al 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 di