Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 02.djvu/235

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BROWN UNIVERSITY 203 BRUCE in Massachusetts some few years ago, shortly after the arrival of the gipsy moth, and has already become a serious pest in that State. It is thought to have been introduced from Holland in a consignment of roses. More than $1,- 000,000 has already been spent by the State of Massachusetts in endeavoring to destroy this and the gipsy moth; and although great success was at first obtained in this direction, the cessation of attempts at extermination through the grant of funds being discontinued led to the reappearance of the moths in greater numbers than ever. A four-winged fly, which acts as a parasite, depositing its eggs in the larvas, has now been brought from Europe, resulting in large numbers of the caterpillars being killed. BROWN UNIVERSITY, an institu- tion for higher education at Providence, R. I.; founded in 1764. It was at first known as Rhode Island College, but in honor of Nicholas Brown, a wealthy merchant who endowed it generously, the name was changed to Brown in 1804. In 1919 its enrolment included 277 freshmen, 220 sophomores, 174 juniors and 182 seniors. There were 79 students pursuing special courses and 106 gradu- ate students. There were 270 in the women's college. The teaching staff in- cluded 78 full professors, besides a staff of assistant teachers. The volumes in the library number 270,000. A Memorial Arch and a Language Building were erected in 1919. Language requirements for entrance have been modified and an increase made in the number of elective courses. President, W. H. P. Faunce, DD., LL. D. BRUCE, a family name distinguished in the history of Scotland. BRUCE, JAMES, an African trav- eler, bom in Kinnaird, Dec. 14, 1730. He received his education at Harrow and at the University of Edinburgh, and entered the wine trade, but having inherited his father's estate in 1758, he soon gave up business. From 1763 to 1765 he held the consulship of Algiers, and in 1765 he visited successively Tunis, Tripoli, Rhodes, Cyprus, Syria, and several parts of Asia Minor, where he made drawings of the ruins of Palmyra, Baalbec, etc. In 1768, he set out for Cairo, navigated the Nile to Syene, crossed the desert to the Red Sea, passed some months in Arabia Felix, reached Gondar, the capi- tal of Abyssinia, in 1770, and in the same year succeeded in reaching the sources of the Abai, then considered the main stream of the Nile. After visiting France and Italy, he returned to Scot- land in 1774. His long-expected "Travels" did not appear until 1790. Bruce lost his life by an accident, April 27, 1794. BRUCE, MICHAEL, a Scottish poet, born in Kinnesswood, Kinross-shire, March 27, 1746. At first a herd-boy, he succeeded in attending Edinburgh Uni- versity, occupying himself in the intervals as a village schoolmaster. His poems, of which the best known is the "Elegy," on his own approaching death, were pub- lished by the Rev. John Logan, in 1770. He died July 5, 1767. BRUCE. ROBERT, Earl of Carrick, accompanied Edward I. to Palestine in 1269; married, in 1271, Martha Margaret, Countess of Carrick. Like his father, he resigned the Lordship of Annandale to his eldest son to avoid acknowledging the supremacy of Baliol. On the revolt of the latter Bruce fought on the English side, and after the battle of Dunbar made an unsuccessful application to Edward for the crown. He died in 1304. BRUCE, ROBERT, the greatest of the Kings of Scotland, born in 1274. He was the son of the preceding. In 1296, as Earl of Carrick, he swore fealty to Ed- ward I., and in 1297 fought on the Eng- lish side against Wallace. He th-.n joined the Scottish army, but in the same year returned to his allegiance to Edward until 1298, when he again joined the National party, and became in 1299 one of the four regents of the kingdom. In the three final campaigns, however, he resumed fidelity to Edward, and resided for some time at his court; but, learning that the King meditated putting him to death on information given by the traitor Comyn, he fled, in February, 1306, to Scotland, stabbed Comyn in a quarrel at Dumfries, assembled his vassals at Loch- maben Castle, and claimed the crown, which he received at Scone, March 27. Being twice defeated, he dismissed his troops, retired to Rathlin Island, and was supposed to be dead, when, in the spring of 1307, he landed on the Carrick coast, defeated the Earl of Pembroke at Loudon Hill, and in two years had wrested nearly the whole country from the English. He then in successive years advanced into England, laying waste the country, and on June 24, 1314, defeated at Bannock- burn the English forces advancing under Edward II. to the relief of the garrison at Stirling. In 1316 he went to Ireland to the aid of his brother Edward, and, on his return in 1318, in retaliation for inroads made during his absence, he took Berwick and harried Northumberland and Yorkshire. Hostilities continued until the defeat of Edward near Byland Abbey in 1323, and though in that year a truce was concluded for 13 years, it