Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 4.djvu/253

Rh return from the funeral pile to her home and resume her worldly duties. Cases of infanticide are still, unfortunately, too common in many parts of India, especially among the Rajputs. To the honour of the priests be it said, however, that they have never sanctioned this abominable practice. Its origin has, it appears, to be sought in the enormous extravagance of wedding feasts, and a mistaken notion of parents being disgraced by their daughters remaining husbandless. Hence also the practice of early marriages, which is the more mischievous, as Hindu law does not allow widows to re marry. The cow has been held in high honour in India from early times. This religious feeling was not, however, carried formerly to the extreme to which it is carried now-a-days, when the slaughtering and eating the flesh of kine is considered as one of the most heinous crimes. It has, on the contrary, been shown conclusively by a Hindu scholar, that beef formed in former times a staple article of food in India, and that in showing hospitality to an honoured guest it played as prominent a part &quot; as did the killing of the fatted calf among the Jews.&quot;

1em  BRAHMAPUTRA, one of the largest rivers of India, with a total length of 1800 miles, rises near the lake Mansarowar in the plateau of Thibet, where it is known by the name of Sdnpu, flows eastward for about 1000 miles, and skirting round the eastern passes of the Himalayas not far from the Yang-tse-kiang and the great river of Cambodia, enters the plain of British India on the north-eastern frontier of Assam. It then runs westward, dividing the province of Assam into two iinequal portions, turns southward into Eastern Bengal, and joins the Ganges opposite Goalanda, the terminus of the Eastern Bengal Railway. The united stream then flows south-west, joins the Meghna, and after another southern stretch of about 100 miles, empties itself into the Bay of Bengal. The body of water formed by the union of these three noble rivers, the Brahmaputra, Ganges, and Meghna, expands during the latter part of its course into a vast estuary, studded with large islands. The Brahmaputra proper in Assam is formed by the union of three streams, in 27 45 N. lat. and 95 30 E. long., the Sanpu or Dihang, the Dibang, and another stream, which, although the least of the three, the Hindus have taken as the main branch, honouring it with the name of Brahmaputra, and sanctifying it in their mythology. This branch, which many European writers have accepted as the main Brah maputra, takes its rise in a valley called the Brahmakunda, on the side of the eastern extremity of the Himalaya Mountains beneath the snowy range.

1em  BRAIN. See,, , and.  BRAINERD,, one of the most zealous and successful of modern Christian missionaries, was born at Haddam, in the state of Connecticut, in 1718, and died October 9, 1747, in the house of his friend President Edwards. His heroic and self-denying labours among the American Indians wore out in the course of a few years a naturally feeble constitution, but left behind them import ant fruits. The narrative of his mission is contained in his journal published in 1746. His life, compiled chiefly from his own diary, was written by President Edwards, and has gone through many editions. Brainerd was a man of strong mental powers, extensive knowledge, and great sagacity ; and as a preacher he was forcible and pathetic.  BRAINTREE, the Raines of Domesday Book, a market- town of Essex, eleven miles N. by E. of Chelmsford. It is one of the polling-places for North Essex, and is the seat of the Braintree Poor Law Union. The parish church, St Michael s, is a fine Gothic edifice of early date. A corn exchange and a mechanics institute may also bo mentioned. The bishops of London had at one time a palace in the town, but there are no remains of the building. The manufactures of silk and crape, which employ about 1000 persons, have quite superseded that of woollen cloth, which was introduced by the Flemings who fled to England to escape the persecution of the duke of Alva. Straw-plaiting is also carried on. There is a free school in the town, besides several charities. Two annual fairs of three days each are held here, commencing May 7 and October 2. Population of the parish in 1871, 4790.  BRAKE, a town in the Grand Duchy of Oldenburg, on the left bank of the Weser, about half-way between Bremen and the mouth of the river. It was for centuries the port of Bremen : and though, since the founding of Bremerhaven, it no longer possesses a monopoly of the river traffic as before, it still continues to flourish. Large docks have been recently constructed, and a railway has been opened from the town to Bremen. Shipbuilding and the weaving of woollen cloths are carried on to some extent. Population in 1871, 3800.  BRAKE is an instrument by means of which mechanical energy may be expended in overcoming friction. It is used for several entirely different purposes, the principal of these being (a) to limit or decrease the velocity of, or in some cases to bring completely to rest, the body or system 