The brent geese, like other species of the same genus, quit the rigours of the north in winter, and spread themselves southward in greater or less numbers, impelled forward, according to the severity of the season, in search of milder climates. They are then met with on the British shores, and spend the winter months in the rivers, lakes, and marshes in the interior parts, feeding mostly upon the roots, and also on the blades of the long course grasses and plants which grow in the water; but, indeed, their varied modes of living, as well as their other habits and propensities, and their migrations, haltings, breeding-places, &c., do not differ materially from those of the other numerous families of the wild geese. Buffon gives a detail of the devastations which they made, in the hard winters of 1740 and 1765, upon the corn-fields on the coasts of Picardy in France, where they appeared in such immense swarms, that the people were literally raised (en masse we suppose) in order to attempt their extirpation, which, however, it seems they could not effect, and a change in the weather only caused these unwelcome visitants to depart. The brent and the bernacle were formerly, by some ornithologists, looked upon as being of the same species; later observers, however, have decided differently, and they are now classed as distinct kinds.—_Bewick._ BRET, _s._ A fish of the turbot kind. BREW, _v._ To make liquors by mixing several ingredients; to prepare by mixing things together. BRIDLE, _s._ The headstall and reins by which a horse is restrained and governed; a restraint, a curb, a check. BRIDLE, _v._ To guide by a bridle; to restrain, to govern. BRIDLE-HAND, _s._ The hand which holds the bridle in riding. BRIERY, _a._ Rough, full of briers. BRIG, _s._ A square-rigged vessel with two masts. [Illustration] This class of vessels are generally employed as merchantmen and cruisers; and from their sea-worthy qualities and handy rig, are at once safe and easily worked. Latterly they have been introduced into the Royal Yacht Club; and the proud boast of having built one of the fastest and finest vessels in the world, has been recently achieved by the Earl of Belfast. The Water Witch is 331 tons measurement, and has more than realised all that a builder could expect. She has, in every trial, proved her superiority; and in all weathers maintained a decided advantage over every antagonist. A letter from the noble owner, elicited by some trifling misstatement, concerning her model, &c., appeared in a late number of the _Sporting Magazine_, and as it is briefly descriptive of this beautiful brig, we have transferred it from the periodical.