"A glorious team of horses, what seemed strange to me was, that, closely viewed, they appear heavy, while from the piazza below they look light as deer." Goethe, Trans. "It should seem that the horses are irrevocably Chian, and were transferred to Constantinople by Theodosius." Byron. "We have seen no bravoes with poisoned stilettos, no masks, no wild carnival; but we have seen the ancient pride of Venice, the grim Bronze Horses that figure in a thousand legends. Venice may well cherish them, for they are the only horses she ever had." Mark Twain. Before St. Mark still glow his steeds of brass, Their gilded collars glittering in the sun; But is not Doria's menace come to pass? Are they not bridled? Byron. Bronze Wolf. See WOLF OF THE CAPITOL. Brook Farm. A celebrated community or association organized for agricultural and also for educational purposes, at West Roxbury, Mass., in 1841. Nathaniel Hawthorne and George Ripley were among its founders. In his preface to the "Blithedale Romance," which is thought to embody a description of the community, Hawthorne says that he has "ventured to make free with his old and affectionately - remembered Brook Farm, as being certainly the most romantic episode of his own life." The characters introduced into this romance are wholly fictitious, though they may naturally enough be thought to harmonize well with the scene of the story. "The self-conceited philanthropist; the high-spirited woman bruising herself against the narrow limitations of her sex; the weakly maiden whose tremulous nerves endow her with sibylline attributes; the minor poet be. ginning life with strenuous aspirations which die out with his youthful fervor: all these might have been looked for at Brook Farm, but, by some accident, never made their appearance there." Hawthorne. "While our enterprise lay all in theory, we had pleased ourselves with delectable visions of the spiritualization of labor. It was to be our form of prayer and ceremonial of worship. Each stroke of the hoe was to uncover some aromatic root of wisdom, heretofore hidden from the sun. . . . In this point of view, matters did not turn out 80 well as we anticipated. . . . clods of earth which we so constantly belabored and turned over and over, were never etherealized into thought. Our thoughts, on the contrary, were fast becoming cloddish." Hawthorne. Here is a new enterprise of Brook Farm, of Skeneateles, of Northampton: why so impatient to baptize them Essenes, or Port Royalists, or Shakers, or by any known and effete name? Emerson. Between the generality of these theorists and Emerson there was a wide gap, although he, like Hawthorne, if less practically, sympathized with Ripley's Brook Farm experiment. Lathrop, Harper's Mag. Brooks's. A Whig club in London, founded as Almack's Club in 1764. The club-house in St. James's Street was opened in 1778. Sir Joshua Reynolds, Burke, Hume, Garrick, Gibbon, Horace Walpole, Sheridan, and Wilberforce were among the noted men of Brooks's. See ALMACK'S CLUB. The choicest wines are enhanced in their liberal but temperate use by the vista opened in Lord Holland's tales of bacchanalian evenings at Brooks's with Fox and Sheridan, when potations deeper and more serious rewarded the statesman's toils, and shortened his days. Talfourd. Not to know Brown was, at the West End, simply to be unknown. Brookes was proud of him, and without him the Travellers would not have been such a Travellers as it is. Anthony Trollope. Brothers, The. A political club in London, the rules for which were framed, in 1713, by Dean Swift, who declared that the end of the club was "to advance conversation and friendship, and to reward learning without interest or recommendation;" and that it was to take in "none but men of wit, or men of interest; and if we go on as we began, no other club in this town will be worth talking of." The meetings of the club were held every Tuesday, first at the Thatched House Tavern, and latterly at the Star and Garter. The Brothers Club having to a great extent served its purpose was succeeded, in 1714, by the Scriblerus Club. See SCRIBLERUS CLUB. Brothers, The. [Ger. Die Brüder.] See STERNBERG. Brougham Hall. The ancient and picturesque seat of Lord Brougham in the neighborhood of Penrith, Cumberland, England. It is called, from its situation and beautiful view, the "Windsor of the North." Broughton Castle. A noted mansion of the Elizabethan age, the seat of Lord Saye and Sele, near Banbury, in the county of Oxford, England. Brown University. An institution of learning in Providence, R. I. It was originally founded in 1764, at Warren, as Rhode Island College, removed to Providence in 1770, and in 1804 named Brown University. Here is a library of about 40,000 volumes, a museum of natural history, and a portraitgallery. Broxbourne House. The seat of the Duke of Roxburghe, near Dunbar, Scotland. Bruce's Castle. This castle on Rathlin Island, between Ireland and Scotland, derives its name from the fact that Robert Bruce was long concealed here. Here occurred the well-known incident of the spider and the web. Bruce's Tomb. See HARPERS' TOMB. Bruges, Belfry of. See BELFRY OF BRUGES. Brühl Palace. A well-known building in Dresden, Saxony. In front of the palace is the Brühl terrace overlooking the Elbe. Brunswick Square. A well-known public square in London, England. Brunswick Theatre. This theatre in London, built upon the site of the Royalty Theatre, and opened in 1828, fell to the ground, from defective construction, during a rehearsal, a few days after the opening. Bteddin. A ruined palace of the Emir Beshir (b. 1764), “ Prince of Lebanon," in Northern Palestine. It was once gorgeously furnished in the highest style of Damascene art, with marble pavements and gilded arabesqued ceilings, but is now entirely abandoned to decay. Bubastis, Temple of. See TEMPLE OF BUBASTIS. Bucentaur, The. The name of the famous galley in which the Doge of Venice went out once a year to wed the Adriatic. The name is said to be a corruption of Ducentorum, i.e., a vessel having two hundred oars. There have been only three Bucentaurs. One was built in 1520. Another, still more splendid, was built in the following century. The third and last was constructed in 1725, and destroyed in 1797. It is said that the gilding alone of this last cost $40,000. The ceremony of the Espousal of the Adriatic is of higher antiquity than the construction of the first Bucentaur. This wedding ceremony, symbolizing the naval supremacy of Venice, owes its origin to the victory of the Venetians over the fleet of Frederick Barbarossa. A consecrated ring was each year thrown into the sea in the presence of the papal Nuntio and the diplomatic corps, with the declaration by the Doge that, "We wed thee, O sea, in sign of true and perpetual dominion" (Desponsamus te, mare, in signum veri perpetuique dominii). "In the model-room [of the Arsenal at Venice] are miniature representations of all forms of navigable craft, from ancient galleys down to modern frigates. There is also a model of the Bucentaur, made from drawings and recollections after the original had been destroyed. This must have been a gorgeous toy, but very unseaworthy. A bit of the mast of the original structure is still preserved." Hillard. The spouseless Adriatic mourns her lord; And, annual marriage now no more renewed, The Bucentaur lies rotting unrestored, Byron. As bright as in a blue lagune, Buckingham Palace. The town residence of the sovereign of England, situated in London, on the west side of St. James's Park. It was built between 1825 and 1837, upon the site of Buckingham House. Queen Victoria took up her residence here July 13, 1837. Buen Retiro. [Pleasant Retreat.] Extensive pleasure-grounds in Madrid, Spain, laid out as a place of retirement for Philip IV., in order to divert his attention from politics. Here were formerly situated a palace and a theatre in which the plays of Lope de Vega were acted. These gardens have been thrown open to the public since the revolution of 1868. Building of Carthage. A wellknown and admired picture by Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775-1851), the English landscapepainter, and regarded one of his best works. Now in the National Gallery, London. "The principal object in the foreground of Turner's Building of Carthage,' is a group of children sailing toy-boats." Ruskin. Bull, The Young. A celebrated picture by Paul Potter (1625–1654), the Dutch painter. It represents a young bull with a cow, reposing, and a sheep and a shepherd, in a landscape. "All these figures are as large as life, and the cattle so extraordinarily true to nature as not only to appear real at a certain distance, but even to keep up the illusion when seen near; the single hairs on the cow's head being seemingly palpable to the touch. The plastic element and the energy of execution are particularly imposing upon so large a scale. There is but one fault, the legs of the bull, and the bent foreleg of the cow, are a little stiff." It is in the Museum of the Hague, Holland. "There cannot be a greater contrast to a very generalized mode of treatment than that displayed in the celebrated picture of The Bull' by Paul Potter, which approaches the nearest to deception of any really fine work of art I have seen. . . . Through. out the picture, indeed, we see that the hand has been directed by the eye of a consummate artist, and not merely by a skilful copyist." C. R. Leslie. Bull, The. See FARNESE BULL and ALDERNEY BULL. Bull and Mouth Inn. A noted hostelry of London in former days, in the street of the same name. Also the bumpkins from Norfolk just disgorged by the Bull and Mouth. -the soldiers, the milliners, the Frenchmen, the swindlers, the porters with four-post beds on their backs, who add the excitement of danger to that of amusement. N. P. Willis. Bull of Phalaris. Phalaris, tyrant of Agrigentum, in Sicily, who lived in the sixth century before Christ, is said to have employed an Athenian artist to make for him a brazen bull so constructed as to contain a man, and a small fire by which he would be burned to death. History adds that the artist was the first victim of the punishment he had himself invented. Phalaris subjected his enemies and many citizens of Agrigentum to this punishment, but finally the people revolting caused him to be destroyed by the same means. Lettres de cachet, that masterpiece of ingenious tyranny. are more dangerous to men than the brazen bull, that infernal invention of Phalaris, because they unite to the most odious uniformity an imposing appearance of justice. Mirabeau. Bunhill Fields. A burial-ground in London, and the place of interment of several eminent men. It was opened as a suburban place for burial in 1665, and was closed in 1850. According to Southey, Bunhill-Fields' burial-ground is the Campo Santo of the Dissenters. It was one of the chief places for burial in the time of the Great Plague. John Bunyan, Daniel DeFoe, Isaac Watts, and Nathaniel Lardner were buried here. Its original name of "Bonehill Fields" is supposed to have arisen from its having been made a place of deposit for more than 1,000 cart-loads of human bones removed from the charnel-house of St. Paul's. He [Milton] used also to sit in a gray, coarse cloth coat, at the door of his house in Bunhill Fields, in warm sunny weather, to enjoy the fresh air; and so, as well as in his room, received the visits of people of distinguished parts as well as quality. J. Richardson. Bunker Hill. See BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. Bunker Hill Monument. A lofty obelisk of Quincy granite, on what is now called Bunker Hill, formerly Breed's Hill, in Charlestown (now a part of Boston), Mass. It is erected upon the site of the battle between the British and American forces which took place June 17, 1775. The monument is 221 feet in height, and is a conspicuous object from all points. The corner-stone was laid in 1825 by Gen. La Fayette. It was finished in 1842, when an oration was delivered by Daniel Webster. "We wish that whosoever, in all coming time, shall turn his eye hither, may behold that the place is not undistinguished where the first great battle of the Revolution was fought.... We wish that this column, rising towards heaven among the pointed spires of so many temples dedicated to God, may contribute also to produce, in all minds, a pious feeling of dependence and gratitude. We wish, finally, that the last object to the sight of him who leaves his native shore, and the first to gladden his who revisits it, may be something which shall remind him, of the liberty and the glory of his country. Let it rise! let it rise, till it meet the sun in his coming; let the earliest light of the morning gild it, and the parting day linger and play on its summit." Daniel Webster. [Address on Laying the Corner-Stone of the Bunker Hill Monument, 1825.] There is a stone now standing in very good order that was as old as a monument of Louis XIV. and Queen Anne's day is now when Joseph went down into Egypt. Think of the shatt on Bunker Hill standing in the sunshine on the morning of January 1st, in the year 5872! It won't be standing. the Master said. We are poor bunglers compared to those old Egyptians. Holmes. I have seen Taglioni,-he answered. — She used to take her steps rather prettily. I have seen the woman that danced the cap-stone on to Bunker Hill Monument, as Orpheus moved the rocks by music, - the Elssler woman, Fanny Elssler. Holmes. And when the prowling man-thief came hunting for his prey Beneath the very shadow of Bunker's shaft of gray, How, through the free lips of the son, the father's warning spoke; How, from its bond of trade and sect, the Pilgrim city broke! Whittier. Burghley House. The fine Elizabethan manorial mansion erected by the Lord Treasurer Burleigh, now the seat of the Marquis of Exeter. It is situated on the borders of the two counties of Lincoln and Northampton, England. The interior is very magnificent, and the building has many historical and legendary associations connected with it. Weeping, weeping, late and early, Walking up and pacing down, Deeply mourned the Lord of Burghley, Burghley House by Stamford town. Tennyson. Burgomaster Meier Madonna. See MADONNA OF THE BURGOMASTER MEYER. Burgoyne, Surrender of. See SURRENDER OF BURGOYNE. Burlington Arcade. A double row of shops in London, built in 1819 for Lord George Cavendish, and, according to Leigh Hunt, famous for "small shops and tall beadles." When I first descended into the cabin of the New York, it looked, in my unaccustomed eyes, about as long as the Burlington Arcade. Dickens. Burlington House. A mansion in Piccadilly, London, originally built for the second Earl of Burlington. It is celebrated as having been the rendezvous of the leading artists, poets, and philosophers of the last century. Handel resided here for a time. In 1854 it was purchased by the British government, and is now occupied by the Royal Society and other literary and scientific institutions. Burlington's fair palace still remains Beauty within- without, proportion reigns; Beneath his eye declining art revives, The wall with animated pictures lives. There Handel strikes the strings, the melting strain Transports the soul, and thrills through Burnet House. A noble mansion THE BURNING BUSH. Burns's Cottage. A small house about two miles from the town of Ayr, in Scotland, where, on the 25th of January, 1759, Robert Burns, the poet, was born. The original building, which was nothing more than a clay bigging," was rebuilt by the poet's father. The cottage is now converted into a public-house. in it, and it contains some fine statues. Bushy Park. A well-known royal See MOSES AND Busrah. A noble fortress in Syria, Burns's Monument. 1. A memo rial structure in honor of the poet Burns (1759–1796), erected in 1820 near the town of Ayr, in Scotland. It is in the form of a circular temple, surrounded by nine Corinthian pillars, symbolical of the nine Muses. Within are preserved some relics of the poet. 2. A memorial in honor of the poet, erected in 1830, in Edinburgh. The cupola is designed after the monument of Lysicrates at Athens. Burying Hill. A hill in Plymouth, Mass., where many of the Pilgrims were buried. On this hill, which commands a fine view of the harbors of Plymouth and Duxbury and the adjacent country, a fortified church was built in 1622 with six cannon on its flat roof. Bushnell Park. A beautiful pleasure-ground in Hartford, Conn. The new State Capitol is situated On Sunday morning, died, after three days' illness, Mr Button, who formerly kept Button's Coffee-house, in Russell Street, Covent Garden; a very noted house for wits, being the place where the Lyon produced the famous Tatlers and Spectators. Daily Advertiser (1731). Addison usually studied all the morning, then met his party at Button's, dined there, and stayd five or six hours; and sometimes far into the night. Pope, Spence's Anecdotes. |