Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 4.djvu/394

346 The kidneys being among the most important excretory organs of the body, it follows that when their function is interrupted, as it is alike in acute and chronic Bright s disease, serious results are apt to arise from the retention in the economy of those effete matters which it is the office of the kidneys to eliminate. The blood being thus con taminated, and at the same time impoverished by the draining away of its albumen from the kidneys, is rendered unfit to carry on the processes of healthy nutrition ; and, as a consequence, various secondary diseases are liable to be induced. Inflammatory affections within the chest are of frequent occurrence, but the most dangerous of all the complications of Bright s disease are the nervous symp toms which may arise at any stage, and which are ascribed to the effects of urgemic poisoning. In the treatment of acute Bright s disease, good results are often obtained from local depletion, from warm baths, and from the careful employment of diuretics and purgatives. Chronic Bright s disease is much less amenable to treat ment, but by efforts to maintain the strength and improve the quality of the blood by strong nourishment, and at the same time by guarding against the risks of complica tions, life may often be prolonged in comparative comfort, and even a certain measure of improvement be experienced.

1em  BRIGNOLES, the capital of an arrondissement in the department of Var, in France, is situated in a fertile and pleasant valley on the right bank of the Calami, 22 miles N.N.E. of Toulon. It is neat and Avell built, and has a magnificent fountain, a public library, a normal school, manufactures of silk thread and leather, and an active trade in wines, brandy, liqueurs, and excellent prunes the last distinctively known as prunes de Brignoles. The prefecture has its offices in the palace of the counts of Provence, and the old house of the Templars is occupied by the theological seminary. Brignoles is a town of great antiquity. In 1291 it gave its name to a treaty between Alphonso III. of Aragon and the king of France. In ancient documents it is often mentioned as Villa Pueromim, from the fact that the children of the counts of Provence were generally born and brought up in the castle. In 1524 the town was taken and pillaged by Charles V., and in 1588 it met a similar fate at the hands of the Leaguers. Popu lation of town in 1872, 4843.  BRIL,, a Flemish painter, born at Antwerp in 1554. The success of his elder brother Matthew in the Vatican induced him to repair to Rome. On the death of Matthew, Paul, who far surpassed him as an artist, succeeded to his pensions and employments. He painted landscapes with a depth of chiaroscuro then little practised in Italy, and introduced into them figures well drawn and finely-coloured. Many of his pictures are extant in Italy. One of his best compositions is the martyrdom of St Clement, in the Sala Clementina of the Vatican. He died at Rome in 1 G2G. (See Lanzi, History of Painting.)  BRINDISI, a fortified city and seaport of Italy, in the province of Otranto, is situated at the head of a bay of the Adriatic in 40 39 27&quot; N. lat, and 17 28 44&quot; E. long. The streets are for the most part narrow and crooked, and the town in general is in a somewhat ruinous condition. Since the restoration of its maritime import ance, which is mainly due to the fact that it forms the great transit station in the overland route to Asia by the Mont Cenis Railway and the Suez Canal, some improvement has taken place, and it bids fair to become one of the most flourishing cities in the country. The progress, however, has hitherto been comparatively slow, and the only extensive addition which has been effected is a new street leading from the railway station to the harbour. A cathedral in rather a dilapidated state, a citadel with huge round towers (founded by Frederick II. and completed by Charles V.), and a seminary (containing a library bequeathed to the town by archbishop Leo), are the only public buildings worthy of notice. The ruins of the circular church of St Giovanni, which was destroyed by earthquake, are not without interest ; an ancient building of uncertain date is popularly regarded as the house where Virgil died ; and there is a remarkable column supposed by some to have marked the termination of the Appian Way, but more probably belonging to an ancient temple. There are ten public schools in the town. The trade was repre sented in 1873 by imports to the value of 344,000, and exports to 325,000. The former consist mainly of raw silk, wheat and flour, coals, manufactured cottons, and petroleum ; and the latter of manufactured coral, corn, dried fruits, and olive oil. The number of vessels that arrived at the port in 1873 was 709, of which 422 were steam ships. The harbour consists of an outer and an inner por tion, and the inner is divided into two basins, extending right and left. The outer port is about G400 feet long by 3200 wide, the western arm of the inner portion 4800 by 800, and the eastern arm 3520 by 640. An extensive system of dredging has been in operation since 18GG, and long lines of quays are being gradually constructed. Grav ing-docks are also in course of construction ; and a lagoon, called Fiume Piccolo, close to the outer harbour, which has been a constant source of malaria, is being filled up. The population of the town, which was only 8000 in 18G1, had increased to 13,755 in 1871.

1em  BRINDLEY,, a celebrated engineer, was born at Thornsett, Derbyshire, in 171G. His parents were in very humble circumstances, andhe received little or no education. At the age of seventeen he was apprenticed to a millwright near Macclesfield, and while in this employment manifested remarkable mechanical talent. Soon after completing his apprenticeship he set up in business for himself as a wheelwright, and quickly became famous for his ingenuity and skill in repairing all kinds of machinery. In 1752 he designed and set up an engine for draining some coal-pits at Clifton in Lancashire. Three years later he extended his reputation by completing the machinery for a silk-mill at Congleton. About 1754 Brinclley became acquainted 