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 260 BAMBAREA qucathed funds to the academy for an annual ' prize in rhetoric, which is still distributed. lie was greatly admired by Christina of Sweden, to whom he dedicated his Aristippe. His Prince, a fulsome eulogy of Louis XIII., and written in the pompous style characteristic of Le Socrate chrctisn and of most of his works, was censured by the Sorbonne. He contribu- ted much, however, to improve prose writing, especially by bis Lettres (new ed., 3 vols., Paris, 1800). A complete edition of his writings by Cassaigne in 2 vols. folio appeared in Paris in 1665, and a select edition by A. Malitourne in 2 vols. 8vo in 1822. D. F. Moreau de Mersan published Pensees de Balzac in 1807. About 200 of his MS. letters to Chapelain have lately been published by the committee of historical monuments, and included in a volume entitled Melanges. BAMBARRA, a district in the N. W. central part of Africa, between lat. 10 and 15 N. and Ion. 6 and 9 W. The eastern part is a nearly level plain, subject to overflow by the rivers, which turn a considerable portion of it into marsh. The western portion is hilly, and in- cludes the eastern sides of the Kong moun- tains. The climate is sultry except in the hilly portions. The rainy season begins in the mid- dle of June, and continues with violent winds and thunder until November. The principal river is the Joliba or Niger, which descends from the mountains near the western boundary. Numerous villages lie upon the banks of this stream. Bambarra produces a great variety of garden vegetables ; the indigo plant, which grows spontaneously; the butter tree, which yields an ash-gray butter, an article of trade ; and some singular fruits, one of which, the rJiamnw lotus, is acid in taste and resembles gingerbread in color. Many districts have ex- tensive forests and fine pastures. Horned cat- tle, sheep, goats, and horses of a fine breed are numerous. Poultry abounds. The rivers sup- ply an abundance of fish, which, when dried, is an article of considerable trade. The abo- rigines, who are the peasantry of the country, are barbarous. The Moors, who have estab- lished themselves in the towns along the Joliba, exercise a great degree of authority with the petty sovereigns of the country, and with the Mandingoes and Foolahs, two large negro tribes from the Kong mountains, who are Moslems. They compose the great part of the population of the towns, and are mechanics and merchants. The towns inhabited by these tribes and the Moors are independent of the rule of the petty independent chiefs. Bambarra has a very ac- tive trade. The Mandingoes export ivory. The Moors carry on extensive commerce through the Sahara with the countries along the Medi- terranean. Besides gold, the principal articles of commerce are slaves, ivory, and coarse cot- ton cloth, which are exchanged for salt from the desert, tobacco, hardware, &c. Chief town, Sego ; other important towns, Bainmakoo, Nya- inina, and Sansanding. BAMBOCCIO BAMBERC, a town of Bavaria, in the circle of Upper Franconia, on the Ludwig's canal and the river Kegnitz, about 4 in. above its confluence with the Main, 33 m. N. X. W. of Nuremberg; pop. in 1871, 25,748, including 3,000 in the garrison. The inhabitants are chiefly Roman Catholics. The town is well built on eminences in a delightful and fertile region, and is divided by the Regnitz, which is crossed by five bridges. The ditches of the old ramparts have been converted into gardens and promenades, the finest of the lat- ter being the parks of the Theresienhain on the Ludwig's canal. The most remarkable public buildings are the cathedral, one of the finest in Germany, rebuilt in Byzantine style, with monuments of the emperor Henry II. and his consort Cunigunda and of Pope Clem- ent II., and with paintings by Tintoretto and Vandyke ; and the former university and pres- ent parish church of St. Martin, built by the Jesuits at the end of the 17th century, noted for its internal beauty, with a college and li- brary. The collegiate church of St. Stephen is Protestant. The town contains an infirma- ry founded by Bishop Erthal, several medical schools, and a botanical garden ; a lyceum, once a university and afterward an academical gym- nasium, with complete courses of theology, phi- losophy, and medical science ; a normal school, and many other schools. The royal library contains nearly 60,000 volumes, and there are many learned, artistic, and philanthrop- ical institutions and associations. The prin- cipal corporation is that of the gardeners, with over 700 members and a triennial prize for officinal plants. The export of plants, vege- tables, fruits, and seeds, and especially of licor- ice, is considerable. There are over 60 brew- eries. Cotton weaving employs over 1,500 per- sons. The transit trade has been much in- creased by railways as well as by the Ludwig's canal, which, extending from the Regnitz to the Altmuhl, unites the Main, and through it the Rhine, with the Danube. The view from the ruined castle of Altenberg is among the finest in Franconia. The town is supposed to have derived its name and origin in the 9th century from this castle of the counts of Baben- berg, where Philip of Swabia, the competitor of Otho IV. for the crown of Germany, was murdered in 1208 by Otto of Wittelsbach. Bamberg was formerly an independent bish- opric; the 61st and last prince-bishop, Buseck, who died in 1805, retired with a pension of 40,000 florins after the secularization of the see in 1801. The bishopric then included an area of 1,400 sq. m. and a population of 200,000. It is now an archbishopric, with jurisdiction over the bishoprics of Wurzburg, Eichstadt, and Spire. The Bamberg conferences of 1854 related to the addition of the middle German states to the Austro-Prussian union. BA9IBOCCIO (little child, or simpleton), the Italian nickname of PIETEB VAN LAEK or LAAR, a Dutch painter, so called either from his funny