Part 12

BOSCAN ALMOGAVER, JUAN (1490?-1542), Spanish poet, was born about the close of the 15th century. He was a Catalan of patrician birth, and, after some years of military service, became tutor to the duke of Alva. His poems were published in 1543 at Barcelona by his widow. They are divided into sections which mark the stages of Boscan's poetical evolution. The first book contains poems in the old Castilian metres, written in his youth, before 1526, in which year he became acquainted with the Venetian ambassador, Andrea Navagiero, who urged him to adopt Italian measures, and this advice gave a new turn to Boscan's activity. The remaining books contain a number of pieces in the Italian manner, the longest of these being _Hero y Leander_, a poem in blank verse, based on Musaeus. Boscan's best effort, the _Octava Rima_, is a skilful imitation of Petrarch and Bembo. Boscan also published in 1534 an admirable translation of Castiglione's _Il Cortegiano_. Italian measures had been introduced into Spanish literature by Santillana and Villalpando; it is Boscan's distinction to have naturalized these forms definitively, and to have founded a poetic school.

The best edition of his poems is that issued at Madrid in 1875 by W.J. Knapp; for his indebtedness to earlier writers, see Francesco Flamini, _Studi di storia literaria italiana e straniera_ (Livorno, 1895).

BOSCASTLE, a small seaport and watering-place in the Launceston parliamentary division of Cornwall, England, 5 m. N. of Camelford station on the London & South-Western railway. Pop. (civil parish of Forrabury, 1901) 329. The village rises steeply above a very narrow cove on the north coast, sheltered, but difficult of access, vessels having to be warped into it by means of hawsers. A mound on a hill above the harbour marks the site of a Norman castle. The parish church of St Symphorian, Forrabury, also stands high, overlooking the Atlantic from Willapark Point. The tower is without bells, and the tradition that a ship bearing a peal hither was wrecked within sight of the harbour, and that the lost bells may still be heard to toll beneath the waves, has been made famous by a ballad of the Cornish poet Robert Stephen Hawker, vicar of Moorwinstow. The coast scenery near Boscastle is severely beautiful, with abrupt cliffs fully exposed to the sea, and broken only by a few picturesque inlets such as Crackington Cove and Pentargan Cove. Inland are bare moors, diversified by narrow dales.

BOSCAWEN, EDWARD (1711-1761), British admiral, was born on the 19th of August 1711. He was the third son of Hugh, 1st Viscount Falmouth. He early entered the navy, and in 1739 distinguished himself at the taking of Porto Bello. At the siege of Cartagena, in March 1741, at the head of a party of seamen, he took a battery of fifteen 24-pounders, while exposed to the fire of another fort. On his return to England in the following year he married, and entered parliament as member for Truro. In 1744 he captured the French frigate "Medee," commanded by M. de Hocquart, the first ship taken in the war. In May 1747 he signalized himself in the engagement off Cape Finisterre, and was wounded in the shoulder with a musket-ball. Hocquart again became his prisoner, and the French ships, ten in number, were taken. On the 15th of July he was made rear-admiral and commander-in-chief of the expedition to the East Indies. On the 29th of July 1748 he arrived off Fort St David's, and soon after laid siege to Pondicherry; but the sickness of his men and the approach of the monsoons led to the raising of the siege. Soon afterwards he received news of the peace, and Madras was delivered up to him by the French. In April 1750 he arrived in England, and was the next year made one of the lords of the Admiralty, and chosen an elder brother of the Trinity House. In February 1755 he was appointed vice-admiral, and in April he intercepted the French squadron bound to North America, and took the "Alcide" and "Lys" of sixty-four guns each. Hocquart became his prisoner for the third time, and Boscawen returned to Spithead with his prizes and 1500 prisoners. For this exploit, he received the thanks of parliament. In 1758 he was appointed admiral of the blue and commander-in-chief of the expedition to Cape Breton, when, in conjunction with General Amherst, he took the fortress of Louisburg, and the island of Cape Breton--services for which he again received the thanks of the House of Commons. In 1759, being appointed to command in the Mediterranean, he pursued the French fleet, commanded by M. de la Clue, and after a sharp engagement in Lagos Bay took three large ships and burnt two, returning to Spithead with his prizes and 2000 prisoners. The victory defeated the proposed concentration of the French fleet in Brest to cover an invasion of England. In December 1760 he was appointed general of the marines, with a salary of L3000 per annum, and was also sworn a member of the privy council. He died at his seat near Guildford on the 10th of January 1761.

BOSCH (or Bos), JEROM (c. 1460-1518), the name generally given, from his birthplace Hertogenbosch, to Hieronymus van Aeken, the Dutch painter. He was probably a pupil of Albert Ouwater, and may be called the Breughel of the 15th century, for he devoted himself to the invention of bizarre types, _diableries_, and scenes of the kind generally associated with Breughel, whose art is to a great extent based on Bosch's. He was a satirist much in advance of his time, and one of the most original and ingenious artists of the 15th century. He exercised great influence on Lucas Cranach, who frequently copied his paintings. His works were much admired in Spain, especially by Philip II., at whose court Bosch painted for some time. One of his chief works is the "Last Judgment" at the Berlin gallery, which also owns a little "St Jerome in the Desert." "The Fall of the Rebellious Angels" and the "St Anthony" triptych are in the Brussels museum, and two important triptychs are at the Munich gallery. The Lippmann collection in Berlin contains an important "Adoration of the Magi," the Antwerp museum a "Passion," and a practically unknown painting from his brush is at the Naples museum.

BOSCOVICH, ROGER JOSEPH (1711?-1787), Italian mathematician and natural philosopher, one of the earliest of foreign _savants_ to adopt Newton's gravitation theory, was born at Ragusa in Dalmatia on the 18th of May 1711, according to the usual account, but ten years earlier according to Lalande (_Eloge_, 1792). In his fifteenth year, after passing through the usual elementary studies, he entered the Society of Jesus. On completing his noviciate, which was spent at Rome, he studied mathematics and physics at the Collegium Romanum; and so brilliant was his progress in these sciences that in 1740 he was appointed professor of mathematics in the college. For this post he was especially fitted by his acquaintance with recent advances in science, and by his skill in a classical severity of demonstration, acquired by a thorough study of the works of the Greek geometricians. Several years before this appointment he had made himself a name by an elegant solution of the problem to find the sun's equator and determine the period of its rotation by observation of the spots on its surface. Notwithstanding the arduous duties of his professorship he found time for investigation in all the fields of physical science; and he published a very large number of dissertations, some of them of considerable length, on a wide variety of subjects. Among these subjects were the transit of Mercury, the Aurora Borealis, the figure of the earth, the observation of the fixed stars, the inequalities in terrestrial gravitation, the application of mathematics to the theory of the telescope, the limits of certainty in astronomical observations, the solid of greatest attraction, the cycloid, the logistic curve, the theory of comets, the tides, the law of continuity, the double refraction micrometer, various problems of spherical trigonometry, &c. In 1742 he was consulted, with other men of science, by the pope, Benedict XIV., as to the best means of securing the stability of the dome of St Peter's, Rome, in which a crack had been discovered. His suggestion was adopted. Shortly after he engaged to take

## part in the Portuguese expedition for the survey of Brazil, and the

measurement of a degree of the meridian; but he yielded to the urgent request of the pope that he would remain in Italy and undertake a similar task there. Accordingly, in conjunction with Christopher Maire, an English Jesuit, he measured an arc of two degrees between Rome and Rimini. The operations were begun towards the close of 1750, and were completed in about two years. An account of them was published in 1755, entitled _De Litteraria expeditione per pontificam ditionem ad dimetiendos duos meridiani gradus a PP. Maire et Boscovich_. The value of this work was increased by a carefully prepared map of the States of the Church. A French translation appeared in 1770. A dispute having arisen between the grand duke of Tuscany and the republic of Lucca with respect to the drainage of a lake, Boscovich was sent, in 1757, as agent of Lucca to Vienna, and succeeded in bringing about a satisfactory arrangement of the matter. In the following year he published at Vienna his famous work, _Theoria philosophiae naturalis redacta ad unicam legem virium in natura existentium_, containing his atomic theory (see MOLECULE). Another occasion for the exercise of his diplomatic ability soon after presented itself. A suspicion having arisen on the part of the British government that ships of war had been fitted out in the port of Ragusa for the service of France, and that the neutrality of Ragusa had thus been violated, Boscovich was selected to undertake an embassy to London (1760), to vindicate the character of his native place and satisfy the government. This mission he discharged successfully, with credit to himself and satisfaction to his countrymen. During his stay in England he was elected a fellow of the Royal Society. He soon after paid this society the compliment of dedicating to it his Latin poem, entitled _De Solis et Lunae Defectibus_ (London, 1764). This prolix composition, one of a class which at that time was much in vogue--metrical epitomes of the facts of science--contains in about five thousand lines, illustrated by voluminous notes, a compendium of astronomy. It was for the most part written on horseback, during the author's rides in the country while engaged in his meridian measurements. The book is characterized by G.B.J. Delambre as "uninstructive to an astronomer and unintelligible to any one else."

On leaving England Boscovich travelled in Turkey, but ill-health compelled him soon to return to Italy. In 1764 he was called to the chair of mathematics at the university of Pavia, and this post he held, together with the directorship of the observatory of Brera, for six years. He was invited by the Royal Society of London to undertake an expedition to California to observe the transit of Venus in 1769; but this was prevented by the recent decree of the Spanish government for the expulsion of the Jesuits from its dominions. The vanity, egotism and petulance of Boscovich provoked his rivals and made him many enemies, so that in hope of peace he was driven to frequent change of residence. About 1770 he removed to Milan, where he continued to teach and to hold the directorship of the observatory of Brera; but being deprived of his post by the intrigues of his associates he was about to retire to his native place, when the news reached him (1773) of the suppression of his order in Italy. Uncertainty as to his future led him to accept an invitation from the king of France to Paris, where he was naturalized and was appointed director of optics for the marine, an office instituted for him, with a pension of 8000 livres. He remained there ten years, but his position became irksome, and at length intolerable. He continued, however, to devote himself diligently to the pursuits of science, and published many remarkable memoirs. Among them were an elegant solution of the problem to determine the orbit of a comet from three observations, and memoirs on the micrometer and achromatic telescopes. In 1783 he returned to Italy, and spent two years at Bassano, where he occupied himself with the publication of his _Opera pertinentia ad opticam et astronomiam, &c._, which appeared in 1785 in five volumes quarto. After a visit of some months to the convent of Vallombrosa, he went to Milan and resumed his literary labours. But his health was failing, his reputation was on the wane, his works did not sell, and he gradually sank a prey to illness and disappointment. He fell into melancholy, imbecility, and at last madness, with lucid intervals, and died at Milan on the 15th (13th) of February 1787. In addition to the works already mentioned Boscovich published _Elementa universae matheseos_ (1754), the substance of the course of study prepared for his pupils; and a narrative of his travels, entitled _Giornale di un viaggio da Constantinopoli in Polonia_, of which several editions and a French translation appeared. His latest labour was the editing of the Latin poems of his friend Benedict Stay on the philosophy of Descartes, with scientific annotations and supplements. (W. L. R. C.)

BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA, or BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA, two provinces formerly included in European Turkey, which now, together with Dalmatia, form the southernmost territories of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy. The name _Herzegovina_ is also written _Hertzegovina, Hertsegovina_ or, in Croatian, _Hercegovina_. In shape roughly resembling an equilateral triangle, with base uppermost, Bosnia and Herzegovina cover an area of 19,696 sq. m., in the north-west of the Balkan Peninsula. They are bounded N. and N.W. by Croatia-Slavonia; W. and S.W. by Dalmatia; S.E. by Montenegro and the Sanjak of Novibazar; and N.E. by Servia. Opposite to the promontory of Sabbioncello, and at the entrance to the Bocche di Cattaro, the frontier of Herzegovina comes down to the Adriatic; but these two strips of coast do not contain any good harbour, and extend only for a total distance of 14-1/2 m. Bosnia is altogether an inland territory.

1. _Physical Features._--Along the Dalmatian border, and through the centre of Bosnia, runs the backbone of the Dinaric Alps, which attain their greatest altitudes (6000-7500 ft.) near Travnik, Serajevo and Mostar. There are numerous high valleys shut in among the mountains of this range; the most noteworthy being the plain of Livno, which lies parallel to the Dalmatian border, at a height of 500 ft. above the sea. The zone of highlands throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina reaches a mean altitude of 1500 ft., while summits of more than 4000 ft. occur frequently. To the north-east of the Dinaric Alps extends a region of mountain, moor and forest, with deeply sunk alluvial basins, which finally expand into the lowlands of the Posavina, or Vale of the Save, forming the southernmost fringe of the Hungarian Alfold. Bosnia belongs wholly to the watershed of the Save, and its rivers to the Danubian system, no large stream finding a way to the Adriatic. The Save flows eastward along the northern frontier for 237 m. It is joined by four main tributaries, the Drina, Bosna, Vrbas and Una. The Drina is formed on the Montenegrin frontier by the united streams of the Tara and Piva; curving north-eastwards past Visegrad, it marches for 102 m. with Servian territory, and falls into the Save at Racha, after a total course of 155 m. The Bosna issues from many springs near Serajevo, and winds for 107 m. northward, through a succession of fertile glens, reaching the Save 1 m. west of Samac. Farther west, the Vrbas cuts a channel through the Dinaric Alps, and, after passing Jajce and Banjaluka, meets the Save 94 m. from its own headwaters. The Una rises on the Croatian border, and, after skirting the Pljesevica Planina, in Croatia, turns sharply to the north-east; serving as a frontier stream for 37 m. before entering the Save at Jasenovac. Its length is 98 m. At Novi it is joined by the Sana, a considerable affluent.

Herzegovina, which lies south of Bosnia, in a parallelogram defined by Montenegro, Dalmatia, the Dinaric Alps, and an irregular line drawn from a point 25 m. west-north-west of Mostar to the bend of the river Narenta, differs in many respects from the larger territory. Its mountains, which belong to the Adriatic watershed, and form a continuation of the Montenegrin highlands, are less rounded and more dolomitic in character. They descend in parallel ridges of grey Karst limestone, south-westwards to the sea; their last summits reappear in the multitude of rocky islands along the Dalmatian littoral. As in the peaks of Orjen, Orobac, Samotica and Veliki Kap, their height often exceeds 6000 ft. West of the Narenta, their flanks are in places covered with forests of beech and pine, but north-east of that river they present for the most part a scene of barren desolation. Their monotony is varied only by the fruitful river-valleys and _poljes_, or upland hollows, where the smaller towns and villages are grouped; the districts or cantons thus formed are walled round by a natural rampart of limestone. These _poljes_ may be described as oases in what is otherwise a desert expanse of mountains. The surface of some, as notably the _Mostarsko Blato_, lying west of Mostar, is marshy, and in spring forms a lake; others are watered by streams which disappear in swallow-holes of the rock, and make their way by underground channels either to the sea or the Narenta. The most conspicuous example of these is the Trebinjcica, which disappears in two swallow-holes in Popovopolye, and after making its way by a subterranean passage through a range of mountains, wells up in the mighty source of Ombla near Ragusa, and hurries in undiminished volume to the Adriatic. The Narenta, or Neretva, is the one large river of Herzegovina which flows above ground throughout its length. Rising on the Montenegrin border, under the Lebrsnik mountains, it flows north-westwards at the foot of the Dinaric Alps; and, near Konjica, sweeps round suddenly to the south, and falls into the Adriatic near Metkovic, after traversing 125 m. North of Mostar, it cleaves a passage through the celebrated Narenta defile, a narrow gorge, 12 m. long, overshadowed by mountains which rise on either side and culminate in Lupoglav (6796 ft.) on the east, and Cvrstnica (7205 ft.) on the west.

2. _Geology and Minerals._--Geologically, the highlands of Bosnia and Herzegovina are to be regarded, in both their orographic and tectonic character, as a continuation of the South Alpine calcareous belt. Along the west frontier there appear broad and strongly marked zones of Cretaceous limestone, alternating with Jurassic and Triassic, joined by a strip of Palaeozoic formations running from the north-west corner of Bosnia. Next, proceeding from this region in an easterly direction, are the Neogene freshwater formations, filling up the greatest part of the north-east of Bosnia, as also a zone of flysch intermingled with several strips of eruptive rock. In the south-east of Bosnia the predominant formations are Triassic and Palaeozoic strata with red sandstone and quartzite. Along the whole northern rim of Bosnia, as also in the fluvial and Karst valleys (_poljes_), are found diluvial and alluvial formations, interrupted at one place by an isolated granite layer. Bosnia is rich in minerals, including coal, iron, copper, chrome, manganese, cinnabar, zinc and mercury, besides marble and much excellent building stone. Among the mountains, gold and silver were worked by the Romans, and, in the middle ages, by the Ragusans. After 1881 the Mining Company of Bosnia began to develop the coal and iron fields; and from 1886 its operations were continued by the government. Valuable salt is obtained from the pits at Dolnja Tuzla, and the southern part of Herzegovina yields asphalt and lignite. Mineral springs also abound, and those of Ilidze, near Serajevo, have been utilized since the days of the Romans; but the majority remained unexploited at the beginning of the 20th century.

3. _Climate._--In climate Bosnia differs considerably from Herzegovina. In both alike the _scirocco_, bringing rain from the south-west, is a prevalent wind, as well as the _bora_, the fearful north-north-easter of Illyria, which, sweeping down the lateral valleys of the Dinaric Alps, overwhelms everything in its path. The snow-fall is slight, and, except on a few of the loftier peaks, the snow soon melts. In Bosnia the weather resembles that of the south Austrian highlands, generally mild, though apt to be bitterly cold in winter. In Serajevo the mean annual temperature is 50 deg. Fahr. Herzegovina has more affinity to the Dalmatian mountains, oppressively hot in summer, when the mercury often rises beyond 110 deg. Fahr. The winter rains of the Karst region show that it belongs to the sub-tropical climatic zone.

4. _Fauna._--In 1893 the bones of a cave-bear (_Ursus spelaeus_) were taken from a cavern of the Bjelasnica range, in Herzegovina, a discovery without parallel in the Balkan Peninsula. Of existing species the bear, wild-boar, badger, roe-deer and chamois may occasionally be seen in the remotest wilds of mountain and forest. Hares are uncommon, and the last red-deer was shot in 1814; but wolves, otters and squirrels abound. Snipe, woodcock, ducks and rails, in vast flocks, haunt the banks of the Drina and Save; while the crane, pelican, wild-swan and wild-goose are fairly plentiful. The lammergeier (_Gypaetus barbatus_) had almost become extinct in 1900; but several varieties of eagle and falcon are left. Falconry was long a pastime of the Moslem landlords. The destruction of game, recklessly carried out under Turkish rule, is prevented by the laws of 1880, 1883 and 1893, which enforced a close time, and rendered shooting-licences necessary. The list of reptiles includes the venomous _Vipera ammodytes_ and _Pelias berus_, while scorpions and lizards infest the stony wastes of the Karst. In the museum at Serajevo there is a large entomological collection, including the remarkable _Pogonus anophthalmus_, from the underground Karst caves. The caves are rich in curious kinds of fish, _Paraphoxinus Gethaldii_, which is unknown elsewhere, _Chondrostoma phoximus, Phoxinellus alepidatus_ and others, which are caught and eaten by the peasantry. In Herzegovina, although many of the high mountain tarns are unproductive, the eel-fisheries of the Narenta are of considerable value. Leech-gathering is a characteristic Bosnian industry. The streams of both territories yield excellent trout and crayfish; salmon, sturgeon and sterlet, from the Danube, are netted in the Save.

Forests.