Chapter XVII: Part 17

There are two kinds of bowling green, the level and the crown. The crown has a fall which may amount to as much as 18 in. all round from the centre to the sides. This type of green is confined almost wholly to certain of the northern and midland counties of England, where it is popular for single-handed, gate-money contests. But although the crown-green game is of a sporting character, it necessitates the use of bowls of narrow bias and affords but limited scope for the display of skill and science. It is the game on the perfectly level green that constitutes the historical game of bowls. Subject to the rule as to the shortest distance to which the jack must be thrown (25 yds.), there is no prescribed size for the lawn; but 42 yds. square forms an ideal green. The Queen's Park and Titwood clubs in Glasgow have each three greens, and as they can quite comfortably play six rinks on each, it is not uncommon to see 144 players making their game simultaneously. An undersized lawn is really a poor pitch, because it involves playing from corner to corner instead of up and down--the orthodox direction. For the scientific construction of a green, the whole ground must be excavated to a depth of 18 in. or so, and thoroughly drained, and layers of different materials (gravel, cinders, moulds, silver-sand) laid down before the final covering of turf, 2-1/2 or 3 in. thick. Seaside turf is the best. It wears longest and keeps its "spring" to the last. Surrounding the green is a space called a ditch, which is nearly but not quite on a level with the green and slopes gently away from it, the side next the turf being lined with boarding, the ditch itself bottomed with wooden spars resting on the foundation. Beyond the ditch are banks generally laid with turf. A green is divided into spaces usually from 18 to 21 ft. in width, commonly styled "rinks"--a word which also designates each set of players--and these are numbered in sequence on a plate fixed in the bank at each end opposite the centre of the space. The end ditch within the limits of the space is, according to Scottish laws, regarded as part of the green, a regulation which prejudices the general acceptance of those laws. In match play each space is further marked off from its neighbour by thin string securely fastened flush with the turf.

Every player uses four _lignum vitae_ bowls in single-handed games and (as a rule) in friendly games, but only two in matches. Every bowl must have a certain amount of bias, which was formerly obtained by loading one side with lead, but is now imparted by the turner making one side more convex than the other, the bulge showing the side of the bias. No bowl must have less than No. 3 bias--that is, it should draw about 6 ft. to a 30 yd. jack on a first-rate green: it follows that on an inferior green the bowler, though using the same bowl, would have to allow for a narrower draw. It is also a rule that the diameter of the bowl shall not be less than 4-1/2 in. nor more than 5-1/4 in., and that its weight must not exceed 3-1/2 lb. The jack or kitty, as the white earthenware ball to which the bowler bowls is called, is round and 2-1/2 to 2-3/4 in. in diameter. On crown-greens it is customary to use a small biased wooden jack to give the bowler some clue to the run of the green. The bowler delivers his bowl with one foot on a mat or footer, made of india-rubber or cocoa-nut fibre, the size of which is also prescribed by rule as 24 by 16 in., though, with a view to protecting the green, Australasian clubs employ a much larger size, and require the bowler to keep both feet on the mat in the act of delivery.

In theory the game of bowls is very simple, the aim of the player being to roll his bowl so as to cause it to rest nearer to the jack than his opponent's, or to protect a well-placed bowl, or to dislodge a better bowl than his own. But in practice there is every opportunity for skill. On all good greens the game is played in rinks of four a side, there being, however, on the part of many English clubs still an adherence to the old-fashioned method of two and three a side rinks. Ordinarily a match team consists of four rinks of four players each, or sixteen men in all. The four players in a rink are known as the leader, second player, third player and skip (or driver, captain or director), and their positions, at least in matches, are unchangeable. Great responsibility is thus thrown on the skip in the choice of his players, who are selected for well-defined reasons. The leader has to place the mat, to throw the jack, to count the game, and to call the result of each end or head to the skip who is at the other end of the green. He is picked for his skill in playing to the jack. It is, therefore, his business to "be up." There is no excuse for short play on his part, and his bowls would be better off the green than obstructing the path of subsequent bowls. So he will endeavour to be "on the jack," the ideal position being a bowl at rest immediately in front of or behind it. The skip plays last, and directs his men from the end that is being played to. The weakest player in the four is invariably played in the second place (the "soft second"). Most frequently he will be required either to protect a good bowl or to rectify a possible error of the leader. His official duty is to mark the game on the scoring card when the leader announces the result. He keeps a record of the play of both sides. The third player, who does any measuring that may be necessary to determine which bowl or bowls may be nearest the jack, holds almost as responsible a position as the captain, whose place, in fact, he takes whenever the skip is temporarily absent. The duties of the skip will already be understood by inference. Before he leaves the jack to play, he must observe the situation of the bowls of both sides. It may be that he has to draw a shot with the utmost nicety to save the end, or even the match, or to lay a cunningly contrived block, or to "fire"--that is, to deliver his bowl almost dead straight at the object, with enough force to kill the bias for the moment. The score having been counted, the leader then places the mat, usually within a yard of the spot where the jack lay at the conclusion of the head, and throws the jack in the opposite direction for a fresh end. On small greens play, for obvious reasons, generally takes place from each ditch. The players play in couples--the first on both sides, then the second and so on. The leader having played his first bowl, the opposing leader will play his first and so on. As a rule, a match consists of 21 points, or 21 ends (or a few more, by agreement).

FIG. 1.--Drawing.

FIG. 2.--Guarding.

FIG. 3.--Trailing

FIG. 4.--Driving.

(In every case F is the Footer, B the Bowl, J the Jack.)]

Certain points in the play call for notice. In throwing the jack, the
leader is bound to throw (i.e. roll) a legal jack. A legal jack must
travel at least 25 yds. from the footer and not come to rest within 2
yds. of either side boundary; but it may be thrown as far beyond this
as the leader chooses, provided that it does not run within 2 yds. of
the end ditch or either side boundary. In English practice the leader
is entitled to a second throw if he fail to roll a legal jack at his
first attempt; should he fail again, the right to throw passes to his
opponent, but not the right of playing first. On Scottish greens the
leader has only a single throw. A legal jack should not be interfered
with except by the course of play. Should the jack be driven towards
the side boundary, it is legitimate for a player to cause his bowl to
draw outside of the dividing string, provided that when it has ceased
running it shall have come to rest entirely within his own space. If
it stop on the string, or outside of it, the bowl is "dead" and must
be removed to the bank. A "toucher" bowl is a characteristic of the
Scottish game to which great exception is taken by many English clubs.
Should a bowl running jackwards touch the jack, however slightly, it
is called a toucher and must be marked by the skip with a chalk cross
as soon as it is at rest. Such a bowl is alive until the end is
finished wherever it may lie, within the limits of the space. Even if
it run into the ditch or be driven in by another bowl, it will yet
count as alive. A bowl, however, that is forced on to the jack by
another is not a toucher. The feat of hitting the jack is so common
that it really calls for no special reward. Difference of opinion
prevails as to the condition of the jack after it has been driven into
the ditch. According to Scottish rules, unless it has been forced
clean out of bounds, such a jack is still alive. On most English
greens it is a "dead" jack and the end void. Every bowler should learn
both forehand and backhand play. In forehand play the bowl as it
courses to the jack describes its segment of a circle on the right, in
backhand play on the left. In both styles the biased side must always
be the inner.

In the United Kingdom the regular bowling season extends from May day
till the end of September or the middle of October. At its close the
green must be carefully examined, weeds uprooted, worn patches
re-turfed, and the whole laid under a winter blanket of silver-sand.

On Scottish greens the game of points is frequently played, but it is
rarely seen on English greens. Its main object is to perfect the
proficiency of players in certain departments of bowls proper. There
are four sections in the game, namely, drawing, guarding, trailing and
driving. In _drawing_ (fig. 1), the object is to draw as near as
possible to the jack, the player's bowl passing outside of two other
bowls placed 5 ft. apart in a horizontal line 15 ft. from the jack,
without touching either of them. Three points are scored if the bowl
come to rest within 1 ft. of the jack, two points if within 2 ft., and
one point if within 3 ft. Circles of these radii are usually marked
around the jack for convenience sake. In _guarding_ (fig. 2), two
jacks are laid at the far end of the green 12 ft. apart in a vertical
line. A thread is then pinned down between them, and on each side of
this thread three others are pinned down parallel with it and 6 in.
apart from each other. A bowl that comes to rest on the central line,
or within 6 in. of it, counts three points, a bowl 12 in. away two
points, and a bowl 18 in. off one point. In _trailing_ (fig. 3), two
bowls are laid on the turf 3 ft. apart, and straight lines are chalked
from bowl to bowl across their back and front faces, and a jack is
then deposited equidistant from each bowl and immediately before the
front line. A semicircle is then drawn behind the bowls with a radius
of 9 ft. from the jack. Three points are given to the bowl that trails
the jack over both lines into the semicircle and goes over them
itself. If a bowl trail the jack over both lines, but only itself
cross the first; or if it pass both lines, but the jack cross only the
first, two points are awarded. A bowl passing between the jack and
either of the stationary bowls, and passing over the back line; or
touching the jack, yet not trailing it past the first line, but itself
crossing the back line; or trailing the jack over the front line
without crossing it itself, receives one point. In no case must the
stationary bowls be touched, or the semicircle crossed by the trailed
jack or played bowls. In _driving_ (fig. 4), two bowls are laid down 2
ft. apart, and then a jack is placed in front of them, 15 in. apart
from each, and occupying the position of the apex of an inverted
pyramid. The player who drives the jack into the ditch between the two
bowls scores three. If he moves the jack, but does not carry it
through to the ditch, he scores two. If he pass between the jack and
either bowl he scores one, although it is not easy to see what driving
he has done. The played bowl must itself run into the ditch without
touching either of the stationary bowls. It is obvious that the points
game demands an ideally perfect green.

See W.W. Mitchell, _Manual of Bowl-playing_ (Glasgow, 1880); _Laws of
the Game issued by the Scottish B.A._ (1893, et sqq.); H.J. Dingley,
_Touchers and Rubs_ (Glasgow, 1893); Sam Aylwin, _The Gentle Art of
Bowling_, with 26 diagrams (London, 1904); James A. Manson, _The
Bowler's Handbook_ (London, 1906). (J. A. M.)

BOWNESS-ON-WINDERMERE, an urban district in the Appleby parliamentary division of Westmorland, England, on the east shore of Windermere, 1-1/4 m. S.W. of Windermere station on the London & North-Western railway. Together with the town of Windermere it forms an urban district (pop. 5061 in 1901), but the two towns were separate until 1905. Its situation is fine, the lake-shore here rising sharply, while at this point the lake narrows and is studded with islands. The low surrounding hills are richly wooded, and a number of country seats stand upon them. Bowness lies at the head of a small bay, is served by the lake-steamers of the Furness Railway Company, and is a favourite yachting, boating, fishing and tourist centre. The church of St Martin is ancient, and contains stained glass from Cartmel priory in Furness. (See WINDERMERE.)

BOWRING, SIR JOHN (1792-1872), English linguist, political economist and miscellaneous writer, was born at Exeter, on the 17th of October 1792, of an old Puritan family. In early life he came under the influence of Jeremy Bentham. He did not, however, share his master's contempt for _belles-lettres_, but was a diligent student of literature and foreign languages, especially those of eastern Europe. As a linguist he ranked with Mezzofanti and von Gabelentz among the greatest of the world. The first-fruits of his study of foreign literature appeared in _Specimens of the Russian Poets_ (1821-1823). These were speedily followed by _Batavian Anthology_ (1824), _Ancient Poetry and Romances of Spain_ (1824), _Specimens of the Polish Poets_, and _Servian Popular Poetry_, both in 1827. During this period he began to contribute to the newly founded _Westminster Review_, of which he was appointed editor in 1825. By his contributions to the _Review_ he obtained considerable reputation as political economist and parliamentary reformer. He advocated in its pages the cause of free trade long before it was popularized by Richard Cobden and John Bright. He pleaded earnestly in behalf of parliamentary reform, Catholic emancipation and popular education. In 1828 he visited Holland, where the university of Groningen conferred on him the degree of doctor of laws. In the following year he was in Denmark, preparing for the publication of a collection of Scandinavian poetry. Bowring, who had been the trusted friend of Bentham during his life, was appointed his literary executor, and was charged with the task of preparing a collected edition of his works. This appeared in eleven volumes in 1843. Meanwhile Bowring had entered parliament in 1835 as member for Kilmarnock; and in the following year he was appointed head of a government commission to be sent to France to inquire into the actual state of commerce between the two countries. He was engaged in similar investigations in Switzerland, Italy, Syria and some of the German states. The results of these missions appeared in a series of reports laid before the House of Commons. After a retirement of four years he sat in parliament from 1841 till 1849 as member for Bolton. During this busy period he found leisure for literature, and published in 1843 a translation of the _Manuscript of the Queen's Court_, a collection of old Bohemian lyrics, &c. In 1849 he was appointed British consul at Canton, and superintendent of trade in China, a post which he held for four years. After his return he distinguished himself as an advocate of the decimal system, and published a work entitled _The Decimal System in Numbers, Coins and Accounts_ (1854). The introduction of the florin as a preparatory step was chiefly due to his efforts. Knighted in 1854, he was again sent the same year to Hong-Kong as governor, invested with the supreme military and naval power. It was during his governorship that a dispute broke out with the Chinese; and the irritation caused by his "spirited" or high-handed policy led to the second war with China. In 1855 he visited Siam, and negotiated with the king a treaty of commerce. After the usual five years of service he retired and received a pension. His last employment by the English government was as a commissioner to Italy in 1861, to report on British commercial relations with the new kingdom. Sir John Bowring subsequently accepted the appointment of minister plenipotentiary and envoy extraordinary from the Hawaiian government to the courts of Europe, and in this capacity negotiated treaties with Belgium, Holland, Italy, Spain and Switzerland. In addition to the works already named he published--_Poetry of the Magyars_ (1830); _Cheskian Anthology_ (1832); _The Kingdom and People of Siam_ (1857); a translation of _Peter Schlemihl_ (1824); translations from the Hungarian poet, Alexander Petofi (1866); and various pamphlets. He was elected F.R.S. and F.R.G.S., and received the decorations of several foreign orders of knighthood. He died at Claremont, near Exeter, on the 23rd of November 1872. His valuable collection of coleoptera was presented to the British Museum by his second son, Lewin Bowring, a well-known Anglo-Indian administrator; and his third son, E.A. Bowring, member of parliament for Exeter from 1868 to 1874, became known in the literary world as an able translator.

Sir John Bowring's _Recollections_ were edited by Lewin Bowring (d.
1910) in 1877.

BOWTELL, a medieval term in architecture for a round or corniced moulding; the word is a variant of "boltel," which is probably the diminutive of "bolt," the shaft of an arrow or javelin. A "roving" bowtell is one which passes up the side of a bench end and round a finial, the term "roving" being applied to that which follows the line of a curve.

BOWYER, WILLIAM (1663-1737), English printer, was born in 1663, apprenticed to a printer in 1679, made a liveryman of the Stationers' Company in 1700, and nominated as one of the twenty printers allowed by the Star Chamber. He was burned out in the great fire of 1712, but his loss was partly made good by the subscription of friends and fellow craftsmen, as recorded on a tablet in Stationers' Hall, and in 1713 he returned to his Whitefriars shop and became the leading printer of his day. He died on the 27th of December 1737.

His son, WILLIAM BOWYER (1699-1777), was born in London on the 19th of December 1699. He was educated at St John's College, Cambridge, and in 1722 became a partner in his father's business. In 1729 he was appointed printer of the votes of the House of Commons, and in 1736 printer to the Society of Antiquaries, of which he was elected a fellow in 1737. In 1737 he took as apprentice John Nichols, who was to be his successor and biographer. In 1761 Bowyer became printer to the Royal Society, and in 1767 printer of the rolls of the House of Lords and the journals of the House of Commons. He died on the 13th of November 1777, leaving unfinished a number of large works and among them the reprint of Domesday Book. He wrote a great many tracts and pamphlets, edited, arranged and published a host of books, but perhaps his principal work was an edition of the New Testament in Greek, with notes. His generous bequests in favour of his own profession are administered by the Stationers' Company, of which he became a liveryman in 1738, and in whose hall is his portrait bust and a painting of his father. He was known as "the learned printer."

BOX (Gr. [Greek: puxos], Lat. _buxus_, box-wood; cf. [Greek: puxis], a pyx), the most varied of all receptacles. A box may be square, oblong, round or oval, or of an even less normal shape; it usually opens by raising, sliding or removing the lid, which may be fastened by a catch, hasp or lock. Whatever its shape or purpose or the material of which it is fashioned, it is the direct descendant of the chest, one of the most ancient articles of domestic furniture. Its uses are infinite, and the name, preceded by a qualifying adjective, has been given to many objects of artistic or antiquarian interest.

Of the boxes which possess some attraction beyond their immediate purpose the feminine work-box is the commonest. It is usually fitted with a tray divided into many small compartments, for needles, reels of silk and cotton and other necessaries of stitchery. The date of its introduction is in considerable doubt, but 17th-century examples have come down to us, with covers of silk, stitched with beads and adorned with embroidery. In the 18th century no lady was without her work-box, and, especially in the second half of that period, much taste and elaborate pains were expended upon the case, which was often exceedingly dainty and elegant. These boxes are ordinarily portable, but sometimes form the top of a table.

But it is as a receptacle for snuff that the box has taken its most distinguished and artistic form. The snuff-box, which is now little more than a charming relic of a disagreeable practice, was throughout the larger part of the 18th century the indispensable companion of every man of birth and breeding. It long survived his sword, and was in frequent use until nearly the middle of the 19th century. The jeweller, the enameller and the artist bestowed infinite pains upon what was quite as often a delicate bijou as a piece of utility; fops and great personages possessed numbers of snuff-boxes, rich and more ordinary, their selection being regulated by their dress and by the relative splendour of the occasion. From the cheapest wood that was suitable--at one time potato-pulp was extensively used--to a frame of gold encased with diamonds, a great variety of materials was employed. Tortoise-shell was a favourite, and owing to its limpid lustre it was exceedingly effective. Mother-of-pearl was also used, together with silver, in its natural state or gilded. Costly gold boxes were often enriched with enamels or set with diamonds or other precious stones, and sometimes the lid was adorned with a portrait, a classical vignette, or a tiny miniature, often some choice work by an old master. After snuff-taking had ceased to be general it lingered for some time among diplomatists, either because--as Talleyrand explained--they found a ceremonious pinch to be a useful aid to reflection in a business interview, or because monarchs retained the habit of bestowing snuff-boxes upon ambassadors and other intermediaries, who could not well be honoured in any other way. It is, indeed, to the cessation of the habit of snuff-taking that we may trace much of modern lavishness in the distribution of decorations. To be invited to take a pinch from a monarch's snuff-box was a distinction almost equivalent to having one's ear pulled by Napoleon. At the coronation of George IV. of England, Messrs Rundell & Bridge, the court jewellers, were paid L8205 for snuff-boxes for foreign ministers. Now that the snuff-box is no longer used it is collected by wealthy amateurs or deposited in museums, and especially artistic examples command large sums. George, duke of Cambridge (1819-1904), possessed an important collection; a Louis XV. gold box was sold by auction after his death for L2000.

A jewel-box is a receptacle for trinkets. It may take a very modest form, covered in leather and lined with satin, or it may reach the monumental proportions of the jewel cabinets which were made for Marie Antoinette, one of which is at Windsor, and another at Versailles, the work of Schwerdfeger as cabinet-maker, Degault as miniature-painter, and Thomire as chaser.

A strong-box is a receptacle for money, deeds and securities. Its place has been taken in modern life by the safe. Some of those which have survived, such as that of Sir Thomas Bodley in the Bodleian library, possess locks with an extremely elaborate mechanism contrived in the under-side of the lid.

The knife-box is one of the most charming of the minor pieces of furniture which we owe to the artistic taste and mechanical ingenuity of the English cabinet-makers of the last quarter of the 18th century. Some of the most elegant were the work of Adam, Hepplewhite and Sheraton. Occasionally flat-topped boxes, they were most frequently either vase-shaped, or tall and narrow with a sloping lid necessitated by a series of raised stages for exhibiting the handles of knives and the bowls of spoons. Mahogany and satinwood were the woods most frequently employed, and they were occasionally inlaid with marqueterie or edged with boxwood. These graceful receptacles still exist in large numbers; they are often converted into stationery cabinets.

The Bible-box, usually of the 17th century, but now and again more ancient, probably obtained its name from the fact that it was of a size to hold a large Bible. It often has a carved or incised lid.

The powder-box and the patch-box were respectively receptacles for the powder and the patches of the 18th century; the former was the direct ancestor of the puff-box of the modern dressing-table.

The _etui_ is a cylindrical box or case of very various materials, often of pleasing shape or adornment, for holding sewing materials or small articles of feminine use. It was worn on the chatelaine.

BOXING (M.E. _box_, a blow, probably from Dan. _bask_, a buffet), the art of attack and defence with the fists protected by padded gloves, as distinguished from pugilism, in which the bare fists, or some kind of light gloves affording little moderation of the blow, are employed. The ancient Greeks used a sort of glove in practice, but, although far less formidable than the terrible caestus worn in serious encounters, it was by no means so mild an implement as the modern boxing-glove, the invention of which is traditionally ascribed to Jack Broughton (1705-1789), "the father of British pugilism." In any case gloves were first used in his time, though only in practice, all prize-fights being decided with bare fists. Broughton, who was for years champion of England, also drew up the rules by which prize-fights were for many years regulated, and no doubt, with the help of the newly invented gloves, imparted instruction in boxing to the young aristocrats of his day. The most popular teacher of the art was, however, John Jackson (1769-1845), called "Gentleman Jackson," who was champion from 1795 to 1800, and who is credited with imparting to boxing its scientific principles, such as countering, accurate judging of distance in hitting, and agility on the feet. Tom Moore, the poet, in his _Memoirs_, asserted that Jackson "made more than a thousand a year by teaching sparring." Among his pupils was Lord Byron, who, when chided for keeping company with a pugilist, insisted that Jackson's manners were "infinitely superior to those of the fellows of the college whom I meet at the high table," and referred to him in the following lines in _Hints from Horace_:--

"And men unpractised in exchanging knocks
Must go to Jackson ere they dare to box."

His rooms in Bond Street were crowded with men of birth and distinction, and when the allied monarchs visited London he was entrusted with the management of a boxing carnival with which they were vastly pleased. In 1814 the Pugilistic Club, the meeting-place of the aristocratic sporting element, was formed, but the high-water mark of the popularity of boxing had been reached, and it declined rapidly, although throughout the country considerable interest continued to be manifested in prize-fighting.

The sport of modern boxing, as distinguished from pugilism, may be said to date from the year 1866, when the public had become disgusted with the brutality and unfair practices of the professional "bruisers," and the laws against prize-fighting began to be more rigidly enforced. In that year the "Amateur Athletic Club" was founded, principally through the efforts of John G. Chambers (1843-1883), who, in conjunction with the 8th marquess of Queensberry, drew up a code of laws (known as the Queensberry Rules) which govern all glove contests in Great Britain, and were also authoritative in America until the adoption of the boxing rules of the Amateur Athletic Union of America. In 1867 Lord Queensberry presented cups for the British amateur championships at the recognized weights.

For the history of pugilism in classic antiquity and an account of modern prize-fighting see PUGILISM. At present two kinds of boxing contests are in vogue, that for a limited number of rounds (as in the amateur championships) and that for endurance, in which the one who cannot continue the fight loses. Endurance contests, which contain the essential element of the old prize-fights, are now indulged in only by professionals. Among amateurs boxing is far less popular than it once was, owing to the importance placed upon brute strength, and the prevailing ambition of the modern boxer to "knock out" his opponent, i.e. reduce him to a state of insensibility. Even in 3-round matches between gentlemen, in which points win, and there is therefore no need to knock an opponent senseless, it is nevertheless a common practice to strike a dazed and reeling adversary a heavy blow with a view to ending the battle at once. During the annual boxing competitions between Oxford and Cambridge more than half the bouts have been known to end in this manner. Undoubtedly the prettiest boxing is seen when two men proficient in the art indulge in a practice bout--or "sparring."

Boxing is the art of hitting without getting hit. The boxers face each other just out of reach and balanced equally on both feet, the left from 10 to 20 in. in advance of the right. The left foot is planted flat on the floor, while the right heel is raised slightly from it. The left side of the body is turned a little towards the opponent and the right shoulder slightly depressed. When the hands are clenched inside the gloves the thumb is doubled over the second and third fingers to avoid a sprain when hitting. The general position of the guard is a matter of individual taste. In the "crouch," affected by many American professionals, the right hip is thrust forward and the body bent over towards the right, while the left arm is kept well stretched out to keep the opponent at a distance. No good master, however, teaches a beginner any other than the upright position. Some boxers stand with the right foot forward, a practice common in the 18th century, which gives freer play with the right hand but is rather unstable. A boxer should stand lightly on his feet, ready to advance or retreat on the instant, using short steps, advancing with the left foot first and retreating with the right. Attacks are either simple or secondary. Simple attacks consist in straight leads, i.e. blows aimed with or without preliminary feints, at some part of the opponent's body or head. All other attacks are either "counters" or returns after a guard or "block." A counter is a lead carried out just as one is attacked, the object being to block (parry) the blow and land on the opponent at the same time. Counters are often carried out in connexion with a side-step, a slip or a crouch. In hitting, a boxer seeks to exert the greatest force at the instant of impact. Blows may be either straight, with or without the weight of the body behind them ("straight from the shouder" hits); jabs, short blows (usually with the left hand when at close quarters); hooks, or side-blows with bent arm; upper cuts (short swinging blows from beneath to the adversary's chin); chops (short blows from above); punches (usually at close quarters, with the right hand); or swings (round-arm blows, usually delivered with a partial twist of the body to augment the force of the blow). Of the dangerous blows, which often result in a knockout, or in seriously weakening an adversary, the following may be mentioned:--on the pit of the stomach, called the solar plexus, from the sensitive network of nerves situated there; a blow on the point of the chin, having a tendency slightly to paralyse the brain; a blow under the ear, painful and often resulting in partial helplessness; and one directly over the heart, kidney or liver. As a boxer is allowed ten seconds after being knocked down in which to rise, an experienced ring-fighter will drop on one knee when partially stunned, remaining in that position in order to recover until the referee has counted nine.

Guarding is done with the arm or hand, either open or shut. If a blow is caught or stopped short it is called _blocking_, but a blow may also be shoved aside, or avoided altogether by _slipping, i.e._ moving the head quickly to one side, or by ducking and allowing the adversary's swing to pass harmlessly over the head. Still another method of avoiding a blow without guarding is to bend back the head or body so as narrowly to escape the opponent's glove.

The rules of the Amateur Boxing Association (founded 1884) contain the following provisions. "An amateur is one who has never competed for a money prize or staked bet with or against a professional for any prize, except with the express sanction of the A.B.A., and who has never taught, pursued or assisted in the practice of athletic exercises as a means of obtaining a livelihood." The ring shall be roped and between 12 and 24 ft. square. No spikes shall be worn on shoes. Boxers are divided into the following classes by weight:--Bantam, not exceeding 8 st. 4 lb (116 lb); Feather, not exceeding 9 st. (126 lb); Light, not exceeding 10 st. (140 lb); Middle, not exceeding 11 st. 4 lb. (158 lb); and Heavy, any weight above. There shall be two judges, a referee and a timekeeper. The votes of the judges decide the winner of a bout, unless they disagree, in which case the referee has the deciding vote. In case of doubt he may order an extra round of two minutes' duration. Each match is for three rounds, the first two lasting three minutes and the third four, with one minute rest between the rounds. A competitor failing to come up at the call of time loses the match. When a competitor draws a bye he must box for a specified time with an opponent chosen by the judges. A competitor is allowed one assistant (second) only, and no advice or coaching during the progress of a round is permitted. Unless one competitor is unable to respond to the call of time, or is obliged to stop before the match is over, the judges decide the winner by _points_, which are for attack, comprising successful hits cleanly delivered, and defence, comprising guarding, slipping, ducking, counter-hitting and getting away in time to avoid a return. When the points are equal the decision is given in favour of the boxer who has done the most leading, i.e. has been the more aggressive. Fouls are hitting below the belt, kicking, hitting with the open hand, the side of the hand, the wrist, elbow or shoulder, wrestling or "roughing" on the ropes, i.e. unnecessary shouldering and jostling.

The boxing rules of the American Amateur Athletic Association differ slightly from the British. The ring is roped but must be from 16 to 24 ft. square. Gloves must not be worn more than 8 oz. in weight. The recognized classes by weight are: Bantam, 105 lb. and under; Feather, 115 lb. and under; Light, 135 lb. and under; Welter, 145 lb. and under; Middle, 158 lb. and under; and Heavy, over 158 lb. The rules for officials and rounds are identical with the British, except that only in final bouts does the last round last four minutes. Two "seconds" are allowed. The rules for points and fouls coincide with the British. The amateur rules are very strict, and any one who competes in a boxing contest of more than four rounds is suspended from membership in the Athletic Association.

_Glossary_ of terms not mentioned above:--_Break away_, to get away
from the adversary, usually a command from the referee when the men
clinch. _Break ground_, retire diagonally to right or left.
_Catch-weight_, any weight. _Corners_, the opposite angles of the
square "ring," in which the boxers rest between the rounds.
_Cross-counter_, a blow in which the right or left arm crosses that of
the adversary as he leads off; the arm is slightly curved to get round
that of the opponent but is straightened at the moment of impact.
_Clinching_, grappling after an exchange of blows; when breaking from
a clinch one tries to pin the adversary's hands in order to prevent
his hitting at close quarters. _Drawing_ an opponent, enticing him by
leaving an apparent opening into making an attack for which a counter
is prepared. _Fiddling_, forward and back movements of the arms at the
beginning of a round, a part of sparring for an opening. _Footwork_,
the manner in which a boxer uses his feet. _In-fighting_, boxing at
very close quarters. _Mark_, the pit of the stomach. _Side-step_,
springing quickly to one side to avoid a blow, the movement being
usually followed up by a counter attack. _Timing_, a blow delivered on
the enemy's preparation of an attack of his own, but more quickly.

See _Boxing_, by R. Allanson Winn (Isthmian Library, London, 1897);
_Boxing_, by Wm. Elder (Spalding's Athletic Library, New York, 1902)
(these two books are excellent for the technicalities of boxing). The
article "Boxing," by B. Jno. Angle and G.W. Barroll, in the
_Encyclopaedia of Sport_; _Boxing_, by J.C. Trotter (Oval Series,
London, 1896); _Fencing, Boxing and Wrestling_, in the Badminton
Library (London, 1892).

FRENCH BOXING (_la boxe francaise_) dates from about 1830. It is more like the ancient Greek _pankration_ (see PUGILISM) than is British boxing, as not only striking with the fists, but also kicking with the feet, butting with the head and wrestling are allowed. It is a development of the old sport of _savate_, in which the feet, and not the hands, were used in attack. Lessons in savate, which was practised especially by roughs, were usually given in some low resort, and there were no respectable teachers. While Paris was restricted to savate, another sport, called _chausson_ or _jeu marseillais_, was practised in the south of France, especially among the soldiers, in which blows of the fist as well as kicks were exchanged, and the kicks were given higher than in savate, in the stomach or even the face. It was an excellent exercise, but could hardly be reckoned a serious means of defence, for the high kicks usually fell short, and the upward blows of the fist could not be compared with the terrible sledge-hammer blows of the English boxers. Alexandre Dumas _pere_ says that Charles Lecour first conceived the idea of combining English boxing with savate. For this purpose he went to England, and took lessons of Adams and Smith, the London boxers. He then returned to Paris, about 1852, and opened a school to teach the sport since called _la boxe francaise_. Around him, and two provincial instructors who came to Paris about this time with similar ideas, there grew up a large number of sportsmen, who between 1845 and 1855 brought French boxing to its highest development. Among others who gave public exhibitions was Lecour's brother Hubert, who although rather undersized, was quick as lightning, and had an English blow and a French kick that were truly terrible. Charles Ducros was another whose style of boxing, more in the English fashion, but with low kicks about his opponent's shins, made a name for himself. Later came Vigneron, a "strong man," whose style, though slow, was severe in its punishment. About 1856 the police interfered in these fights, and Lecour and Vigneron had to cease giving public exhibitions and devote themselves to teaching. Towards 1862 a new boxer, J. Charlemont, was not only very clever with his fists and feet, but an excellent teacher, and the author of a treatise on the art. Lecour, Vigneron and Charlemont may be said to have created _la boxe francaise_, which, for defence _at equal weights_, the French claim to be better than the English.

See _L'Art de la boxe francaise et de la canne_, by J. Charlemont
(Paris, 1899); _The French Method of the Noble Art of Self Defence_,
by Georges d'Amoric (London, 1898).

BOXWOOD, the wood obtained from the genus _Buxus_, the principal species being the well-known tree or shrub, _B. sempervirens_, the common box, in general use for borders of garden walks, ornamental parterres, &c. The other source of the ordinary boxwood of commerce is _B. balearica_, which yields the variety known as Turkey boxwood. The common box is grown throughout Great Britain (perhaps native in the chalk-hills of the south of England), in the southern part of the European continent generally, and extends through Persia into India, where it is found growing on the slopes of the western Himalayas. There has been much discussion as to whether it is a true native of Britain. Writing more than 200 years ago, John Ray, the author of the important _Historia Plantarum_, says, "The Box grows wild on Boxhill, hence the name; also at Boxwell, on the Cotteswold Hills in Gloucestershire, and at Boxley in Kent.... It grows plentifully on the chalk hills near Dunstable." On the other hand the box is not wild in the Channel Islands, and in the north of France, Holland and Belgium is found mainly in hedgerows and near cultivation, and it may have been one of the many introductions owed to the Romans. Only a very small proportion of the wood suitable for industrial uses is now obtained in Great Britain. The box is a very slow-growing plant, adding not more than 1-1/2 or 2 in. to its diameter in twenty years, and on an average attaining only a height of 16 ft., with a mean diameter of 10-1/2 in. The leaves of this species are small, oval, leathery in texture and of a deep glossy green colour. _B. balearica_ is a tree of considerable size, attaining to a height of 80 ft., with leaves three times larger than those of the common box. It is a native of the islands of the Mediterranean, and grows in Turkey, Asia Minor, and around the shores of the Black Sea, and is supposed to be the chief source of the boxwood which comes into European commerce by way of Constantinople. The wood of both species possesses a delicate yellow colour; it is very dense in structure and has a fine uniform grain, which has given it unique value for the purposes of the wood-engraver. A large amount is used in the manufacture of measuring rules, various mathematical instruments, flutes and other musical instruments, as well as for turning into many minor articles, and for inlaying, and it is a favourite wood for small carvings. The use of boxwood for turnery and musical instruments is mentioned by Pliny, Virgil and Ovid.

BOYACA, or Bojaca, an inland department of Colombia, bounded by the departments of Santander and Cundinamarca on the N., W. and S., and the republic of Venezuela on the E., and having an area of 33,321 sq. m., including the Casanare territory. Pop. (1899, estimate) 508,940. The department is very mountainous, heavily forested and rich in minerals. The famous Muso emerald mines are located in the western part of Boyaca. The capital, Tunja (pop. 1902, 10,000), is situated in the Eastern Cordilleras, 9054 ft. above sea-level, and has a cool, temperate climate, though only 5-1/2 deg. N. of the equator. It was an important place in colonial times, and occupies the site of one of the Indian towns of this region (Hunsa), which had acquired a considerable degree of civilization before the discovery of America. Other towns of note in the department are Chiquinquira (20,000), Moniquira (18,000), Sogamoso (10,787), and Boyaca (7000), where on the 7th of August 1819 Bolivar defeated the Spanish army and secured the independence of New Granada.

BOYAR (Russ. _boyarin_, plur. _boyare_), a dignity of Old Russia conterminous with the history of the country. Originally the boyars were the intimate friends and confidential advisers of the Russian prince, the superior members of his _druzhina_ or bodyguard, his comrades and champions. They were divided into classes according to rank, most generally determined by personal merit and service. Thus we hear of the "oldest," "elder" and the "younger" boyars. At first the dignity seems to have been occasionally, but by no means invariably, hereditary. At a later day the boyars were the chief members of the prince's _duma_, or council, like the _senatores_ of Poland and Lithuania. Their further designation of _luchshie lyudi_ or "the best people" proves that they were generally richer than their fellow subjects. So long as the princes, in their interminable struggles with the barbarians of the Steppe, needed the assistance of the towns, "the best people" of the cities and of the _druzhina_ proper mingled freely together both in war and commerce; but after Yaroslav's crushing victory over the Petchenegs in 1036 beneath the walls of Kiev, the two classes began to draw apart, and a political and economical difference between the members of the princely _druzhina_ and the aristocracy of the towns becomes discernible. The townsmen devote themselves henceforth more exclusively to commerce, while the _druzhina_ asserts the privileges of an exclusively military caste with a primary claim upon the land. Still later, when the courts of the northern grand dukes were established, the boyars appear as the first grade of a fullblown court aristocracy with the exclusive privilege of possessing land and serfs. Hence their title of _dvoryane_ (courtiers), first used in the 12th century. On the other hand there was no distinction, as in Germany, between the _Dienst Adel_ (nobility of service) and the simple _Adel_. The Russian boyardom had no corporate or class privileges, (1) because their importance was purely local (the dignity of the principality determining the degree of dignity of the boyars), (2) because of their inalienable right of transmigration from one prince to another at will, which prevented the formation of a settled aristocracy, and (3) because birth did not determine but only facilitated the attainment of high rank, e.g. the son of a boyar was not a boyar born, but could more easily attain to boyardom, if of superior personal merit. It was reserved for Peter the Great to transform the _boyarstvo_ or boyardom into something more nearly resembling the aristocracy of the West.

See Alexander Markevich, _The History of Rank-priority in the Realm of
Muscovy in the 15th-18th Centuries_ (Russ.) (Odessa, 1888); V.
Klyuchevsky, _The Boyar Duma of Ancient Russia_ (Russ.) (Moscow,
1888). (R. N. B.)

BOY-BISHOP, the name given to the "bishop of the boys" (_episcopus puerorum_ or _innocentium_, sometimes _episcopus scholariorum_ or _chorestarum_), who, according to a custom very wide-spread in the middle ages, was chosen in connexion with the festival of Holy Innocents. For the origin of the curious authority of the boy-bishop and of the rites over which he presided, see FOOLS, FEAST OF. In England the boy-bishop was elected on December 6, the feast of St Nicholas, the patron of children, and his authority lasted till Holy Innocents' day (December 28). The election made, the lad was dressed in full bishop's robes with mitre and crozier and, attended by comrades dressed as priests, made a circuit of the town blessing the people. At Salisbury the boy-bishop seems to have actually had ecclesiastical patronage during his episcopate, and could make valid appointments. The boy and his colleagues took possession of the cathedral and performed all the ceremonies and offices except mass. Originally, it seems, confined to the cathedrals, the custom spread to nearly all the parishes. Several ecclesiastical councils had attempted to abolish or to restrain the abuses of the custom, before it was prohibited by the council of Basel in 1431. It was, however, too popular to be easily suppressed. In England it was abolished by Henry VIII. in 1542, revived by Mary in 1552 and finally abolished by Elizabeth. On the continent it survived longest in Germany, in the so-called _Gregoriusfest_, said to have been founded by Gregory IV. in 828 in honour of St Gregory, the patron of schools. A school-boy was elected bishop, duly vested, and, attended by two boy-deacons and the town clergy, proceeded to the parish church, where, after a hymn in honour of St Gregory had been sung, he preached. At Meiningen this custom survived till 1799.

See Brand, _Pop. Antiquities of Great Britain_ (1905); Gasquet,
_Parish Life in Medieval England_ (1906); Du Cange, _Glossarium_
(London, 1884), s.v. "Episcopus puerorum."

BOYCE, WILLIAM (1710-1779), English musical composer, the son of a cabinet-maker, was born in London on the 7th of February 1710. As a chorister in St Paul's he received his early musical education from Charles King and Dr Maurice Greene, and he afterwards studied the theory of music under Dr Pepusch. In 1734, having become organist of Oxford chapel, Vere Street, Cavendish Square, he set Lord Lansdowne's masque of _Peleus and Thetis_ to music. In 1736 he left Oxford chapel and was appointed organist of St Michael's church, Cornhill, and in the same year he became composer to the chapel royal, and wrote the music for John Lockman's oratorio _David's Lamentation over Saul and Jonathan_. In 1737 he was appointed to conduct the meetings of the three choirs of Gloucester, Worcester and Hereford. In 1743 was written the serenata _Solomon_, in which occurs the favourite song "Softly rise, O southern breeze." In 1749 he received the degree of doctor of music from the university of Cambridge, as an acknowledgment of the merit of his setting of the ode performed at the installation of Henry Pelham, duke of Newcastle, as chancellor; and in this year he became organist of All-hallows the Great and Less, Thames Street. A musical setting to _The Chaplet_, an entertainment by Moses Mendez, was Boyce's most successful achievement in this year. In 1750 he wrote songs for Dryden's _Secular Masque_ and in 1751 set another piece (_The Shepherd's Lottery_) by Mendez. He became master of the king's band in succession to Greene in 1757, and in 1758 he was appointed principal organist to the chapel royal. As an ecclesiastical composer Boyce ranks among the best representatives of the English school. His two church services and his anthems, of which the best specimens are _By the Waters of Babylon_ and _O, Where shall Wisdom be found_, are frequently performed. It should also be remembered that he wrote additional accompaniments and choruses for Purcell's _Te Deum_ and _Jubilate_, which the earlier musician had composed for the St Cecilia's day of 1694. Boyce did this in his capacity of conductor at the annual festivals of the Sons of the Clergy at St Paul's cathedral, an office which he had taken in succession to Greene. His twelve trios for two violins and a bass were long popular. One of his most valuable services to musical art was his publication in three volumes quarto of a work on _Cathedral Music_. The collection had been begun by Greene, but it was mainly the work of Boyce. The first volume appeared in 1760 and the last in 1778. On the 7th of February 1779 Boyce died from an attack of gout. He was buried under the dome of St Paul's cathedral.