Page:1902 Encyclopædia Britannica - Volume 26 - AUS-CHI.pdf/467

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B R U X — BRYAN arch, on each side of which were laid two large main sewers, into which the whole sewage system empties itself. Upon these subterranean buildings has been constructed a series of magnificent boulevards, which connect the Gare du Midi with the Gare du Nord, and along which a constant stream of tram and passenger traffic flows all day long and far into the night. Beginning in front of the Place de la Constitution, where is situated the Station du Midi, this broadway bears the names successively of the Boulevard du Hainaut, Boulevard Anspach, Place de Brouckere, where the way divides into the Boulevard de la Senne (at the end of which the river issues out again into the open), and the Boulevard du Nord ending in front of the Place Rogier, where stands the Station du Nord. These thoroughfares are all distinguished by their elegant and varied architecture. Running parallel to this central way, there has been opened the Avenue du Midi, which, continued by the Rue du Midi, the Rue des Fripiers, the Place de la Monnaie, and the Rue Neuve, forms a second grand thoroughfare, leading also from the Gare du Midi to the Gare du Nord. Other grand thoroughfares and new quarters have been opened up in different parts of the city. Among the more remarkable squares and parks are the Public Park with its fine trees, situated between the Palais du Roi and the Palais de la Nation; the Square Frere-Orban (the old Place de la Societe Civile), on which has been erected a statue of M. Frere-Orban; the Square du Petit Sablon, remarkable for the group in bronze of Counts Egmont and Hoorn, surrounded by eight statues of personages of the 16th century, and by the artistic iron railing; the Park Leopold, formerly the Zoological Gardens, whither has been transferred the Museum of Natural History, and in which, by private subscription, have been erected the Biological Institutes; the Parc du Cinquantenaire, a very beautiful avenue, leads to the Parc de Tervueren, in which is a museum of the Congo; the Bois de la Cambre, two miles from the Place Royale, at the extremity of the Avenue Louise ; the squares Marie-Louise and Ambiorix ; the Park of St Gilles, and the Parc de Laeken, adjoining the royal residence. The cathedral has been restored, and the famous Hotel de Ville (15th century) has also been completely repaired, both outside and inside. On the Grande Place, the Maison du Roi (16th century), its old foundations showing signs of giving way, was rebuilt in 1877 on its original plan. The old Guild-houses have likewise experienced a restoration of their facades according to their original aspect, and now form a curious and magnificent ensemble. Since the opening of the Central Boulevard numerous buildings of diverse styles have been erected on both sides. In the lower town the New Exchange (1874) has been erected in rich ornamental Renaissance, at a cost of four million francs. Other buildings are the Central Post Office (1892),- a fine edifice in Renaissance, erected on the site of the ancient Hotel des Monnaies, opposite the Theatre de la Monnaie ; the Communal Theatre, intended specially for the representation of Belgian pieces ; the Fish Halls (1883); the Halles Centrales (1874); the Marche Convert for fruit, &c., in the Place St Gery; the Palais du -Midi, a vast structure, comprising shops, markets, and an industrial school. On the slope and in the upper part of the city are the Hotel Central des Telephones (1900), on the site of the former Palais de Justice ; the new Palais de Justice, constructed in 1868-83, from designs by Polaert, and costing about fifty million francs, quadrangular in form, covering 270,000 square feet, surmounted by a dome, the cupola of which is about 330 feet above the pavement of the Salle des Pas Perdus. Opening into Place Polaert is the broad Rue de la Regence, in which are a synagogue (1878) in the Romanesque, the Royal Conservatorium of Music (1876) in Renaissance, the Palace

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of the Count of Flanders, the Palace of the Fine Arts (1880), in which are placed the gallery of old pictures and the gallery of sculptures, while the modern pictures, as also the general archives of the kingdom, are alongside of the royal library in the old building of the picture gallery (Musee de Peinture), and the Museum of Natural History. In the Quartier-Leopold is the Musee Wiertz, where the paintings attract innumerable visitors. Beyond the Park, behind the Palais de la Nation and the Ministries, there are groups of fine buildings of recent construction, in which are the offices of the administration of railways and of that of the marine. In the commune of St Gilles a vast mint (Hotel des Monnaies) has been erected, and a prison of solitary confinement (1884) in Anglo - Gothic, able to accommodate 600 prisoners. The observatory, formerly placed at the northeast angle of the line of boulevards, was transferred in 1891 to Uccle. In the way of military quarters, all that is now left are a barrack for the grenadiers, and a barrack for the infantry of the line. At Etterbeek, about 1| miles from Brussels, handsome barracks have been built for the cavalry and artillery, with a large field for manoeuvres; and close by, on the Ixelles ground, is a military hospital. There are new buildings, to serve as a military school, near the Parc du Cinquantenaire. In the Schaerbeek quarter is the barrack of Baudoin, occupied by the carabiniers, and, a little farther off, the national shootingground (1888), where, with the latest improvements, are about forty targets. Among the industries of Brussels are its noted lace manufactures, cabinetmaking, the making of furniture, coachbuilding, jewellery, goldsmith’s work, leather-glove and boot manufactures, the making of organs and pianos, wall-paper, soaps, &c.; important breweries, &c. Railway lines radiate in all directions : to Ostend, and thence by packet-boats to Dover and London; to Antwerp, and thence by steamer to Harwich and London; to Amsterdam ; to Berlin and St Petersburg; to Vienna and Constantinople ; to Basel, Rome, and Brindisi; to Paris and Marseilles; to Lille and Calais. Two canals, one from Charleroi, the other from Willebroeck, meet in Brussels on their way to the Rupel and the Escaut (see Canals). The population of the commune of Brussels alone was 183,000 in 1875 and 183,686 in 1900. But the total population of the combined communes increased from 385,000 in 1875 and 465,317 in 1890 to 571,000 in 1899. Henne and Wauteks. Hist, politique, civile, et monumentale de la ville de Bruxelles, 1843-45.—L. Hymans. Bruxelles d travers les dges, 1881. (j. nu F.) Brux, chief town of district of the same name in Bohemia, on the railway from Prague to Pilsen. Population (1890), 14,894; (1900), 21,525, mostly Catholic. There are important sugar, iron and hardware, distilling, brewing, and milling industries. Valuable lignite deposits are found in the neighbourhood, and the bitter waters at Piillna, Seidlitz, and Seidschiitz are celebrated. Bryan, William Jennings, (1860) American politician and presidential candidate, was born in Salem, Illinois, 19th March 1860. His parents, well-todo but not wealthy, were highly respected, his father serving twelve years as a circuit judge. After graduating from the classical course in Illinois College at Jacksonville in 1881, young Bryan took a full course in the Union College of Law, Chicago, supplementing his studies with work in the office of ex-Senator Trumbull. From 1883 to 1887 Mr Bryan practised law in Jacksonville. In 1887 he removed to Lincoln, Nebraska, which has since been his home. His success at the bar was much greater than usually comes to so young an attorney, but public