Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 02.djvu/241

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BRUSH TURKEY 209 BRUTUS BRUSH TURKEY, a large gregarious species of bird, talegalla lathami. It is an inhabitant of Australia. It makes its nest in large mounds of brushwood, which it collects, and from which it takes its name. BRUSSELS (French Bruxelles), the capital of Belgium; on the river Senne, communicates with Antwerp and the North Sea by means of the Scheldt canal, and railroads connect it with Germany, France, and Holland, as well as with all the principal towns of Belgium. The city is built partly on the side of a hill and partly on a fertile plain. French is spoken in the upper part of Brussels; in the lower, Flemish is prevalent, and in ~>ne quarter the Walloon dialect is spoken. The English language, owing to the number of English who reside in the city, for economy, is also very common. Besides the fine park in the Upper Town, which covers an area of some acres and is ornamented with fountains and statues, and surrounded by the King's palace, the Palace of the Prince of Orange, the Chamber of Rep- resentatives, and other buildings, Brus- sels has several other squares or places, among which the most noteworthy are: the Place Royale, with the colossal monument of Godfrey of Bouillon; the Grand Place, in which is situated the Hotel de Ville, a splendid Gothic struc- ture, erected in the beginning of the 15th century, with a pyramidal tower 364 feet high, surmounted by a statue of St. Mi- chael, the patron saint of Brussels, and where, in 1568, the patriot Counts, Eg- mont and Horn, were beheaded by order of the Duke of Alva; and the Place des Martyrs, where a memorial has been erected to those who fell here in the Revolution of 1830. Among the churcl ^s of Brussels the largest and finest is the Cathedral of St. Gudule, which dates from the 12th century. In the Palais des Beaux Arts is the picture gallery, con- taining the finest specimens of the Flem- ish school; the Public Library, with its 234,000 volumes and its 20,000 MSS. The observatory is one of the finest in Eu- rope. The educational establishments of Brussels are numerous, the principal be- ing the free university, founded in 1834, with four faculties. It is the seat of the Provincial Government of South Brabant, as well as of the General Government of the Kingdom. Brussels is one of the chief centers of the industry of the country. Its lace is particularly famous. Of car- pets which pass under the name of Brus- sels carpets only a few are manufactured here, most of those of Belgic make being produced at Tournai. Brussels was oc- cupied by the Germans Aug. 20, 1914, and held by them until November, 1918. Pop. about 180,000 with suburbs, 730,000. See Belgium, and World War. BRUSSELS SPROUTS, the small sprouts or heads, each a perfect cabbage in miniature, springing from the stalks of a species of cabbage. They were originally brought from Belgium. BRUSSILOFF, ALEXEI ALEXEIE- VITCH, a Russian General, born in Kutais, Russian Caucasus, in 1853. He entered the profession of arms as a lieu- tenant of cavalry, and had a reputation in the army for his daring horsemanship. He served with distinction in the Russo- Turkish War, 1877-1878. In 1911 he was stationed in Podolia, as the commander of an army corps. When the World War broke out he invaded Galicia and achieved some remarkable victories. In April, 1916, he succeeded General Ivanoff as commander of the southwestern group of armies, and in June of that year defeated the Teutonic forces overwhelmingly in Volhynia and Galicia, capturing great numbers of prisoners and immense sup- plies of material and munitions. After the deposition of the Czar, the Russian armies began to disintegrate under the influence of the Bolshevist propaganda, and despite herculean attempts on Brus- siloff's part to retain discipline, he was unable to resist the inevitable. He was made Commander-in-Chief of all the Rus- sian armies, during the brief spell of Kerensky's control. Soon afterward the Russian front collapsed, and negotiations were entered into looking toward a sep- arate peace between Russia and the Cen- tral Powers. For a long period after this little was heard of Brussiloff, and there were reports that he had died; but in 1920 he was Commander-in-Chief of the Red armies engaged in the Polish cam- paigns. BRUT, or BRUTUS, the eponymous Trojan hero who gave his name to the island of Britain, according to Geoffrey of Monmouth, Wace, Layamon, and all the earlier historians in verse or prose. The great-grandson of ^neas, he was banished from Italy, and after many ad- ventures, found his way to Albion, then the abode of giants, who were not de- stroyed without desperate fighting. BRUTUS, DECIMUS JUNIUS, a Roman soldier, served under Julius Caesar in Gaul, and was afterward com- mander of his fleet, but, like his relative, Marcus Junius Brutus, joined in the assassination of Caesar. He was after- ward, for a short time, successful in opposing Antony, but was deserted by his soldiers in Gaul and betrayed into