Britton used to pitch his coal-sack on a bulk at the door, and, dressed in his blue frock, to step in and spend an hour with the company. But it was not only by a few literary lords that his acquaintance was cultivated; his humble roof was frequented by assemblies of the fair and the gay; and his fondness for inusic caused him to be known by many dilettanti and professors, who formed themselves into a club at his house, where capital pieces were played by some of the first professional artists, and other practitioners; and here Dubourg, when a child, played, standing upon a joint-stool, the first solo that he ever executed in public.

The circumstances of his death were very extraordinary. A ventriloquist was introduced into his company by one justice Robe, who was fond of mischievous jests. This man, in a voice seemingly coming from a distance, announced to poor Britton his approaching end, and bid him prepare for it, by repeating the Lord's prayer on his knees. The poor man did so, but the affair dwelt so much upon his imagination, that he died in a few days, leaving justice Robe to enjoy the fruits of his mirth. His death happened in September, 1714, when he was upwards of sixty years of age.

Britton's wife survived her husband. He left little behind him, except his books, his collection of manuscript and printed music, and musical instruments; all which were sold by auction, and catalogues of them are in the hands of some collectors of curiosities. His instrumental music consists of 160 articles; his vocal, of 42; 11 scores; instruments, 27. All these are specified in Hawkins's History of music, but we shall add the title-page of the catalogue of his library : "The library of Mr. Thomas Britton, small-coal man, deceased; who, at his own charge, kept up a concert of music above forty years, in his little cottage; being a curious collection of every ancient and uncommon book in divinity, history, physic, chemistry, magick, &c. Also a collection of MSS. chiefly on vellum, which will be sold by auction at Paul's coffee-house, &c. Jan. 1714-15," &c. It contained 102 articles in folio; 270 in 4to; 664 in 8vo; 50 pamphlets, and twenty-three MSS. A few of the works in 8vo were sufficiently amatory. A copy of this now very rare catalogue is in Mr. Heber's excellent library. 1

1

BRIXIUS, or DE BRIE (GERMAIN), a learned Frenchman, was born about the end of the fifteenth century, at Auxerre, or in that diocese; and in his education made great progress in the learned languages, particularly the Greek, from which he translated into Latin, Chrysostom's treatise on the priesthood; his first eight homilies on the epistle of St. Paul to the Romans, and some other works, which contributed very much to his reputation. He used frequently to compose Greek verses, with which he entertained the literati at his house, where they were sure of an open table. From 1512 he was secretary to queen Anne, and archdeacon of Albi. In 1515 he had a canonry conferred upon him in the church of Auxerre, which, in 1520, he resigned, on being promoted to the same rank at Paris. He calls himself almoner to the king in the title of his rare book "Germani Brixii, gratulatoriæ quatuor ad totidem viros classissimos, &c." Paris, 1531, 4to. This contains also four letters to Erasmus, Jerome Vida, Sadolet, and Lazarus Bayf, with some Latin poetry addressed to Francis I. on a marble statue of Venus, which the chevalier Renz had presented to that sovereign. He published also an edition of Longolius's defences, "Christ. Longolii perduellionis rei defensiones duæ," 1520. Brixius died in 1538. He was the familiar acquaintance of Rabelais, and long the correspondent of Erasmus, but what more particularly entitles him to notice here, is his quarrel with sir Thomas More, on which some of the biographers of that illustrious character have been either silent, or superficial. Brixius in 1513 composed a poem called "Chordigera," where in three hundred hexameter verses, he described a battle fought that year by a French ship, la Cordeliere, and an English ship, the Regent. More, who was not then in the high station which he afterwards reached, composed several epigrams in derision of this poem. Brixius, piqued at this affront, revenged himself by the " AntiMorus," an elegy of about 400 verses, in which he severely censured all the faults which he thought he had found in the poems of More. Yet he kept this piece of satire by him for some time, declaring, that if he should consent to the publication, it would be purely to comply with his friends, who remonstrated to him, that compositions of this kind lost much of their bloom by coming out late. There are three editions of the Anti-Morus. The two first are of Paris; one published by himself, in 1520, the other in 1560, in the second volume of the " Flores Epigrammatum" of Leodegarius a Quercu, or Léger du Chêne. The third is in the "Corpus Poetarum Latinorum" collected by Janus Gruterus, under the anagrammatic name of Ranutius Gerus. Erasmus says that More despised this poem so much as to have intended to print it; Erasmus at the same time advised More to take no notice of it. The chancellor's great-grandson and biographer, More, seems to think that he had written something in answer to Brixius, before he received this advice from Erasmus, but called in the copies, "so that," says his biographer, "it is now very hard to be found; though some have seen it of late." Much correspondence on the subject may be perused in our authorities. 1

BROAD, or BRODÆUS (THOMAS), son of the rev. W. Broad, of Rendcombe, in Gloucestershire, was born in 1577, and educated at St. Mary's-hall, Oxford, which he entered in 1594, but soon after went to Alban-hall, where he took his degrees in arts. In 1611, on the death of his father, he became rector of Rendcombe, where he was held in high esteem for piety and learning, and where he died, and was buried in the chancel of his church, in June, 1635. He wrote: 1. a "Touchstone for a Christian," Lond. 1613, 12mo. 2. "The Christian's Warfare," ibid. 1613, 12mo. 3. "Three questions on the Lord's Day, &c." Oxon. 1621, 4to. 4. "Tractatus de Sabbato, in quo doctrina ecclesiæ primitive declaratur ac defenditur," 1627, 4to, and two treatises on the same subject, left in manuscript, and published, with an answer, by George Abbot (not the archbishop), as mentioned in his life.

2

BROCARDUS (JAMES), a man of a visionary turn, was a native of Venice, born in the beginning of the sixteenth century. He embraced the Protestant religion, and expressed a great zeal against Popery. He published several books in Holland, in which he maintained that the particular events of the sixteenth century had been foretold by the prophets, and after he had applied scripture, as his fancy directed, to things that had already happened, he took the liberty to apply it to future events. In this he succeeded so far as to persuade a French gentleman of noble extraction, and a Protestant, that a Protestant prince would quickly overthrow the Pope's kingdom, and make himself the head of all the united Christians. This gentleman, Ségur Pardaillan, was a faithful servant to the king of Navarre, afterwards Henry IV. and thought heaven designed his master for the glorious enterprise which Brocardus had foretold. Big with these hopes, he proposed to him to send an embassy to the Protestant princes, offering to be his ambassador; and there being nothing in his proposal but what suited with the exigencies of the time, it was approved of, and he was actually deputed to those princes in 1583.

The catholic writers have abused Brocardus as an impostor, and a promoter of wars and insurrections; but though he might have been the cause of disturbances, he does not appear to have been a knavish impostor. He seems to have been sincere, and to have believed what he taught. He retired to Nuremberg at the latter end of his life, where he met with persons who were very kind and charitable to him. " I hear," says Bongars in a letter to Camerarius, dated Feb. 3, 1591, "that your republic has kindly received the good old man J. Brocard, who in his youth appeared among the most polite and learned men." He expresses the same affection for Brocard in another, dated July 24, 1593. "I am mightily pleased with the great affection you express for Brocard. He certainly deserves that some persons of such probity as yours should take care of him. As for me, I am hardly in a capacity to oblige him. I leave no stone unturned to procure him the payment of 300 gold crowns, which Mr. Ségur left him by his will." In another, of Nov. 16, 1594: "I cannot but even thank you for your kind and generous treatment of the poor, but good, old Brocard." He died soon after, but we do not find exactly when.

Among the works he published, which were most of them printed at Ségur Pardaillan's expence, were his "Commentary on the Revelations of St. John," and his "Mystical and prophetical explication of Leviticus." These both came out at Leyden, in 1580; as did some other things of inferior note the same year. The synods of the United Provinces were afraid that people would think they approved the extravagant notions advanced in them, if they were wholly silent about them; and therefore the national senate of Middleburg condemned, in 1581, that method of explaining the scripture; enjoining the divinity VOL, VII.

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professor at Leyden to speak to Brocard about his visions; and it has been said, that Brocard, not being able to answer the objections raised against his mode of interpreting prophecies, promised to desist.1

BROCKES (BARTHOLOMEW HENRY), a German lawyer and poet, was born at Lubeck, Sept. 22, 1680, and after having studied and taken his degrees in the civil and canon law, settled and practised at Hamburgh, where his merit soon raised him to the senatorial dignity, to which the emperor, without any solicitation, added the rank of Aulic counsellor, and count Palatine. These counts Palatine were formerly governors of the imperial palaces, and had considerable powers, being authorized to create public notaries, confer degrees, &c. Brockes published in five parts, from 1724 to 1736, 8vo, "Irdisches Vergnugen in Gott, &c." or "Earthly Contentment in God," consisting of philosophical and moral poems, which were much praised by his countrymen. He also published translations from Marini, and other Italian poets, into German, and had some thoughts of translating Milton, as he had done Pope's Essay on Man, a proof at least of his taste for English poetry. His works form a collection of 9 vols. 8vo, and have been often reprinted. He appears to have carefully divided his time between his public duties and private studies, and died much esteemed and regretted, Jan. 16,

1747.2

BROCKLESBY (RICHARD), an eminent English physician, the son of Richard Brocklesby, esq. of the city of Cork, by Mary Alloway, of Minehead, Somersetshire, was born at Minehead, where his mother happened to be on a visit to her parents, Aug. 11, 1722. There he remained until he was three years old, at which time he was carried to Ireland, and privately instructed for some years in his father's house at Cork. At a proper age he was sent to Ballytore school in the north of Ireland, at which Edmund Burke was educated, and although they were not exactly contemporaries, Dr. Brocklesby being seven years older, this circumstance led to a long and strict friendship. Having finished his classical education at Ballytore, with diligence and success, his father, intending him for a physician, sent him to Edinburgh, where after continuing the usual time, he went to Leyden, and took his degree under

Gen. Dict. 2 Saxii Onomast.-Republic of Letters, vol. VIII.-Diet, Hist