unnel workmen), and 142 French-speaking,
one person only speaking Romonsch.

(W. A. B. C.)

BRIELLE (_Briel_ or _Bril_), a seaport in the province of South Holland,
Holland, on the north side of the island of Voorne, at the mouth of the New
Maas, 51/2 m. N. of Hellevoetsluis. Pop. (1900) 4107. It is a fortified place
and has a good harbour, arsenal, magazine and barracks. It also possesses a
quaint town hall, and an orphanage dating from 1533. The tower of the
Groote [v.04 p.0562] Kerk of St Catherine serves as a lighthouse. Most of
the trade of Brielle was diverted to Hellevoetsluis by the cutting of the
Voornsche Canal in 1829, but it still has some business in corn and fodder,
as well as a few factories. A large number of the inhabitants are also
engaged in the fisheries and as pilots.

The chief event in the history of Brielle is its capture by the _Gueux sur
Mer_, a squadron of privateers which raided the Dutch coast under
commission of the prince of Orange. This event, which took place on the 1st
of April 1572, was the first blow in the long war of Dutch independence,
and was followed by a general outbreak of the patriotic party (Motley,
_Rise of the Dutch Republic_, part iii. chapter vi.). "The Brill" was one
of the four Dutch towns handed over to Queen Elizabeth in 1584 as security
for English expenses incurred in aiding the Dutch. Brielle is the
birthplace of the famous admiral Martin van Tromp, and also of Admiral van
Almonde, a distinguished commander of the early 18th century.

BRIENNE-LE-CHATEAU, a town of north-eastern France, in the department of
Aube, 1 m. from the right bank of the Aube and 26 m. N.E. of Troyes on the
Eastern railway. Pop. (1906) 1761. The chateau, which overlooks the town,
is an imposing building of the latter half of the 18th century, built by
the cardinal de Brienne (see below). It possesses an important collection
of pictures, many of them historical portraits of the 17th and 18th
centuries. The church dates from the 16th century and contains good stained
glass. A statue of Napoleon commemorates his sojourn at Brienne from 1779
to 1784, when he was studying at the military school suppressed in 1790. In
1814 Brienne was the scene of fighting between Napoleon and the Allies (see
NAPOLEONIC CAMPAIGNS). Brewing is carried on in the town.
Brienne-la-Vieille, a village 11/2 m. south of Brienne-le-Chateau, has a
church of the 12th and 16th centuries with fine stained windows. The portal