art as well as position before the invention of modern artillery, has since undergone numerous sieges. In order to undertake the crusade Godfrey sold the castle of Bouillon to the prince bishop of Liége, and the title of duke of Bouillon remained the appendage of the bishopric till 1678, or for 580 years. The bishops appointed “châtelains,” one of whom was the celebrated “Wild Boar of the Ardennes,” William de la Marck. His descendants made themselves quasi-independent and called themselves princes of Sedan and dukes of Bouillon, and they were even recognized by the king of France. The possession of Bouillon thenceforward became a constant cause of strife until in 1678 Louis XIV. garrisoned it under the treaty of Nijmwegen. From 1594 to 1641 the duchy remained vested in the French family of La Tour d’Auvergne, one of whom (Henry, viscount of Turenne and marshal of France) had married in 1591 Charlotte de la Marck, the last of her race. In 1676 the duke of Créquy seized it in the name of Louis XIV., who in 1678 gave it to Godefroy Marie de La Tour d’Auvergne, whose descendants continued in possession till 1795. Bouillon remained French till 1814, and Vauban called it “the key of the Ardennes.” In 1760 the elder Rousseau established here the famous press of the Encyclopaedists. In 1814–1815, before the decrees of the Vienna Congress were known, an extraordinary attempt was made by Philippe d’Auvergne of the British navy, the cousin and adopted son of the last duke, to revive the ancient duchy of Bouillon. The people of Bouillon freely recognized him, and Louis XVIII. was well pleased with the arrangement, but the congress assigned Bouillon to the Netherlands. Napoleon III. on his way to Germany after Sedan slept one night in the little town, which is a convenient centre for visiting that battlefield.
BOUILLOTTE, a French game of cards, very popular during
the Revolution, and again for some years from 1830. Five, four
or three persons may play; a piquet pack is used, from which,
in case five play, the sevens, when four the knaves, and when
three the queens also, are omitted. Counters or chips, as in
poker, are used. Before the deal each player “antes” one
counter, after which each, the “age” passing, may “raise”
the pot; those not “seeing the raise” being obliged to drop
out. Three cards are dealt to each player, and a thirteenth,
called the retourne, when four play, turned up. Each player
must then bet, call, raise or drop out. When a call is made
the hands are shown and the best hand wins. The hands rank
as follows: brélan carré, four of a kind, one being the retourne;
simple brélan, three of a kind, ace being high; brélan favori,
three of a kind, one being the retourne. When no player holds
a brélan the hand holding the greatest number of pips wins,
ace counting 11, and court cards 10.
BOUILLY, JEAN NICOLAS (1763–1842), French author,
was born near Tours on the 24th of January 1763. At the
outbreak of the Revolution he held office under the new government,
and had a considerable share in the organization of
primary education. In 1799 he retired from public life to devote
himself to literature. His numerous works include the musical
comedy, Pierre le Grand (1790), for Grétry’s music, and the
opera, Les Deux Journées (1800), music by Cherubini; also
L’Abbé de l’épée (1800), and some other plays; and Causeries d’un vieillard (1807), Contes à ma fille (1809), and Les Adieux du vieux conteur (1835). His Léonore (1798) formed the basis of the libretto of the Fidelio of Beethoven. Bouilly died in Paris on the 14th of April 1842.
See Bouilly, Mes récapitulations (3 vols., 1836–1837); E. Legouvé, Soixante ans de souvenir (1ère partie, 1886).
BOULAINVILLIERS, HENRI, Comte de (1658–1722), French
political writer, was born at St Saire in Normandy in 1658. He
was educated at the college of Juilly, and served in the army
until 1697. He wrote a number of historical works (published
after his death), of which the most important were the following:
Histoire de l’ancien gouvernement de la France (La Haye, 1727);
État de la France, avec des mémoires sur l’ancien gouvernement
(London, 1727); Histoire de la pairie de France (London, 1753);
Histoire des Arabes (1731). His writings are characterized by
an extravagant admiration of the feudal system. He was an
aristocrat of the most pronounced type, attacking absolute
monarchy on the one hand and popular government on the
other. He was at great pains to prove the pretensions of his
own family to ancient nobility, and maintained that the government
should be entrusted solely to men of his class. He died
in Paris on the 23rd of January 1722.
BOULANGER, the name of several French artists:—Jean
(1606–1660), a pupil of Guido Reni at Bologna, who had an
academy at Modena; his cousin Jean (1607–1680), a celebrated
line-engraver; the latter’s son Matthieu, another engraver;
Louis (1806–1867), a subject-painter, the friend of Victor Hugo,
and director of the imperial school of art at Dijon; the best-known,
Gustave Rodolphe Clarence (1824–1888), a pupil
of Paul Delaroche, a notable painter of Oriental and Greek and
Roman subjects, and a member of the Institute (1882); and
Clément (1805–1842), a pupil of Ingres.
BOULANGER, GEORGE ERNEST JEAN MARIE (1837–1891),
French general, was born at Rennes on the 29th of April 1837.
He entered the army in 1856, and served in Algeria, Italy,
Cochin-China and the Franco-German War, earning the reputation
of being a smart soldier. He was made a brigadier-general
in 1880, on the recommendation of the duc d’Aumale, then
commanding the VII. army corps, and Boulanger’s expressions
of gratitude and devotion on this occasion were remembered
against him afterwards when, as war minister in M. Freycinet’s
cabinet, he erased the name of the duc d’Aumale from the army
list, as part of the republican campaign against the Orleanist
and Bonapartist princes. In 1882 his appointment as director of
infantry at the war office enabled him to make himself conspicuous
as a military reformer; and in 1884 he was appointed
to command the army occupying Tunis, but was recalled owing
to his differences of opinion with M. Cambon, the political
resident. He returned to Paris, and began to take part in
politics under the aegis of M. Clémenceau and the Radical party;
and in January 1886, when M. Freycinet was brought into power
by the support of the Radical leader, Boulanger was given the
post of war minister.
By introducing genuine reforms for the benefit of officers and common soldiers alike, and by laying himself out for popularity in the most pronounced fashion—notably by his fire-eating attitude towards Germany in April 1887 in connexion with the Schnaebele frontier incident—Boulanger came to be accepted by the mob as the man destined to give France her revenge for the disasters of 1870, and to be used simultaneously as a tool by all the anti-Republican intriguers. His action with regard to the royal princes has already been referred to, but it should be added that Boulanger was taunted in the Senate with his ingratitude to the duc d’Aumale, and denied that he had ever used the words alleged. His letters containing them were, however, published, and the charge was proved. Boulanger fought a bloodless duel with the baron de Lareinty over this affair, but it had no effect at the moment in dimming his popularity, and on M. Freycinet’s defeat in December 1886 he was retained by M. Goblet at the war office. M. Clémenceau, however, had by this time abandoned his patronage of Boulanger, who was becoming so inconveniently prominent that, in May 1887, M. Goblet was not sorry to get rid of him by resigning. The mob clamoured for their “brav’ général,” but M. Rouvier, who next formed a cabinet, declined to take him as a colleague, and Boulanger was sent to Clermont-Ferrand to command an army corps. A Boulangist “movement” was now in full swing. The Bonapartists had attached themselves to the general, and even the comte de Paris encouraged his followers to support him, to the dismay of those old-fashioned Royalists who resented Boulanger’s treatment of the duc d’Aumale. His name was the theme of the popular song of the moment—“C’est Boulanger qu’il nous faut”; the general and his black horse became the idol of the Parisian populace; and he was urged to play the part of a plebiscitary candidate for the presidency.
The general’s vanity lent itself to what was asked of it; after various symptoms of insubordination had shown themselves, he
