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* BRESLAU. 465 BRETAGNE. of seweragp and sewagp faniis, on the fjcnpral plan of tiiose of IVrlin. which have proved so successful. Kducalional institutions are numer- ous, and include a university with a library con- tainin<j over .'iOO.OOO volumes, six high schools (three belonging to the city), a good system of public elementary schools, a nuniici]ial library of 150,000 volume^, and two nuiscums. Tlie city is richly provided with hospitals and charitable institutions. In addition to the university clinic, there are two hospitals and an asylum under municipal control, as well as four or]dian asy- lums. Breslau is a city of Polish origin. It passed from the suzerainty of Poland in 1335 to Bo- hemia, and in 1527 to Austria, from which it was taken by Frederick II, of Prussia in 1741. Sixteen years afterwards it was captured by the Austrians, after a bloody battle, but was retaken by Frederick in about a month. In 1807 it sur- rendered to the French. Soon after its fortifica- tions were demolished. Population, in 1890, 335,000: in 1900. 423,000. Consult: Korn, lireslauer Vrkundenbuch (Breslau, 1870) : Stade, Breslau (Hamburg, 1895) ; Wutke, Die breslauer Messe (Hamburg, 1S95). BRESSANI, bres-sii'ne, Fr.>'CESCO Giu- seppe (1612-72). An Italian Jesuit missionary among the Indians of Canada. In 1644 he was sent to the Huron country, but was captured and tortured by the Iroquois. After great suf- fering he wa,s sent to the Dutch Settlements at Fort Orange (Albany), whence he was ransomed for a large sum. He returned to France, but came back to resume his missionary work in 1645, and labored among the Hurons until 1650, when, broken in health, he returned to ItiUy. He published Uelazione (lei missionari dcMa com- pagnia de Gesit nella 'S uova-Francia (1653), an F.tiglish translation of which appeared in Mont- real in 1852. BRESSAY, bres'sa. One of the Shetland Islands (q.v.), Scotland, east of Mainland, sepa- rated from Lerwick by Bressay Sound (Map: Scotland, G 1). Area, 12 square miles. It sup- plies the Shetland Islands with slates. Popula- tion, in 1901, 1686, chiefly fishermen. East of Bressay, separated by a narrow and dangerous .sound, is the most remarkable of Shetland rock phenomena, an islet called Noss, surrounded by perpendicular cliffs 300 to 500 feet high, culmi- nating in the Xoup, a fine peaked headland fiOO feet liigh, Bressay and Noss are important breeding-grounds for Shetland ponies. BBESSLAU, bres'lou, Harry (1848—). A German historian of Jewish extraction. He was born at Dannenberg, Hanover, and studied his- tory at the universities of Giittingen and Berlin. In 1870 he was appointed teacher at the real- schulc (it the .(ewish congregation in Frankfort- on-the-Main, where he remained until 1872, when he was called to the Andreas Realschule at Ber- lin, in the same capacity. Simultaneously he became private lecturer at the Berlin University, and was appointed extraordinary' professor at that university in 1877. He was appointed a mem- ber of the central directorate of the Monumentia Clermania: Historica in 1888, and at the time also became editor of the publication entitled Jieues Archiv der flesellsclidft fiir iitlere deutHche Ocschichtskunde. His appointment to the chair of history at Strassburg University followed in 1890. Among his numerous writings are the following: Diplomata Centum (Berlin, 1872) ; Jalirbiivher des deutschen Ix'eichs tiiitcr Kaiser Ilcinrich II., Vol. III. (1879) ; Jahr- hiichcr dcs deutschen Ueichs unter Knnrnd II., 12 vols. (1879-84) ; Zur ./udenfrafie. Sendsehrci- ben an lleinrich von Treitschkc (2d ed., 1880); '"Die Kassettenbriefe der Kiinigin Maria Stuart," in the pidilication entitled Historisches Taschen- buck (1882). BREST (anciently, Lat. Qc.tocribate; accord- ing to others desobrirates, or Urinates Partus). A sti'ougly fortified seaport of Brittany, France, in the Department of Finist&re, at the mouth of the Penfeld, on the Bay of Brest, 389 miles west of Paris by rail (Map: France, B 3). Le Goulet, the entrance to the bay, scarcely a mile wide, is protected by powerful batteries. The harbor, one of the chief naval stations of France, contains military and naval ports, fully equipped with fioating and graving docks, quays, piers, and a breakwater, completed in 1876 at a cost of 22,500,000 francs (.$4,500,000). A modernized citadel, whose foundations date from the Thir- teenth Century, dominates the city and harbor, ■which are also protected by batteries. The city itself is old, dirty, and has steep, crooked streets. The public institutions consist of a botanical garden, lyceum, naval schools, naval library, marine and civil hospitals, and a free library. The Cours Dajot, a beautifully wooded promenade, overlooks the commercial port and breakwater. The only industry is connected with the furnishing of navy supplies and the equip- ment and the repair of ships, especially warships. Brest has submarine telegraphic commimication with the United States. The United States is represented by a consular agent. Brest came into national importance when it was converted into a great fortress by Vauban toward the close of the Seventeenth Century. Since then it has been considerably strengthened. The population consists largely of naval and seafaring people. Population, in 1896, 74,538. Consult L'Annuaire )iistori(iue et statistique de Brest (Brest, 1899). BREST-LITOVSK, brgstT6-t6fsk' (Russ., Lithu.anian Brest, Pol. Brzes6 - Litewski, an- ciently Berestye, Bereslov, 'the elm city,' from berestii, elm). A first-class fortress and capi- tal of a district in the Government of Grodno, Russia, situated 131 miles south of Grodno, at the junction of the Mukhavetz and the Bug (:lai): Russia, B 4). Population, in 1897, 46,500. including 27,000 Jews, Brest-Litovsk is one of the oldest Slav towns, and belonged to Poland till 1795. At the Church congresses held here in 1590, 1594, and 1596, the union of the Eastern and Western churches, recognizing the suprenuicy of the Pope, but retaining the Eastern ritual and the Slavonic language in worship, was proclaimed, notwithstanding the protests of the Russian and Greek representatives. Although but little manufacturing is carried on, the town is of considerable commercial importance, sitiiatcd as it is on the inland waterway from the Baltic to the Black Sea, and at the intersection of the rail- roads connecting Odessa with Kiinigsberg and Moscow with Warsaw. Two fairs are held an- nually. BRETAGNE, bre-tii'ny'. See Bbittant.