52 cards, and the four players participating in the game are known respectively as the dealer, the leader, the dummy, and the pone. There are one or two varieties of bridge as there are of whist, and a complete account of them, with the numerous rules of bridge itself, may be obtained from the following excellent authorities: De la Rue, The Laws of Bridge (London, 1889); Foster, Bridge (London, 1901); Dunn, Bridge and How to Play It (London, 1901); Steele, Simple Rules for Bridge (New York, 1902).
BRIDGE, Horatio (1806-93). An American naval officer, born at Augusta, Maine. He graduated at Bowdoin College in 1825, was admitted to the bar, and in 1838 was appointed paymaster in the United States Navy. From that time until 1851 he cruised about, making several visits to Africa, which he describes in the Journal of an African Cruiser (1845). He was then made chief of the Bureau of Provisions and Clothing, which position he occupied for fifteen years. Upon his resignation he was appointed chief inspector in the same department, and finally retired with the rank of commodore.
BRIDGE, Sir John Frederick (1844—). An English organist and composer, born at Oldbury (Worcestershire). He studied under John Hopkins and Sir John Goss, in 1865 was appointed organist of Trinity Church, Windsor, and in 1869 of Manchester Cathedral. From 1875 to 1882 he was deputy organist of Westminster Abbey, of which he was in the latter year appointed organist. He became successively professor of harmony in Owens College (Manchester) and professor of harmony and counterpoint at the Royal College of Music. His works include Mount Moriah (1874), an oratorio; two cantatas, Boadicea (1880) and Callirhoë (1888); a setting of Gladstone's Latin version of Toplady's “Rock of Ages,” for baritone solo, chorus, and orchestra; and many anthems, including one for the celebration of the Queen's jubilee at Westminster Abbey (1887).
BRIDGE, Joseph Cox (1853—). An English organist and composer. He was born at Rochester, Kent, studied under John Hopkins, and from 1871 to 1876 was organist of Exeter College, Oxford. In 1877 he became organist of Chester Cathedral. There he revived the Chester triennial festival. His works include an oratorio, Daniel (1885); a Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis, in C, for voice and orchestra (1879); and considerable organ-music, anthems, and part-songs.
BRIDGE, Natural. See Natural Bridge.
BRIDGE, Wheatstone. See Wheatstone Bridge.
BRIDGE-BUILDING BROTHERHOOD (Lat. Fratres Pontifices). A religious fraternity formed in the south of France in the latter half of the Twelfth Century, to build bridges and keep ferries. As the Church considered such labors meritorious, the societies spread and grew rich. According to tradition, the shepherd boy, Bénézet, received a revelation that he must build a bridge across the Rhone at Avignon. Accordingly, he went to the bishop and told his story, but was repulsed. The provost, however, aided him and work was begun in 1177. The bridge was not completed until 1185, and Bénézet, dying in the meantime, was buried in the chapel in one of the columns of the bridge. He was afterwards canonized. Either the fame of Saint Bénézet, or compassion for persons who were forced to pay large tolls, led to the founding of a brotherhood for the purpose of carrying on the work of bridge-building, and in 1189 Clement III. sanctioned the order. Similar brotherhoods were formed in other parts of France and in the north of Italy. They labored very hard for a time, but soon the possession of wealth led to idleness. In 1277 the Brotherhood of Bonpas wished to unite with the Templars, but instead Nicholas III. united the order with the Knights of Saint John (1278). Other bridge-building brotherhoods continued their activity for nearly three centuries until the dissolution of the order by Pius II. Consult Grégoire, Recherches historiques sur les congrégations hospitalières des frères pontifes (Paris, 1818).
BRIDGEND, brĭj′ĕnd. An industrial market-town of Glamorganshire, Wales, 14½ miles southeast of Neath. It is a junction of the Great Western Railway. In the town are ruins of a Norman castle. In the neighborhood are the interesting remains of Ogmore Castle, of Coity Castle, and the castellated ruins of Ewenny Priory, founded in 1146. Blast-furnaces constitute the chief industry. Population, in 1891, 4676; in 1901, 6063.
BRIDGE′HEAD, or (in French) Tête-du-Pont. In military engineering, a fortified work intended to defend the passage of a river over a bridge. See Tête-du-Pont.
BRIDGE′NORTH, Alice. The heroine of Scott's novel Peveril of the Peak. She is the daughter of a stanch Roundhead and the sweetheart of an ardent Cavalier, whom she finally marries at the Restoration.
BRIDGE OF SIGHS, The. (1) A lofty bridge in Venice, built by Antonio Contino about 1595-1605. It spans the Rio della Paglia, connecting the Doge's Palace with the Carceri Prigioni. Its name was derived from the fact of its leading to the prisons. It is inclosed at the sides, arched overhead, and contains two separate passages. Byron mentions it in the opening lines of Childe Harold, Canto IV. (2) A poem by Thomas Hood (1844), on the recovery of the body of a London outcast, who had drowned herself in the Thames. (3) The name is also used of a bridge connecting the Tombs prison in New York with the court-rooms.
BRIDGE′PORT. A city, port of entry, and one of the county-seats of Fairfield County, Conn., on Bridgeport Harbor, an arm of Long Island Sound, at the mouth of the Pequonnock River, 18 miles southwest of New Haven, 56 miles northeast of New York (Map: Connecticut, C 5). It has railroad connections by the New York, New Haven and Hartford and its branches, and steamboats run daily to New York. The city is built mainly on level ground, and occupies an area of about 15 square miles. The elevated section, Golden Hill, affords fine views of the Sound and shore, and is covered with beautiful residences. Black Rock, which forms part of Bridgeport, is a summer resort, its harbor being a popular anchorage ground for yachts. The most notable buildings are the United States post-office and custom-house, the county court-house, the Barnum Memorial Institute, the Burroughs Public Library, the Sterling Widows' Home, the city hospital, and
