Chapter X: Part 10

This polygon of forces may, by a slight extension of the above definition, be called the _reciprocal figure_ of the external forces, if the sides are arranged in the same order as that of the joints on which they act, so that if the joints and forces be numbered 1, 2, 3, 4, &c., passing round the outside of the frame in one direction, and returning at last to joint 1, then in the polygon the side representing the force 2 will be next the side representing the force 1, and will be followed by the side representing the force 3, and so forth. [v.04 p.0555] This polygon falls under the definition of a reciprocal figure given by Clerk Maxwell, if we consider the frame as a point in equilibrium under the external forces.

Fig. 66 shows a frame supported at the two end joints, and loaded at each top joint. The loads and the supporting forces are indicated by arrows. Fig. 67a shows the reciprocal figure or polygon for the external forces on the assumption that the reactions are slightly inclined. The lines in fig. 67 a, lettered in the usual manner, correspond to the forces indicated by arrows in fig. 66, and lettered according to Bow's method. When all the forces are vertical, as will be the case in girders, the polygon of external forces will be reduced to two straight lines, fig. 67 b, superimposed and divided so that the length AX represents the load AX, the length AB the load AB, the length YX the reaction YX, and so forth. The line XZ consists of a series of lengths, as XA, AB ... DZ, representing the loads taken in their order. In subsequent diagrams the two reaction lines will, for the sake of clearness, be drawn as if slightly inclined to the vertical.

If there are no redundant members in the frame there will be only two members abutting at the point of support, for these two members will be sufficient to balance the reaction, whatever its direction may be; we can therefore draw two triangles, each having as one side the reaction YX, and having the two other sides parallel to these two members; each of these triangles will represent a polygon of forces in equilibrium at the point of support. Of these two triangles, shown in fig. 67 c, select that in which the letters X and Y are so placed that (naming the apex of the triangle E) the lines XE and YE are the lines parallel to the two members of the same name in the frame (fig. 66). Then the triangle YXE is the reciprocal figure of the three lines YX, XE, EY in the frame, and represents the three forces in equilibrium at the point YXE of the frame. The direction of YX, being a thrust upwards, shows the direction in which we must go round the triangle YXE to find the direction of the two other forces; doing this we find that the force XE must act down towards the point YXE, and the force EY away from the same point. Putting arrows on the frame diagram to indicate the direction of the forces, we see that the member EY must pull and therefore act as a tie, and that the member XE must push and act as a strut. Passing to the point XEFA we find two known forces, the load XA acting downwards, and a push from the strut XE, which, being in compression, must push at both ends, as indicated by the arrow, fig. 66. The directions and magnitudes of these two forces are already drawn (fig. 67 a) in a fitting position to represent part of the polygon of forces at XEFA; beginning with the upward thrust EX, continuing down XA, and drawing AF parallel to AF in the frame we complete the polygon by drawing EF parallel to EF in the frame. The point F is determined by the intersection of the two lines, one beginning at A, and the other at E. We then have the polygon of forces EXAF, the reciprocal figure of the lines meeting at that point in the frame, and representing the forces at the point EXAF; the direction of the forces on EH and XA being known determines the direction of the forces due to the elastic reaction of the members AF and EF, showing AF to push as a strut, while EF is a tie. We have been guided in the selection of the particular quadrilateral adopted by the rule of arranging the order of the sides so that the same letters indicate corresponding sides in the diagram of the frame and its reciprocal. Continuing the construction of the diagram in the same way, we arrive at fig. 67 d as the complete reciprocal figure of the frame and forces upon it, and we see that each line in the reciprocal figure measures the stress on the corresponding member in the frame, and that the polygon of forces acting at any point, as IJKY, in the frame is represented by a polygon of the same name in the reciprocal figure. The direction of the force in each member is easily ascertained by proceeding in the manner above described. A single known force in a polygon determines the direction of all the others, as these must all correspond with arrows pointing the same way round the polygon. Let the arrows be placed on the frame round each joint, and so as to indicate the direction of each force on that joint; then when two arrows point to one another on the same piece, that piece is a tie; when they point from one another the piece is a strut. It is hardly necessary to say that the forces exerted by the two ends of any one member must be equal and opposite. This method is universally applicable where there are no redundant members. The reciprocal figure for any loaded frame is a complete formula for the stress on every member of a frame of that particular class with loads on given joints.

Consider a Warren girder (fig. 68), loaded at the top and bottom joints. Fig. 69 b is the polygon of external forces, and 69 c is half the reciprocal figure. The complete reciprocal figure is shown in fig. 69 a.

The method of sections already described is often more convenient than the method of reciprocal figures, and the method of influence lines is also often the readiest way of dealing with braced girders.

35. _Chain Loaded uniformly along a Horizontal Line._--If the lengths of the links be assumed indefinitely short, the chain under given simple distributions of load will take the form of comparatively simple mathematical curves known as catenaries. The true catenary is that assumed by a chain of uniform weight per unit of length, but the form generally adopted for suspension bridges is that assumed by a chain under a weight uniformly distributed relatively to a horizontal line. This curve is a parabola.

Remembering that in this case the centre bending moment [Sigma]wl will be equal to wL²/8, we see that the horizontal tension H at the vertex for a span L (the points of support being at equal heights) is given by the expression

1 . . . H = wL²/8y,

or, calling x the distance from the vertex to the point of support,

H = wx²/2y,

The value of H is equal to the maximum tension on the bottom flange, or compression on the top flange, of a girder of equal span, equally and similarly loaded, and having a depth equal to the dip of the suspension bridge.

Consider any other point F of the curve, fig. 70, at a distance x [v.04 p.0556] from the vertex, the horizontal component of the resultant (tangent to the curve) will be unaltered; the vertical component V will be simply the sum of the loads between O and F, or wx. In the triangle FDC, let FD be tangent to the curve, FC vertical, and DC horizontal; these three sides will necessarily be proportional respectively to the resultant tension along the chain at F, the vertical force V passing through the point D, and the horizontal tension at O; hence

H : V = DC : FC = wx²/2y : wx = x/2 : y,

hence DC is the half of OC, proving the curve to be a parabola.

The value of R, the tension at any point at a distance x from the vertex, is obtained from the equation

R² = H²+V² = w²x^4/4y²+w²x²,

or,

2 . . . R = wx[root](1+x²/4y²).

Let i be the angle between the tangent at any point having the co-ordinates x and y measured from the vertex, then

3 . . . tan i = 2y/x.

Let the length of half the parabolic chain be called s, then

4 . . . s = x+2y²/3x.

The following is the approximate expression for the relation between a change [Delta]s in the length of the half chain and the corresponding change [Delta]y in the dip:--

s+[Delta]s = x+(2/3x) {y²+2y[Delta]y+([Delta]y)²} =
x+2y²/3x+4y[Delta]y/3x+2[Delta]y²/3x,

or, neglecting the last term,

5 . . . [Delta]s = 4y[Delta]y/3x,

and

6 . . . [Delta]y = 3x[Delta]s/4y.

From these equations the deflection produced by any given stress on the chains or by a change of temperature can be calculated.

36. _Deflection of Girders._-- Let fig. 71 represent a beam bent by external loads. Let the origin O be taken at the lowest point of the bent beam. Then the deviation y = DE of the neutral axis of the bent beam at any point D from the axis OX is given by the relation

d²y M
--- = -- ,
dx² EI

where M is the bending moment and I the amount of inertia of the beam at D, and E is the coefficient of elasticity. It is usually accurate enough in deflection calculations to take for I the moment of inertia at the centre of the beam and to consider it constant for the length of the beam. Then

dy 1
-- = ---[Integral]Mdx
dx EI

1
y = ---[Integral][Integral]Mdx².
EI

The integration can be performed when M is expressed in terms of x. Thus for a beam supported at the ends and loaded with w per inch length M = w(a²-x²), where a is the half span. Then the deflection at the centre is the value of y for x = a, and is

5 wa^4
[delta] = --- ----.
24 EI

The radius of curvature of the beam at D is given by the relation

R = EI/M.

37. _Graphic Method of finding Deflection._--Divide the span L into any convenient number n of equal parts of length l, so that nl = L; compute the radii of curvature R_1, R_2, R_3 for the several sections. Let measurements along the beam be represented according to any convenient scale, so that calling L_1 and l_1 the lengths to be drawn on paper, we have L = aL_1; now let r_1, r_2, r_3 be a series of radii such that r_1 = R_1/ab, r_2 = R_2/ab, &c., where b is any convenient constant chosen of such magnitude as will allow arcs with the radii, r_1, r_2, &c., to be drawn with the means at the draughtsman's disposal. Draw a curve as shown in fig. 72 with arcs of the length l_1, l_2, l_3, &c., and with the radii r_1, r_2, &c. (note, for a length ½l_1 at each end the radius will be infinite, and the curve must end with a straight line tangent to the last arc), then let v be the measured deflection of this curve from the straight line, and V the actual deflection of the bridge; we have V = av/b, approximately. This method distorts the curve, so that vertical ordinates of the curve are drawn to a scale b times greater than that of the horizontal ordinates. Thus if the horizontal scale be one-tenth of an inch to the foot, a = 120, and a beam 100 ft. in length would be drawn equal to 10 in.; then if the true radius at the centre were 10,000 ft., this radius, if the curve were undistorted, would be on paper 1000 in., but making b = 50 we can draw the curve with a radius of 20 in. The vertical distortion of the curve must not be so great that there is a very sensible difference between the length of the arc and its chord. This can be regulated by altering the value of b. In fig. 72 distortion is carried too far; this figure is merely used as an illustration.

38. _Camber._--In order that a girder may become straight under its working load it should be constructed with a camber or upward convexity equal to the calculated deflection. Owing to the yielding of joints when a beam is first loaded a smaller modulus of elasticity should be taken than for a solid bar. For riveted girders E is about 17,500,000 lb per sq. in. for first loading. W.J.M. Rankine gives the approximate rule

Working deflection = [delta] = l²/10,000h,

where l is the span and h the depth of the beam, the stresses being those usual in bridgework, due to the total dead and live load.

(W. C. U.)

[1] For the ancient bridges in Rome see further ROME: _Archaeology_, and such works as R. Lanciani, _Ruins and Excavations of Ancient Rome_ (Eng. trans., 1897), pp. 16 foll.

BRIDGET, SAINT, more properly BRIGID (c. 452-523), one of the patron saints of Ireland, was born at Faughart in county Louth, her father being a prince of Ulster. Refusing to marry, she chose a life of seclusion, making her cell, the first in Ireland, under a large oak tree, whence the place was called Kil-dara, "the church of the oak." The city of Kildare is supposed to derive its name from St Brigid's cell. The year of her death is generally placed in 523. She was buried at Kildare, but her remains were afterwards translated to Downpatrick, where they were laid beside the bodies of St Patrick and St Columba. Her feast is celebrated on the 1st of February. A large collection of miraculous stories clustered round her name, and her reputation was not confined to Ireland, for, under the name of St Bride, she became a favourite saint in England, and numerous churches were dedicated to her in Scotland.

See the five lives given in the Bollandist _Acta Sanctorum_, Feb. 1, i. 99, 119, 950. Cf. Whitley-Stokes, _Three Middle-Irish Homilies on the Lives of Saint Patrick, Brigit and Columba_ (Calcutta, 1874); Colgan, _Acta SS. Hiberniae_; D. O'Hanlon, _Lives of Irish Saints_, vol. ii.; Knowles, _Life of St Brigid_ (1907); further bibliography in Ulysse Chevalier, _Répertoire des sources hist. Bio.-Bibl._ (2nd ed., Paris, 1905), s.v.

BRIDGET, BRIGITTA, BIRGITTA, OF SWEDEN, SAINT (c. 1302-1373), the most celebrated saint of the northern kingdoms, was the daughter of Birger Persson, governor and _lagman_ (provincial judge) of Uppland, and one of the richest landowners of the country. In 1316 she was married to Ulf Gudmarson, lord of Nericia, to whom she bore eight children, one of whom was [v.04 p.0557] afterwards honoured as St Catherine of Sweden. Bridget's saintly and charitable life soon made her known far and wide; she gained, too, great religious influence over her husband, with whom (1341-1343) she went on pilgrimage to St James of Compostella. In 1344, shortly after their return, Ulf died in the Cistercian monastery of Alvastra in East Gothland, and Bridget now devoted herself wholly to religion. As a child she had already believed herself to have visions; these now became more frequent, and her records of these "revelations," which were translated into Latin by Matthias, canon of Linköping, and by her confessor, Peter, prior of Alvastra, obtained a great vogue during the middle ages. It was about this time that she founded the order of St Saviour, or Bridgittines (_q.v._), of which the principal house, at Vadstena, was richly endowed by King Magnus II. and his queen. About 1350 she went to Rome, partly to obtain from the pope the authorization of the new order, partly in pursuance of her self-imposed mission to elevate the moral tone of the age. It was not till 1370 that Pope Urban V. confirmed the rule of her order; but meanwhile Bridget had made herself universally beloved in Rome by her kindness and good works. Save for occasional pilgrimages, including one to Jerusalem in 1373, she remained in Rome till her death on the 23rd of July 1373. She was canonized in 1391 by Pope Boniface IX., and her feast is celebrated on the 9th of October.

BIBLIOGRAPHY.--Cf. the Bollandist _Acta Sanctorum_, Oct. 8, iv. 368-560; the _Vita Sanctae Brigittae_, edited by C. Annerstedt in _Scriptores rerum Suedicarum medii aevi_, iii. 185-244 (Upsala, 1871). The best modern work on the subject is by the comtesse Catherine de Flavigny, entitled _Sainte Brigitte de Suède, sa vie, ses révélations et son oeuvre_ (Paris, 1892), which contains an exhaustive bibliography. The Revelations are contained in the critical edition of St Bridget's works published by the Swedish Historical Society and edited by G.E. Klemming (Stockholm, 1857-1884, II vols.). For full bibliography (to 1904) see Ulysse Chevalier, _Répertoire des sources hist. Bio.-Bibl._, _s.v._ "Brigitte."

BRIDGETON, a city, port of entry, and the county-seat of Cumberland county, New Jersey, U.S.A., in the south part of the state, on Cohansey creek, 38 m. S. of Philadelphia. Pop. (1890) 11,424; (1900) 13,913, of whom 653 were foreign-born and 701 were negroes; (1905) 13,624; (1910) 14,209. It is served by the West Jersey & Sea Shore and the Central of New Jersey railways, by electric railways connecting with adjacent towns, and by Delaware river steamboats on Cohansey creek, which is navigable to this point. It is an attractive residential city, has a park of 650 acres and a fine public library, and is the seat of West Jersey academy and of Ivy Hall, a school for girls. It is an important market town and distributing centre for a rich agricultural region; among its manufactures are glass (the product, chiefly glass bottles, being valued in 1905 at $1,252,795--42.3% of the value of all the city's factory products--and Bridgeton ranking eighth among the cities of the United States in this industry), machinery, clothing, and canned fruits and vegetables; it also has dyeing and finishing works. Though Bridgeton is a port of entry, its foreign commerce is relatively unimportant. The first settlement in what is now Bridgeton was made toward the close of the 18th century. A pioneer iron-works was established here in 1814. The city of Bridgeton, formed by the union of the township of Bridgeton and the township of Cohansey (incorporated in 1845 and 1848 respectively), was chartered in 1864.

BRIDGETT, THOMAS EDWARD (1829-1899), Roman Catholic priest and historical writer, was born at Derby on the 20th of January 1829. He was brought up a Baptist, but in his sixteenth year joined the Church of England. In 1847 he entered St John's College, Cambridge, with the intention of taking orders. Being unable to subscribe to the Thirty-Nine Articles he could not take his degree, and in 1850 became a Roman Catholic, soon afterwards joining the Congregation of the Redemptorists. He went through his novitiate at St Trond in Belgium, and after a course of five years of theological study at Wittem, in Holland, was ordained priest. He returned to England in 1856, and for over forty years led an active life as a missioner in England and Ireland, preaching in over 80 missions and 140 retreats to the clergy and to nuns. His stay in Limerick was particularly successful, and he founded a religious confraternity of laymen which numbered 5000 members. Despite his arduous life as a priest, Bridgett found time to produce literary works of value, chiefly dealing with the history of the Reformation in England; among these are _The Life of Blessed John Fisher, Bishop of Rochester_ (1888); _The Life and Writings of Sir Thomas More_ (1890); _History of the Eucharist in Great Britain_ (2 vols., 1881); _Our Lady's Dowry_ (1875, 3rd ed. 1890). He died at Clapham on the 17th of February 1899.

For a complete list of Bridgett's works see _The Life of Father Bridgett_, by C. Ryder (London, 1906).

BRIDGEWATER, FRANCIS EGERTON, 3RD DUKE OF (1736-1803), the originator of British inland navigation, younger son of the 1st duke, was born on the 21st of May 1736. Scroop, 1st duke of Bridgewater (1681-1745), was the son of the 3rd earl of Bridgewater, and was created a duke in 1720; he was the great-grandson of John Egerton, 1st earl of Bridgewater (d. 1649; cr. 1617), whose name is associated with the production of Milton's _Comus_; and the latter was the son of Sir Thomas Egerton (1540-1617), Queen Elizabeth's lord keeper and James I.'s lord chancellor, who was created baron of Ellesmere in 1603, and in 1616 Viscount Brackley (_q.v._).

Francis Egerton succeeded to the dukedom at the age of twelve on the death of his brother, the 2nd duke. As a child he was sickly and of such unpromising intellectual capacity that at one time the idea of cutting the entail was seriously entertained. Shortly after attaining his majority he became engaged to the beautiful duchess of Hamilton, but her refusal to give up the acquaintance of her sister, Lady Coventry, led to the breaking off of the match. Thereupon the duke broke up his London establishment, and retiring to his estate at Worsley, devoted himself to the making of canals. The navigable canal from Worsley to Manchester which he projected for the transport of the coal obtained on his estates was (with the exception of the Sankey canal) the first great undertaking of the kind executed in Great Britain in modern times. The construction of this remarkable work, with its famous aqueduct across the Irwell, was carried out by James Brindley, the celebrated engineer. The completion of this canal led the duke to undertake a still more ambitious work. In 1762 he obtained parliamentary powers to provide an improved waterway between Liverpool and Manchester by means of a canal. The difficulties encountered in the execution of the latter work were still more formidable than those of the Worsley canal, involving, as they did, the carrying of the canal over Sale Moor Moss. But the genius of Brindley, his engineer, proved superior to all obstacles, and though at one period of the undertaking the financial resources of the duke were almost exhausted, the work was carried to a triumphant conclusion. The untiring perseverance displayed by the duke in surmounting the various difficulties that retarded the accomplishment of his projects, together with the pecuniary restrictions he imposed on himself in order to supply the necessary capital (at one time he reduced his personal expenses to £400 a year), affords an instructive example of that energy and self-denial on which the success of great undertakings so much depends. Both these canals were completed when the duke was only thirty-six years of age, and the remainder of his life was spent in extending them and in improving his estates; and during the latter years of his life he derived a princely income from the success of his enterprise. Though a steady supporter of Pitt's administration, he never took any prominent part in politics.

He died unmarried on the 8th of March 1803, when the ducal title became extinct, but the earldom of Bridgewater passed to a cousin, John William Egerton, who became 7th earl. By his will he devised his canals and estates on trust, under which his nephew, the marquess of Stafford (afterwards first duke of Sutherland), became the first beneficiary, and next his son Francis Leveson Gower (afterwards first earl of Ellesmere) and his issue. In order that the trust should last as long as possible, an extraordinary use was made of the legal rule that property may be [v.04 p.0558] settled for the duration of lives in being and twenty-one years after, by choosing a great number of persons connected with the duke and their living issue and adding to them the peers who had taken their seats in the House of Lords on or before the duke's decease. Though the last of the peers died in 1857, one of the commoners survived till the 19th of October 1883, and consequently the trust did not expire till the 19th of October 1903, when the whole property passed under the undivided control of the earl of Ellesmere. The canals, however, had in 1872 been transferred to the Bridgewater Navigation Company, by whom they were sold in 1887 to the Manchester Ship Canal Company.

BRIDGEWATER, FRANCIS HENRY EGERTON, 8TH EARL OF (1756-1829), was educated at Eton and Christ Church, Oxford, and became fellow of All Souls in 1780, and F.R.S. in 1781. He held the rectories of Middle and Whitchurch in Shropshire, but the duties were performed by a proxy. He succeeded his brother (see above) in the earldom in 1823, and spent the latter part of his life in Paris. He was a fair scholar, and a zealous naturalist and antiquarian. When he died in February 1829 the earldom became extinct. He bequeathed to the British Museum the valuable Egerton MSS. dealing with the literature of France and Italy, and also £12,000. He also left £8000 at the disposal of the president of the Royal Society, to be paid to the author or authors who might be selected to write and publish 1000 copies of a treatise "On the Power, Wisdom and Goodness of God, as manifested in the Creation." Mr Davies Gilbert, who then filled the office, selected eight persons, each to undertake a branch of this subject, and each to receive £1000 as his reward, together with any benefit that might accrue from the sale of his work, according to the will of the testator.

The Bridgewater treatises were published as follows:--1. _The Adaptation of External Nature to the Moral and Intellectual Condition of Man_, by Thomas Chalmers, D.D. 2. _The Adaptation of External Nature to the Physical Condition of Man_, by John Kidd, M.D. 3. _Astronomy and General Physics considered with reference to Natural Theology_, by William Whewell, D.D. 4. _The Hand, its Mechanism and Vital Endowments as evincing Design_, by Sir Charles Bell. 5. _Animal and Vegetable Physiology considered with reference to Natural Theology_, by Peter Mark Roget. 6. _Geology and Mineralogy considered with reference to Natural Theology_, by William Buckland, D.D. 7. _The Habits and Instincts of Animals with reference to Natural Theology_, by William Kirby. 8. _Chemistry, Meteorology, and the Function of Digestion, considered with reference to Natural Theology_, by William Prout, M.D. The works are of unequal merit; several of them took a high rank in apologetic literature. They first appeared during the years 1833 to 1840, and afterwards in Bohn's Scientific Library.

BRIDGITTINES, an order of Augustinian canonesses founded by St Bridget of Sweden (_q.v._) c. 1350, and approved by Urban V. in 1370. It was a "double order," each convent having attached to it a small community of canons to act as chaplains, but under the government of the abbess. The order spread widely in Sweden and Norway, and played a remarkable part in promoting culture and literature in Scandinavia; to this is to be attributed the fact that the head house at Vastein, by Lake Vetter, was not suppressed till 1595. There were houses also in other lands, so that the total number amounted to 80. In England, the famous Bridgittine convent of Syon at Isleworth, Middlesex, was founded and royally endowed by Henry V. in 1415, and became one of the richest and most fashionable and influential nunneries in the country. It was among the few religious houses restored in Mary's reign, when nearly twenty of the old community were re-established at Syon. On Elizabeth's accession they migrated to the Low Countries, and thence, after many vicissitudes, to Rouen, and finally in 1594 to Lisbon. Here they remained, always recruiting their numbers from England, till 1861, when they returned to England. Syon House is now established at Chudleigh in Devon, the only English community that can boast an unbroken conventual existence since pre-Reformation times. Some six other Bridgittine convents exist on the Continent, but the order is now composed only of women.

See Helyot, _Histoire des ordres religieux_ (1715), iv. c. 4; Max Heimbucher, _Orden u. Kongregationen_ (1907), ii. § 83; Herzog-Hauck, _Realencyklopädie_ (ed. 3), art. "Birgitta"; A. Hamilton in _Dublin Review_, 1888, "The Nuns of Syon."

(E. C. B.)

BRIDGMAN, FREDERICK ARTHUR (1847- ), American artist, was born at Tuskegee, Alabama, on the 10th of November 1847. He began as a draughtsman in New York for the American Bank Note Company in 1864-1865, and studied art in the same years at the Brooklyn Art School and at the National Academy of Design; but he went to Paris in 1866 and became a pupil of J.L. Gérôme. Paris then became his headquarters. A trip to Egypt in 1873-1874 resulted in pictures of the East that attracted immediate attention, and his large and important composition, "The Funeral Procession of a Mummy on the Nile," in the Paris Salon (1877), bought by James Gordon Bennett, brought him the cross of the Legion of Honour. Other paintings by him were "An American Circus in Normandy," "Procession of the Bull Apis" (now in the Corcoran Art Gallery, Washington), and a "Rumanian Lady" (in the Temple collection, Philadelphia).

BRIDGMAN, LAURA DEWEY (1829-1889), American blind deaf-mute, was born on the 21st of December 1829 at Hanover, New Hampshire, U.S.A., being the third daughter of Daniel Bridgman (d. 1868), a substantial Baptist farmer, and his wife Harmony, daughter of Cushman Downer, and grand-daughter of Joseph Downer, one of the five first settlers (1761) of Thetford, Vermont. Laura was a delicate infant, puny and rickety, and was subject to fits up to twenty months old, but otherwise seemed to have normal senses; at two years, however, she had a very bad attack of scarlet fever, which destroyed sight and hearing, blunted the sense of smell, and left her system a wreck. Though she gradually recovered health she remained a blind deaf-mute, but was kindly treated and was in particular made a sort of playmate by an eccentric bachelor friend of the Bridgmans, Mr Asa Tenney, who as soon as she could walk used to take her for rambles a-field. In 1837 Mr James Barrett, of Dartmouth College, saw her and mentioned her case to Dr Mussey, the head of the medical department, who wrote an account which attracted the attention of Dr S.G. Howe (_q.v._), the head of the Perkins Institution for the Blind at Boston. He determined to try to get the child into the Institution and to attempt to educate her; her parents assented, and in October 1837 Laura entered the school. Though the loss of her eye-balls occasioned some deformity, she was otherwise a comely child and of a sensitive and affectionate nature; she had become familiar with the world about her, and was imitative in so far as she could follow the actions of others; but she was limited in her communication with others to the narrower uses of touch--patting her head meant approval, rubbing her hand disapproval, pushing one way meant to go, drawing another to come. Her mother, preoccupied with house-work, had already ceased to be able to control her, and her father's authority was due to fear of superior force, not to reason. Dr Howe at once set himself to teach her the alphabet by touch. It is impossible, for reasons of space, to describe his efforts in detail. He taught words before the individual letters, and his first experiment consisting in pasting upon several common articles such as keys, spoons, knives, &c., little paper labels with the names of the articles printed in raised letters, which he got her to feel and differentiate; then he gave her the same labels by themselves, which she learnt to associate with the articles they referred to, until, with the spoon or knife alone before her she could find the right label for each from a mixed heap. The next stage was to give her the component letters and teach her to combine them in the words she knew, and gradually in this way she learnt all the alphabet and the ten digits, &c. The whole process depended, of course, on her having a human intelligence, which only required stimulation, and her own interest in learning became keener as she progressed. On the 24th of July 1839 she first wrote her own name legibly. Dr Howe devoted himself with the utmost patience and assiduity to her education and was rewarded by increasing success. On the 20th of June 1840 she had her first arithmetic lesson, by the aid of a metallic case perforated with square holes, square types being used; and in nineteen days she could add a column of figures amounting to thirty. She was in good health and happy, and was treated by Dr Howe as his daughter. Her case already began to interest the public, and others were brought to Dr Howe [v.04 p.0559] for treatment. In 1841 Laura began to keep a journal, in which she recorded her own day's work and thoughts. In January 1842 Charles Dickens visited the Institution, and afterwards wrote enthusiastically in _American Notes_ of Dr Howe's success with Laura. In 1843 funds were obtained for devoting a special teacher to her, and first Miss Swift, then Miss Wight, and then Miss Paddock, were appointed; Laura by this time was learning geography and elementary astronomy. By degrees she was given religious instruction, but Dr Howe was intent upon not inculcating dogma before she had grasped the essential moral truths of Christianity and the story of the Bible. She grew up a gay, cheerful girl, loving, optimistic, but with a nervous system inclining to irritability, and requiring careful education in self-control. In 1860 her eldest sister Mary's death helped to bring on a religious crisis, and through the influence of some of her family she was received into the Baptist church; she became for some years after this more self-conscious and rather pietistic. In 1867 she began writing compositions which she called poems; the best-known is called "Holy Home." In 1872, Dr Howe having been enabled to build some separate cottages (each under a matron) for the blind girls, Laura was moved from the larger house of the Institution into one of them, and there she continued her quiet life. The death of Dr Howe in 1876 was a great grief to her; but before he died he had made arrangements by which she would be financially provided for in her home at the Institution for the rest of her life. In 1887 her jubilee was celebrated there, but in 1889 she was taken ill, and she died on the 24th of May. She was buried at Hanover. Her name has become familiar everywhere as an example of the education of a blind deaf-mute, leading to even greater results in Helen Keller.

See _Laura Bridgman_, by Maud Howe and Florence Howe Hall (1903), which contains a bibliography; and _Life and Education of Laura Dewey Bridgman_ (1878), by Mary S. Lamson.

(H. CH.)

BRIDGNORTH, a market town and municipal borough in the Ludlow parliamentary division of Shropshire, England, 150 m. N.W. by W. from London by the Great Western railway, on the Worcester-Shrewsbury line. Pop. (1901) 6052. The river Severn separates the upper town on the right bank from the lower on the left. A steep line of rail connects them. The upper town is built on the acclivities and summit of a rock which rises abruptly from the river to the height of 180 ft., and gives the town a very picturesque appearance. The railway passes under by a long tunnel. On the summit is the tower of the old castle, leaning about 17° from the perpendicular. There are also two parish churches. That of St Leonard, formerly collegiate, was practically rebuilt in 1862. This parish was held by Richard Baxter, the famous divine, in 1640. St Mary's church is in classic style of the late 18th century. The picturesque half-timbered style of domestic building is frequently seen in the streets. In this style are the town hall (1652), and a house dated 1580, in which was born in 1729 Thomas Percy, bishop of Dromore, the editor of the _Reliques of Ancient English Poetry_. The grammar school, founded in 1503, occupies an Elizabethan building; there are also a college of divinity, a blue-coat school, and a literary institute with library and school of art. There are large charities. Near the town is a curious ancient hermitage cave, in the sandstone. At Quatford, 1 m. south-east, the site of a castle dating from 1085 may be traced. This dominated the ancient Forest of Morf. Here Robert de Belesme originally founded the college which was afterwards moved to Bridgnorth. Bridgnorth manufactures carpets; brewing is carried on, and there is trade in agricultural produce. The town is governed by a mayor, 4 aldermen and 12 councillors. Area, 3018 acres.

The early history of Bridgnorth is connected with Æthelfleda, lady of the Mercians, who raised a mound there in 912 as part of her offensive policy against the Danes of the five boroughs. After the Conquest William I. granted the manor of Bridgnorth to Earl Roger of Shrewsbury, whose son Robert de Belesme transferred his castle and borough from Quatford to Bridgnorth, but on Robert's attainder in 1102 the town became a royal borough. It is probable that Henry I. granted the burgesses certain privileges, for Henry II. confirmed to them all the franchises and customs which they had in the time of Henry I. King John in 1215 granted them freedom from toll throughout England except the city of London, and in 1227 Henry III. conferred several new rights and liberties, among which were a gild merchant with a hanse. These early charters were confirmed by several succeeding kings, Henry VI. granting in addition assize of bread and ale and other privileges. Bridgnorth was incorporated by James I. in 1546. The burgesses returned two members to parliament in 1295, and continued to do so until 1867, when they were assigned only one member. The town was disfranchised in 1885. A yearly fair on the feast of the Translation of St Leonard and three following days was granted to the burgesses in 1359, and in 1630 Charles I. granted them licence to hold another fair on the Thursday before the first week in Lent and two following days.

BRIDGWATER, a market town, port and municipal borough in the Bridgwater parliamentary division of Somerset, England, on the river Parret, 10 m. from its mouth, and 151¾ m. by the Great Western railway W. by S. of London. Pop. (1901) 15,209. It is pleasantly situated in a level and well-wooded country, having on the east the Mendip range and on the west the Quantock hills. The town lies along both sides of the river, here crossed by a handsome iron bridge. Among several places of worship the chief is St Mary Magdalene's church; this has a north porch and windows dating from the 14th century, besides a lofty and slender spire; but it has been much altered by restoration. It possesses a fine painted reredos. A house in Blake Street, largely restored, was the birthplace of Admiral Blake in 1598. Near the town are the three fine old churches of Weston Zoyland, Chedzoy and Middlezoy, containing some good brasses and carved woodwork. The battlefield of Sedgemoor, where the Monmouth rebellion was finally crushed in 1685, is within 3 m.; while not far off is Charlinch, the home of the Agapemonites (_q.v._). Bridgwater has a considerable coasting trade, importing grain, coal, wine, hemp, tallow and timber, and exporting Bath brick, farm produce, earthenware, cement and plaster of Paris. The river is navigable by vessels of 700 tons, though liable, when spring-tides are flowing, to a bore which rises, in rough weather, to a height of 9 ft. Bath brick, manufactured only here, and made of the mingled sand and clay deposited by every tide, is the staple article of commerce; iron-founding is also carried on. The town is governed by a mayor, 6 aldermen and 18 councillors. Area, 926 acres.

A settlement probably grew up in Saxon times at Bridgwater (_Briges_, _Briggewalteri_, _Brigewauter_), owing its origin as a trade centre to its position at the mouth of the chief river in Somerset. It became a mesne borough by the charter granted by John in 1201, which provided that the town should be a free borough, the burgesses to be free and quit of all tolls, and made William de Briwere overlord. Other charters were granted by Henry III. in 1227 (confirmed in 1318, 1370, 1380), which gave Bridgwater a gild merchant. It was incorporated by charter of Edward IV. (1468), confirmed in 1554, 1586, 1629 and 1684. Parliamentary representation began in 1295 and continued until the Reform Act of 1870. A Saturday market and a fair on the 24th of June were granted by the charter of 1201. Another fair at the beginning of Lent was added in 1468, and a second market on Thursday, and fairs at Midsummer and on the 21st of September were added in 1554. Charles II. granted another fair on the 29th of December. The medieval importance of these markets and fairs for the sale of wool and wine and later of cloth has gone. The shipping trade of the port revived after the construction of the new dock in 1841, and corn and timber have been imported for centuries.

See S. G. Jarman, "History of Bridgwater," _Historical MSS. Commission_, Report 9, Appendix; _Victoria County History: Somerset_, vol. ii.

BRIDLINGTON, a market town, municipal borough and seaside resort in the Buckrose parliamentary division of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, 31 m. N.N.E. from Hull by a branch of the North Eastern railway. Pop. (1891) 8919; (1901) 12,482. It is divided into two parts, the ancient market town lying about 1 m. from the coast, while the modern houses of Bridlington Quay, the watering-place, fringe the shore of Bridlington Bay. Southward the coast becomes low, but northward it is steep and very fine, where the great spur of Flamborough Head (_q.v._) projects eastward. In the old town of Bridlington the church of St Mary and St Nicholas consists of the fine Decorated and Perpendicular nave, with Early English portions, of the priory church of an Augustinian foundation of the time of Henry I. There remains also the Perpendicular gateway, serving as the town-hall. The founder of the priory was Walter de Gaunt, about 1114, and the institution [v.04 p.0560] flourished until 1537, when the last prior was executed for taking part in the Pilgrimage of Grace. A Congregational society was founded in 1662, and its old church, dating from 1702, stood until 1906. At Bridlington Quay there is excellent sea-bathing, and the parade and ornamental gardens provide pleasant promenades. Extensive works have been carried out along the sea front. There is a chalybeate spring. The harbour is enclosed by two stone piers, and there is good anchorage in the bay. The municipal borough is under a mayor, 6 aldermen and 18 councillors, and has an area of 2751 acres.

The mention of four burgesses at Bridlington (Brellington, Burlington) in the Domesday survey shows it to have been a borough before the Conquest. With the rest of the north of England, Bridlington suffered from the ravages of the Normans, and decreased in value from £32 in the reign of Edward the Confessor, when it formed part of the possessions of Earl Morcar, to 8s. at the time of the Domesday survey. By that time it was in the hands of the king by the forfeiture of Earl Morcar. It was granted by William II. to Gilbert de Gaunt, whose son and heir Walter founded the priory and endowed it with the manor of Bridlington and other lands. From this date the importance of the town steadily increased. Henry I. and several succeeding kings confirmed Walter de Gaunt's gift, Stephen granting in addition the right to have a port. In 1546 Henry IV. granted the prior and convent exemption from fifteenths, tenths and subsidies, in return for prayer for himself and his queen in every mass sung at the high altar. After the Dissolution the manor remained with the crown until 1624, when Charles I. granted it to Sir John Ramsey, whose brother and heir, Sir George Ramsey, sold it in 1633 to thirteen inhabitants of the town on behalf of all the tenants of the manor. The thirteen lords were assisted by twelve other inhabitants chosen by the freeholders, and when the number of lords was reduced to six, seven others were chosen from the assistants. A chief lord was chosen every year. This system still holds good. It is evident from the fact of thirteen inhabitants being allowed to hold the manor that the town had some kind of incorporation in the 17th century, although its incorporation charter was not granted until 1899, when it was created a municipal borough. In 1200 King John granted the prior of Bridlington a weekly market on Saturday and an annual fair on the vigil, feast and morrow of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. Henry VI. in 1446 granted the prior three new fairs yearly on the vigil, day and morrow of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, the Deposition of St John, late prior of Bridlington, and the Translation of the same St John. All fairs and markets were sold with the manor to the inhabitants of the town.

See J. Thompson, _Historical Sketches of Bridlington_ (1821); _Victoria County History: Yorkshire_.

BRIDPORT, ALEXANDER HOOD, VISCOUNT (1727-1814), British admiral, was the younger brother of Samuel, Lord Hood, and cousin of Sir Samuel and Captain Alexander Hood. Entering the navy in January 1741, he was appointed lieutenant of the "Bridgewater" six years later, and in that rank served for ten years in various ships. He was then posted to the "Prince," the flag-ship of Rear-Admiral Saunders (under whom Hood had served as a lieutenant) and in this command served in the Mediterranean for some time. Returning home, he was appointed to the "Minerva" frigate, in which he was present at Hawke's great victory in Quiberon Bay (20th November 1759). In 1761 the "Minerva" recaptured, after a long struggle, the "Warwick" of equal force, and later in the same year Captain Alexander Hood went in the "Africa" to the Mediterranean, where he served until the conclusion of peace. From this time forward he was in continuous employment afloat and ashore, and in the "Robust" was present at the battle of Ushant in 1778. Hood was involved in the court-martial on Admiral (afterwards Viscount) Keppel which followed this action, and although adverse popular feeling was aroused by the course which he took in Keppel's defence, his conduct does not seem to have injured his professional career. Two years later he was made rear-admiral of the white, and succeeded Kempenfeldt as one of Howe's flag-officers, and in the "Queen" (90) he was present at the relief of Gibraltar in 1782. For a time he sat in the House of Commons. Promoted vice-admiral in 1787, he became K.B. in the following year, and on the occasion of the Spanish armament in 1790 flew his flag again for a short time. On the outbreak of the war with France in 1793 Sir Alexander Hood once more went to sea, this time as Howe's second in command, and he had his share in the operations which culminated in the "Glorius First of June," and for his services was made Baron Bridport of Cricket St Thomas in Somerset in the Irish peerage. Henceforth Bridport was practically in independent command. In 1795 he fought the much-criticized partial action of the 23rd of June off Belle-Ile, which, however unfavourably it was regarded in some quarters, was counted as a great victory by the public. Bridport's peerage was made English, and he became vice-admiral of England. In 1796-1797 he practically directed the war from London, rarely hoisting his flag afloat save at such critical times as that of the Irish expedition in 1797. In the following year he was about to put to sea when the Spithead fleet mutinied. He succeeded at first in pacifying the crew of his flag-ship, who had no personal grudge against their admiral, but a few days later the mutiny broke out afresh, and this time was uncontrollable. For a whole week the mutineers were supreme, and it was only by the greatest exertions of the old Lord Howe that order was then restored and the men returned to duty. After the mutiny had been suppressed, Bridport took the fleet to sea as commander-in-chief in name as well as in fact, and from 1798 to 1800 personally directed the blockade of Brest, which grew stricter and stricter as time went on. In 1800 he was relieved by St Vincent, and retired from active duty after fifty-nine years' service. In reward for his fine record his peerage was made a viscounty. He spent the remaining years of his life in retirement. He died on the 2nd of May 1814. The viscounty in the English peerage died with him; the Irish barony passed to the younger branch of his brother's family, for whom the viscounty was recreated in 1868.

See Charnock, _Biographia Navalis_, vi. 153; _Naval Chronicle_, i. 265; Ralfe, _Nav. Biog._ i. 202.

BRIDPORT, a market town and municipal borough in the Western parliamentary division of Dorsetshire, England, 18 m. N.W. of Dorchester, on a branch of the Great Western railway. Pop. (1901) 5710. It is pleasantly situated in a hilly district on the river Brit, from which it takes its name. The main part of the town is about a mile from the sea, with which it is connected by a winding street, ending at a quay surrounded by the fishing village of West Bay, where the railway terminates. The church of St Mary is a handsome cruciform Perpendicular building. The harbour is accessible only to small vessels. There is some import trade in flax, timber and coal. The principal articles of manufacture have long been sailcloth, cordage, linen and fishing-nets. The municipal borough is under a mayor, 6 aldermen and 18 councillors. Area, 593 acres.

Bridport was evidently of some importance before the Conquest, when it consisted of 120 houses rated for all the king's services and paying geld for five hides. By 1086 the number of houses had decreased to 100, and of these 20 were in such a wretched condition that they could not pay geld. The town is first mentioned as a borough in the Pipe Roll of 1189, which states that William de Bendenges owed £9: 10s. for the ancient farm of Bridport, and that the men of the town owed tallage to the amount of 53s. 10d. Henry III. granted the first charter in 1252-1253, making the town a free borough and granting the burgesses the right to hold it at the ancient fee farm with an increase of 40s., and to choose two bailiffs to answer at the exchequer for the farm. A deed of 1381 shows that Henry III. also granted the burgesses freedom from toll. Bridport was incorporated by James I. in 1619, but Charles II. granted a new charter in 1667, and by this the town was governed until 1835. The first existing grant of a market and fairs to Bridport is dated 1593, but it appears from the _Quo Warranto_ Rolls that Edward I. possessed a market there. The town was noted for the manufacture of ropes and cables as early as 1213, and an act of parliament (21 Henry VIII.) shows that the inhabitants had "from time out of mind" made the cables, ropes and hawsers for the royal navy and for most of the other ships. Bridport was represented in parliament by two members from 1395 to 1867. In the latter year the number was reduced to one, and in 1885 the town was disfranchised.

BRIE (_Briegus saltus_, from Celtic _briek_, clay), an agricultural district of northern France, to the E. of Paris, bounded W. and S. by the Seine, N. by the Marne. It has an area of 2400 sq. m., comprising the greater part of the department of Seine-et-Marne, together with portions of the departments of Seine, Seine-et-Oise, Aisne, Marne and Aube. The western portion was known as the _Brie française_, the eastern portion as the _Brie champenoise_. The Brie forms a plateau with few eminences, varying in altitude between 300 and 500 ft. in the west, and between 500 and 650 ft. in the east. Its scenery is varied by forests of some size--the [v.04 p.0561] chief being the Forêt de Senart, the Forêt de Crécy and the Forêt d'Armainvilliers. The surface soil is clay in which are embedded fragments of siliceous sandstone, used for millstones and constructional purposes; the subsoil is limestone. The Yères, a tributary of the Seine, and the Grand Morin and Petit Morin, tributaries of the Marne, are the chief rivers, but the region is not abundantly watered and the rainfall is only between 20 and 24 in. The Brie is famous for its grain and its dairy products, especially cheeses.