Page:LA2-NSRW-1-0331.jpg

BRUTUS  at Tournai. A great world-exhibition was held here in 1888. The population, with the suburbs, in 1910 was 665,806.  Bru′tus, Lucius Junius, a Roman patriot, who lived about 500 years B. C. According to the old story, he was the nephew of King Tarquin the Proud, and, to escape the fate of his father and brothers, who had been put to death by the king, he feigned stupidity, from which he got his name Brutus. He once went with the sons of Tarquin on a mission to the oracle at Delphi and when they were told that the one who first kissed his mother should rule, Brutus, as he landed in Italy, pretended to stumble and kissed the earth, the common mother of all. The treatment which the noble Lucretia received from the son of the king was the signal for a rising to throw off the kingly yoke, and Brutus, laying aside his mask, led the people in an insurrection which put an end to the monarchy. Brutus was chosen one of the first consuls, and when his sons took part in a plot to bring back the Tarquins, he condemned them to be scourged and beheaded, and saw the sentence executed. He was finally killed in battle against the enemies of his country's liberty. A public funeral was voted, the women wore mourning for a year, and a brazen statue, with a drawn sword in its hand, was raised to his memory.  Bru′tus, Marcus Junius, one of the assassins of Cæsar, was born in 85 B. C., and died 42 B. C. He joined Pompey in his war against Cæsar; but after Pompey's defeat he was kindly treated by Cæsar, and made governor of Cisalpine Gaul. In 44 B. C., in his eagerness to preserve the liberty of the republic against Cæsar's apparent purpose of being made emperor, he was persuaded by Caius Cassius to join a conspiracy, and helped in his assassination, although Cæsar had given him many honors and promised him others. The people, instead of rejoicing at Cæsar's death, were enraged, and Brutus fled from Rome. Soon after, he and Cassius were defeated at Philippi by Antony and Octavius. He at once flung himself upon his sword and died. He was an earnest student, and something of a philosopher.  Bry′an, William Jennings, was born at Salem, Ill., March 19, 1860. He graduated from Illinois College in 1881, studied law at Chicago, and began practice in Jacksonville, Ill. In 1887 he removed to Lincoln, Neb. In 1890 he was elected to Congress, and was re-elected in 1892. Here he took position as a strong debater and brilliant orator. In 1896 he was nominated for the presidency by the Democratic party, on a free-silver platform, but, after a hard contest, was defeated by William McKinley, the nominee of the Republican party. In 1900 he was again the standard bearer of his party, and was again defeated by McKinley.

In 1908 he again led his party, in opposition to Taft, but was defeated. In 1913 he was appointed secretary of state by President Wilson in whose nomination, in the face of strong opposition in convention, his support was generally recognized as being by far the most powerful factor.  Bryant, William Cullen, a celebrated American poet, was born at Cummington, Mass., November 3, 1794. He began to write poetry when he was but ten years old, and in his fourteenth year his friends had published two of his poems, which were so popular that a second edition was called for. He entered Williams College in 1810, where he stayed two years, after which he began the study of law, and was admitted to the bar in 1815. His well-known poem, Thanatopsis, was written when he was 18 years old. He practiced law for a short period at Plainfield and then at Great Barrington. In 1817 he began to write for the North American Review, which brought him into public notice; and in 1821 his reputation was greatly increased by the publication of a volume of poems. He went to New York in 1825 and engaged in editorial work, and the next year became connected with the Evening Post, becoming chief editor a short time after.

In 1832 a complete edition of his poems was printed, which made his reputation in England as great as it already was in America. He visited Europe several times, and studied the language and literature of several countries. The volume, Letters of a Traveler, was written soon after his return from one of these trips, and his letters to the Evening Post, afterward collected under the title, Letters from Spain and Other Countries, were written during another journey. In 1863 a small volume of new poems was published, and in 1870 and 1871 appeared