BOSPORUS. 332 BOSSI. On the death of Machares, soon followed by that • of Mithridates, the Romans gave the country in B.C. 03 to Pharnaces, the second son of Mithri- dates, and after his assassination to several princes who gave themselves out as descendants of Mithridates. When at last the family became entirely extinct, in a.d. 25!), the Sarmatians made themselves masters of the kingdom. BOSQTJET, bos'ka', Pierre Francois Joseph (1810-01). A marshal of France. He was born at Mont de Marsan, in the Department of Landes, November S, 1810, entered in 1829 the Polytech- nic School in Paris, and in 1838 joined the artil- lery as sub-lieutenant. He became colonel in 1847, general of brigade in 1848, and general of division in lSr)4. In the earlier part of his career he disi)layed such skill and valor in sev- eral Algerian campaigns that he was intrusted with the Second Division of the French Army in the Crimean War, 1854-55, in which he especially distinguished himself at the Alma, Inkerman, and at the storming of the MalakoflF. Having been seriously wounded at Sebastopol, he was compelled to" retire from active service, and France, in recognition of his services, made him Senator and field-marshal. The British Parlia- ment voted its thanks to him in a special resolution. BOSS, bos (Fr. basse, probably OHG. hozo, tuft, bunch, b6:::at>, MHG. bdzen, to beat). In architecture, a raised ornament, usually that of the projecting keystone at the intersection of ribbed vaulting. The term is extended to similar projections on running moldings. It first be- came common in developed Gothic work, where bosses were usually enriched with flg;ires or foliage in high relief and of great beauty. {See BossAGE in its first meaning.) — The boss of a bit is the ornament with which a bridle-bit ter- minates at each end. BOSS. A term derived from the Dutch baas, originallv meaning a master, overseer, or superin- tendent "of any kind. So a boss shoemaker or cari)enter is the head of a gang of shoemakers or carpenters, who deals out work to them and fixes the amount of their pay. The term seems to have arisen from aversion to the word 'master,' regarded as savoring too much of the relations befween master and slave, and it has come largely into use among the American negroes since their emancipation. In the vocabulary of American politics it denotes a professional politician who regards the public service as a means of reward- ing his personal friends, and of buying the sup- port of the ignorant and unscriipulous. In this sense the word came into general use at the time of the exposure of the Tweed King in New York City in 1872. BOSS, Lewis (1840 — ). An American astron- omer. He was born in Providence. K. I., grad- uated in 1870 at Dartmouth College, and from 1872 to 187() was astronomer of the United States n(Uthern boundary commission. In con- nection with the delcrniiiialion of tlic latitude of various specified points on the boundary line, he compiled a list of the Declinations of Fixed Stars (Washington, 1878), which forthwith made him favorablv known. In 1870 he was appointed director of t'lie Dudley Observatory at .lhany, N. Y., which. through his efforts, was recon- structed in 18113, and provided with an increased endowment. He was chief of the expedition sent in 1882 by the United States Government to San- tiago, Chile, to observe the transit of 'cnus, is an honorary member of the Royal Astronomical Society, and variously connected with other learned bodies, and has published, besides many monographs, a Catalogue of S.i'il titars (1890), a contribution to the cooperative catiilogues of the stars prepared by leading scientists of the Continent. BOS'SAGE (for derivation see Boss). A term used in two senses: either (1) to denote the stones in a building left rough and projecting, afterwards to be worked into a decoration, as in carved Gothic keystones (see Boss), or in me- morial tablets; or (2) to designate stones left in the same rough manner as a permanent fea- ture, as in the rustic masonry of Florentine palaces. BOSSCHA, bos'si. 'Johannes (1831—). A Dutch physicist. He was born in Breda, and was educated "in Deventer and Leyden. He became director of the Polytechnic Scliool in Delft in 1878. He has made" important investigations on galvanic polarization, the rajiidity of sound- waves, and the meclianical theory of electrolysis, and he was one of the first (1855) to suggest the possibility of sending two messages simultaneous- ly over the same wire. BOSSE, bos, Abr.ham (1011-78). A French engraver and etcher, born in Tours. He taught perspective in a special .school of design in Paris, and subsequentlv was a professor at the Royal Academy of Painting. Most of his bold and spir- ited plates were executed from his own designs. He published a Traite des manieres de yraver en taille douce (1045), and other works. BOSSE, bos'sf, RonERT (1852—). A German statesman. He was born at yuedlinburg, and studied law at the universities of Heidelberg, Halle, and Berlin. He became Under-Secretary of State in the Ministry of the Interior in 1889, in which capacity he had the principal share in the preparation of the laws providing insurance for workinsmen. In 1891 he was appointed Sec- retary of State in the Imperial ^Ministry of Jus- tice, and he was chairman of the commission in- trusted with the preparation of the new Civil Code of Ciermany. His appointment as Prussian Minister of Education in 1892 followed. In 1883 he became editor of the Monats.schrilt fur Deutsche Bcamtc (Ucrlin). Among his publica- tions are: Kommcntar zum Invalidituts- mid Altersversicherungsgesetz (3d ed., 1891) ; Eiiin Dienslreisc nuch dcm Orient (1900). BOSSI, bos'sf, Enrico Marco (1801 — ). An ltali;u composer, bom at Salo. He studied at the Milan Conservatory, became organist in the cathedral of Como, and subsequently instructor in the theory and practice of organ-playing in the conservatory of Naples. He has written chamber music; requiem masses; an organ con- certo; an opera, U Cieco (first presented at Ven- ice in 1898) : and Caiitieum Canticorum. a hih- lieiil cant:ita. rendered for the first time in 1901 with mu<-h success by the Ciicilienvercin of Frankfort-on-the-Main, Germany. His Metodo di studio per I'organo moderno (1893; with G. Tchaldini) is an extremely valuable work. BOSSI, (;usEiTE (1777-1815). An Italian l)a inter and writer on art. He was born .at Busto Arsizio, August 11, 1777, and studied in
