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406 uninteresting. The principal hospitals are those of St Peter and St John, which are both admirably managed, and contain together about 1000 beds. The patients are waited upon by the sisters of charity. As in all the large Belgian towns, there is, besides two other nunneries, a con vent of Beguius, which formerly numbered 1000 nuns. The mass of the native population are Catholics ; but as the English residents are very numerous, there are several Pro testant churches. The Jews have a synagogue at Brussels, and hold their grand consistory there. The number of chanties hi Brussels is very great ; of these the most important are the Foundling Hospital, the Orphan Asylum, and the Socie te Philanthropique, whose object is to prevent mendicity. There are besides numerous alms-houses, which annually give relief to about 35,000 persons. Some of these establishments are supported entirely by subscription ; others of them are subsidized by Government. Great attention is paid to the education of poor children. The communal expense for public instruc tion amounted in 1873 to 858,150 francs. Among the educational establishments are the gymnasium, the poly technic school, the Royal Athenaeum, a Lancasterian school, and many public and private academies, besides the Free University, which was founded in 1834 by a company belonging to the liberal party. The number of students at the university amounted in 1874 to nearly 580; while at the Royal Athenaeum the number in the same year was 772. There is also a well-conducted veterinary and agricultural school. Some of the societies of Brussels are very celebrated. The Royal Conservatorium of Music had 529 pupils on its roll in 1874. The Royal Society was founded in 1769. The geo graphical establishment of Vanderrnaelen, instituted in 1830, is in a flourishing condition. The botanical garden is one of the best in Europe, and there is also a large zoological garden. The Palais de 1 Industrie contains an admirable museum of natural history, and an extensive and valuable collection of books and manuscripts, which is accessible to the public. The number of books is 234,000, of which 2000 belong to the&quot; 15th century, while the manuscript department, known as the Bibliotheque de Bourgogne, con tains about 22,000 MSS., many of which are beautifully illuminated. From sixty to sixty-five thousand francs are annually voted for the maintenance of the library. Eminent literary men and others are sometimes allowed to take books home, but the number to whom this privilege is conceded never exceeds 100 annually. There are numerous printing and lithographic presses in constant operation in Brussels, a large number of the former being engaged in the republication of standard works that appear in France. The principal manufactures of Brussels are those of lace and tulle, carpets, woollen, linen, and cotton fabrics, jewellery, and articles of vertu. The most remarkable of these is that of lace. The finer sorts of flax used in the manufacture cost from 12 to 16 sterling per Ib. An English yard of this -lace costs 8. The persons who spin the thread work in rooms almost completely darkened, and arc thus compelled to concentrate their attention ; and the thread spun in this way is said to be finer and more delicate than any that has hitherto been produced by other means. Excellent carriages arc made in Brussels two-thirds cheaper than those of England, but inferior to them in quality. In 1837, the population of Brussels was 104,265 ; in 1846, 123,874 ; in 1849, 138,189 ; in 1850, 142,289 ; and in 1873, 180,172. At the last date there were 365,404 in the nine contiguous communes. In 1846, the houses in the town numbered 13,563, and in 1866, 18,543. The history of Brussels, though it does not date from so remote a period as that of other Flemish cities, can still be clearly traced back to the 7th century. At that time St Gery, bishop of Cambray, built a chapel on one of the small islands in the river, and by his eloquence and piety soon attracted a large congregation. The site being well adapted for building, a hamlet soon sprung up, and speedily became a town, which in the llth century was walled in and fortified. Though in commercial importance Brussels did not at this time equal Ghent or Bruges, its traffic in cloth was very considerable, and its workers in iron and steel were not surpassed by any in Europe. In the 14th century the various trades were incorporated into guilds, who regulated the taxes and other financial matters of the city, and drew up a code of municipal laws, in which the principle of trial by jury was admitted. These arrange ments had scarcely been completed, when a dreadful fire visited the city and nearly burnt it to the ground. At the end of this century a general persecution of the Jews in Europe took place. In Brussels, many of them were put to death, and the value of the confiscated property amounted to upwards of half a million sterling. At the beginning of the 15th century, Brussels was again visited by a destruc tive fire, from the effects of which it speedily recovered by the patriotic exertions of its rulers, and soon became more distinguished than ever as a seat of learning, art, and science. In 1489, and again in 1587, it was visited by the plague, which, on the former of these occasions, carried off many thousands of the inhabitants. Its horrors were enhanced by the ensuing famine, which lasted for four years. Brussels was highly favoured by Charles V., who often resided in the city, and raised it to the rank of capital of the Netherlands. Under his son Philip II. it became the centre of the great revolutionary movement, which resulted in the independence of the United Province. In 1598 Brussels passed into the dominion of the Austrians, and soon began once more to prosper. In 1695 the French under Marshal Villeroy besieged Brussels, but were obliged to retire after doing much damage to the town ; and in 1706 the city opened its gates to Marlborough. In 1746 it was again besieged by the French under Marshal Saxe, and after a siege of three weeks was obliged to surrender. In 1792 it fell into the hands of General Dumouriez, who being soon after defeated at Louvain, evacuated Brussels for a while, but again entered it in 1794. From that year till 1814, it remained in the possession of the French, as capital of the department of the Dyle. On the fall of Napoleon, Belgium and Holland were united into one kingdom under William of Nassau, and Brussels was the seat of government alternately with the Hague. In 1830, however, after a sanguinary conflict of four days in the streets of the city, the Belgians declared their independence; and erecting their state into a separate kingdom, offered the crown to Leopold of Saxe-Coburg, whose long and peaceful reign (1831-1865) contributed greatly to the development of the resources of the country.  BRUTON, a market-town of England, in the county of Somerset, pleasantly situated in the valley of the Brue, about 10 miles S.S.W of Frome by rail. It has a town- hall, a hexagonal market-cross, a grammar school, and some manufactures of hair-cloth, woollens, and hosiery. Population of hundred in 1871, 3701.  BRUTUS. The name of a distinguished plebeian family at Rome. The first who bore it was, one of the first two consuls, 509 B.C. According to the legends, his mother was the sister of Tarquiniu.s &quot; Superbus, the last of the Roman kings, and at his father s death, his elder brother had been put to death by the reigning family in order to get possession of his wealth. Juuius, the younger, owed his safety to his reputed 