Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume III.djvu/29

 BOMBELLI BONACCA 23 was that between Bombay and Tanna, opened April 6, 1853. Bombay is now the terminus of the Bombay, Baroda, and Central India railway, and of the Great Indian Peninsula railway, as well as of steamship lines from Eng- land. There is telegraphic communication with Calcutta, opened in 1854, and with Falmouth, England, opened in 1870, by means of cables, avoiding all land communications, by way of Aden, Malta, and Gibraltar. As the capital of the province, Bombay is the residence of the governor and of an Anglican bishop. The provincial high court is also held there. Prom- inent among the institutions of the city is the royal Asiatic society, famous for its successful efforts in behalf of oriental learning. Several missionary establishments are maintained by Europeans and Americans. BOMBELLI, Raffiiello, a Bologncse mathemati- cian of the 16th century. He published in 1572 a treatise on algebra, in which he first at- tempted the solution of the "irreducible case " in cubic equations. He gave the geometrical solution depending upon the trisection of an angle, which latter problem, he observed, could be reduced to a cubic equation. He was also the first to attempt the extraction of the cube root in the result of Cardan's formula. BOMBERG, Daniel, a Dutch printer, born in Antwerp, died in Venice in 1549. Ho printed several renowned editions of the Hebrew Bible, the first of which appeared at Venice in 1518. The Babylonish Talmud and many other He- brew books were issued from his press in a style of execution so expensive as to ruin him. BOM (Fr. Bone; Arabic, Beled el-Anib, town of grapes), a fortified seaport town of Algeria, in the province of Constantine, on the W. coast of the gulf of Bona, 270 m. E. of Algiers ; pop. in 1866, 17,841, more than half Europeans. It is built in the form of an amphitheatre in an ex- tremely fertile region, at the foot of a hill, and Bonn. has been Europeanized and embellished by the French, who have improved the harbor and in 1858 built new piers. The town is well sup- plied with churches, schools, and public institu- tions. Outside the walls, which are flanked with four square towers and pierced by four gates, is the citadel, built by Charles V. in 1535. Its capture by the French, March 26, 1832, was one of the most brilliant achieve- ments of the French invasion. Since 1850 it has been used as a prison of state. Though the harbor is not favorably situated, commerce is active, but less so than formerly, part of it having been diverted to Philippeville since the establishment of that port in 1838. The coral fisheries are extensive. Silks, tapestry, and other articles are manufactured, and the town contains a marble quarry, an iron foundery, and other industrial establishments, and has weekly communication by steam with Marseilles. A marsh, between the town and the junction of the Seibous with two of its affluents near the entrance of the former river into the sea, is productive of malaria, and is supposed to have been the ancient harbor of Hippo Regius, the scanty remains of which town are about 1J m. S. by W. of Bona. (See HIPPO.) BONA, Giovanni, a Roman cardinal, born in Mondovi, Piedmont, Oct. 10, 1609, died in Rome, Oct. 27, 1674. He was a collaborator in the Acta Sanctorum, the author of Res Li- turgicce, which is an authority on the service of mass, and of De Principiis Vit(B Christiana, of which French translations appeared in 1693 and 1728. An edition of his works appeared at Turin in 1747-'53, in 4 vols. BONA DEA (the good goddess), a Roman di- vinity, sister, wife, or daughter of Faunus. Her worship was secret, performed only by women ; and men were not allowed to know her name. Her sanctuary was in a cavern in the Aventine hill, but her festival, which oc- curred May 1, was celebrated in a separate room in the dwelling of the consul who then had the fasces. No man was allowed to be present, all male statues in the house were cov- ^^_^ ered, and the myrtle was ~ --.^-^ . avoided in the decoration of the house with flowers. The wine used at this fes- tival was called milk, and the vessel in which it was kept mellarium. After a sacrifice, called damium, the wine was drunk and bacchanalian dances were performed. According to Juvenal, licentious abomi- nations marked these fes- tivals. The snake was tho symbol of the goddess, indicating that she was regarded as possessing a curative medical power. In her sanctuary various herbs were offered for sale. BONACCA (formerly called GUANAJA), an island in Honduras bay, Caribbean sea, 30 m. N. of Cape Castilla; lat. 16 28' N., Ion. 85 55' W. It is the second in size of the group called the