, Germany, and France. It subsisted for many centuries, but is now extinct. Sev- eral biographies of this saint have been writ- ten, but they contain little more than a recital of her miracles. It is related that her body was discovered in 1185, at Down-Patrick, and was there kept until the destruction of its shrine by Henry VIII. The head is said to be still preserved in the Jesuits' church at Lisbon. Her feast falls on Feb. 1. BRIDGET, Sisters of Saint, a religious order founded in 1806 by Dr. Delany, bishop of Kil-