8.e. and e.; and Salerno and the Mediterranean, on the west. Its area is 4000 sq. miles. Pop. '81, 524,485. The capital is Potenza; the other chief towns are Francavilla and Tursi. B. lies mainly on the e. side of the main ridge of the Apennines, between it and the gulf of Taranto. The interior is wild and mountainous, and though there are some large forests in the province, the general aspect is bare and barren. Four considerable rivers-the Basiento, Brandano, Agri, and Sinno-flow through it from the w. in an e.s.e. direction, forming as many valleys, which slope gradually into an exceedingly fertile plain, varying in breadth from 4 to 10 miles. Here corn is raised in abundance, also wine, hemp, tobacco, and liquorice. Swine, sheep, and goats are reared in the mountainous districts, and silk forms a product of the valleys. B. is greatly in need of good roads, and is much subject to earthquakes.

BASIL'ICON (Gr. "royal," or of great virtue), a name given to an ointment composed of yellow wax, black pitch, resin, and olive oil. Hence it was called unguentum tetrapharmacum (tetra pharmaka, four drugs). The resin, wax, and pitch are melted together over a slow fire; the oil is then added, and the mixture, while hot, strained through linen. The straining is directed in consequence of the impurities which resin often contains. B. ointment, or resin cerate, as it is sometimes called, is much used as a gently stimulant application to blistered surfaces, indolent ulcers, burns, scalds, and chilblains. BASIL ICON DO'RON (Gr. royal gift), a celebrated prose work of king James VI. of Scotland, written for the instruction of his son, prince Henry, a short time previous to his accession to the English throne. It consists of three books. The first treats "Of a King's Christian Duty towards God;" the second, "Of a King's Duty in his Office;" and the third, "Of a King's Behavior in Indifferent Things.' It was first published in 1599; afterwards in London in 1603, 8vo; and translated into Latin by Henry Peacham, who presented it, richly illuminated, to the prince. This Latin version was published in London in 1604, 8vo. A French edition appeared at Paris in 1603, 8vo, and another in 1604, 16mo. Like the royal author's famous work on Demonology, and his Counterblast to Tobacco, the B. D. is now only considered as a literary curiosity.

BASILI'DES, an Alexandrian Gnostic, who flourished during the reigns of Trajan, Hadrian, and Antoninus Pius. Regarding his life, little is known. He is said to have taught in Antioch; afterwards in Persia; and, finally, in Egypt, where he is supposed to have died shortly before the middle of the 2d century. He was a disciple of one Glaucias, not elsewhere mentioned in history, but whom he terms an interpreter of St. Peter, and from whom he alleges that he had received the esoteric faith of that apostle. B. probably considered himself a Christian, but his fantastic speculations bore a greater resemblance to the doctrines of Zoroaster, and in some points to the Indian philosophy, than to the religion of Christ. According to the system of B., there are two eternal and independent principles-the one, good; the other, evil. Whatever exists, emanates from these. The good principle-i.e., the supreme God, or Father-constitutes, with his seven perfections, viz., the mind, the word, the understanding, power, excellences, princes, and angels, the blessed ogdoad (combination of eight). These seven perfections, or powers, in which the supreme God is reflected, are in their turn themselves reflected, but more feebly, in seven other angelic powers, which emanate from them; and so on through the whole circle of emanations, which amount to 365, the mystic number so often inscribed on the symbolic stones in the Gnostic schools (see ABRAXAS STONES). Each of these angelic powers governs a world. There are, consequently, 365 worlds, to each of which B. gave a name. The head of the 365th, or lowest world, rules the material universe, which, along with other angels, he also created. He is the God or Jehovah of the Old Testament, and when the earth was divided among the rulers of the material universe, the Jewish nation fell to the share of himself, who was the prince of the lowest class of angels. But wishing to absorb all power himself, he strove against the other angels, and to make them subject to his "chosen people," the result of which was war, strife, division in the world, together with the loss of the true religion, to restore which the supreme God sent the first Æon (Nous, or intelligence), who united himself to the man Jesus at his baptism, and so taught men that the destiny of their rational spirit was to return into God. This Nous, however (who was the true Christ), did not really suffer crucifixion, for, changing forms with Simon of Cyrene, he stood by laughing while Simon suffered, and afterwards returned to heaven. B. also taught the doctrine of a purgatorial transmigration of souls in the case of the wicked. His disciples (Basilidians) were numerous in Egypt, Syria, Italy, and even in Gaul, where they continued to exist till the 4th century. They were accused by their enemies of Antinomianism and "magic," but whether on good grounds or not, cannot be ascertained.

BASILIS'CUS, d. 477, Emperor of the East. In 468 A.D. he commanded the arma, ment that Leo I. sent against Genseric, who defeated him. B. seized the throne of the east in 474, but was deposed two years later by Zeno.

BASILISK, according to ancient and medieval authors, a terrible creature, which, however, may be regarded as entirely fabulous-the fables concerning it being so many and so monstrous, that it is vain to seek for any foundation of truth, or to inquire if any of them originally had reference to any particular creature whatever. The ancients, as Dioscorides, Galen, and Pliny, describe it as a serpent: in the middle ages, it was gener

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ally represented as more of a lizard appearance, but provided with eight instead of four feet. It appears to have been at last pretty completely identified with the cockatrice (q.v.), which was believed to be generated in a very wonderful manner, being produced from an egg laid by an extremely old cock, and hatched by a toad; for which reason we find the B. sometimes figured with something like a cock's head. The B. was the king of dragons and serpents, all of which left their prey to it whenever it approached; whence its name, basiliscus (Gr.), diminutive of basileus, a king-sometimes exactly translated into Latin by regulus. It had some prominences on its head, which, when it was figured in books, assumed very exactly the appearance of a crown. It inhabited the deserts of Africa, and, indeed, could only inhabit a desert, for its breath burned up all vegetation; the flesh fell from the bones of any animal with which it came in contact, and its very look was fatal to life; but brave men could venture into cautious contest with it by the use of a mirror, which reflected back its deadly glance upon itself.-These things are still necessary to be mentioned, were it only on account of the allusions to them by poets and other writers.-The blood of the B. was, of course, extremely valuable to magicians. It occupies an important place in some of the legends of the saints, and pope Leo IV. is said to have delivered Rome from a B. whose breath caused a deadly pestilence.

The word B., and its equivalent regulus, are sometimes used in the Latin Vulgate, where the authorized English version of the Old Testament sometimes has adder, and sometimes cockatrice; but no trace of any of the marvels concerning the B. is to be found there.

BASILISK, Basiliscus, in modern zoology, a genus of saurian reptiles of the family of iguanida (see IGUANA), differing from the iguanas in the want of the dewlap or appendage of skin under the throat, and of the series of pores on the inside of each thigh; also in having a continuous elevated crest along the back and tail, capable of being erected or depressed at pleasure, and apparently intended to aid the motions of the animal in water like the corresponding fin of a fish.-The basilisks are remarkably adapted both for climbing trees and for swimming. Their feet are not webbed, their toes rather long. They are perfectly harmless creatures, very active and lively, and it is difficult to say why they should have received the name of the fabulous monster of antiquity, unless because their appearance is far from agreeable to those unaccustomed to it, and perhaps because an appendage at the back of the head may have been thought to represent the crown of the dragon king. This appendage is most conspicuously developed in the mitred or hooded B. (B. mitratus), a native of the tropical parts of America, and consists of a hood or membranous bag, capable of being dilated with air, and then about the size of a pullet's egg, which is supposed, notwithstanding its extremely different situation, to have a use somewhat analogous to that of the air-bladder of fishes. The mitred B. is from 25 to 30 in. long, including the long and very tapering tail. Another and larger species, of a gen erally greenish color (B. Amboinensis), inhabits the islands of the Indian archipelago, and is much used there for food. Its flesh is said to be very white and tender. See illus.,

BATS, ETC., p. 292, fig. 7.

BASILOSAURUS. See ZEUGLODON.

BASIN, a geographical term of considerable importance. The B. of a river is the whole tract of country drained by that river, and is, of course, more or less concave. The line or boundary which separates one river-basin from another is called the watershed. By tracing these water-sheds, the whole of a country or continent may be divided into a number of distinct basins: and this is one of the most instructive elements in the physical geography of a country. The B. of a lake or sea, again, is made up of the basins of all the rivers that flow into it.

BASIN, in geology, is a term applied to depressions in the strata, in which beds of a later age have been deposited. Thus, the London B., consisting of tertiary sands and clays, occupies a hollow in the chalk, which is bounded by the North Downs on the s., and by the chalk-hills of Berks, Wilts, Bucks, and Herts on the north. The term has also been applied to synclinal depressions of strata, which have been produced by the eleva tion or depression of all the strata contained in the B., as the coal-basin of s. Wales.

BASINGSTOKE, a t. in the n. of Hampshire, 46 m. w.s. w. of London. It is a place of much activity, being situated at the junction of five main roads to London from the s. and w. of England. The country around is fertile and wooded. The chief trade is in corn, malt, coal, and timber. Near the town is a tract of 108 acres, on which every householder has the right of pasturage. There is also, not far from the town, an ancient camp, surrounded by an irregular oval embankment, 1100 yards in circumference, with an entrance on the e. and w. sides. Basing House castle, belonging to the marquis of Winchester, long withstood the forces of the commonwealth, but Cromwell at last took it by storm, and burned it to the ground in 1645. Pop. '81, 5574.

BASKERVILLE, JOHN, a celebrated English printer and letter-founder, was b. in 1706 at Wolverley, in Worcestershire. He became a writing-master in Birmingham, and afterwards carried on the business of japanning there with great success. He began about 1750 to make laborious and costly experiments in letter-founding, and succeeded

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in making types which have scarcely yet been excelled. He printed an edition of Virgil, at Birmingham, in 1756, which was followed by other Latin classics, a few English and Italian authors, and a New Testament (Oxf. 1763), much admired as specimens of printing, although not otherwise possessing high merit. His services to the art of printing met with little encouragement and no requital. He d. in 1775. He was a man of obliging disposition, but of a gloomy temperament, and condemned all religious service as superstition. Baskerville was buried in a tomb of masoury in the shape of a cone, under a windmill, in his garden; but the ground becoming valuable for building purposes, his remains were exhumed in the summer of 1821, and deposited in the vaults of Christ church, in the neighborhood of the spot where they were originally interred. Baskerville editions of works are now prized by persons of taste.

BASKET (Welsh, basged, or basgard, a netting or weaving of splinters), a domestic utensil, usually made of willows, reeds, or chips, interwoven, although sometimes the materials are gold, silver, iron, glass, etc. Baskets have been in use from very early ages. The Israelites were commanded (Deuteronomy xxvi. 2) to offer unto the Lord, as soon as they came into possession of the land of Canaan, "the first of all the fruit of the earth" in a basket. The baskets used on such occasions by the rich Jews were made of gold and silver, and were returned to the offerers; but those used by the majority of the people were of barked willow, and were retained by the priests. The ancient Britons were remarkably expert in the manufacture of baskets, which were much prized by the Romans for their neatness and elegance. The process of basketmaking is very simple, and appears to be well known among the rudest peoples-even among the aborigines of Van Diemen's land. In this country the willow is chiefly used in the manufacture of baskets. In several parts of England and Scotland, great attention is paid to the cultivation of the willow; and judging from the statements of some of the cultivators, the returns yielded are very satisfactory. One calculates his profits at £18, 108. per acre, and another at £10 per acre. The tools required being few and inexpensive, a large number of poor persons are engaged in the manufacture of baskets, that are hawked about the streets by their wives and children. Basket-making also forms a part of the industry of almost all blind asylums. Baskets are of all shapes and sizes, and their uses are so well known to all as to obviate the necessity of description here. Baskets to the value of £30,000 or £40,000 are annually imported from the continent.

BASKET FISH, a species of the genus astrophyton, or star-fish, having a most remarkable development of arms. Its body is a five-sided disk, surmounted by the numerous arms. The disk (in one specimen measured) has a diameter of 24 in.; and one of the arms is, in its entire length, 9 in., but as it lies coiled up, like a basket, it is about 8 in. across the whole. The size varies with age, but the above is about the average, many being less than half as large, and others twice as great. The upper side of the disk has 10 radial ribs bearing short, blunt spines. The mouth is on the under side, and central. It is set with spiniform bristles hiding 24 thorn-like teeth. From around the star-shaped mouth branch 5 stout arms, each of which is divided at the edge of the disk. The animal is wholly covered with an epidermis, granulated above, but smooth beneath, except that it seems to have a double line of stitches under each arm. The general color is light buff; but the inter-brachial spaces in the living animal vary from dark purple to bright pink. The constant division of each arm at regular intervals into 2 smaller ones is a most remarkable peculiarity. Each of the 5 main branches is divided into 2, making 10 in all; each of the 10 is divided, making 20-and so indefinitely down to the least visible filament. Winthrop counted 81,920 of these “small sprouts, twigs, or threads." On capture or disturbance the creature instantly folds its arms closely about its body, shrinking from the touch like a sensitive plant, and assuming the basket shape from which it gets its familiar name. The attempt to untwist these coils generally ends in breaking the delicate, but tenacious threads. The basket fish is a voracious feeder, and its peculiar construction aids it in taking its prey. The microscope shows each arm and spine to terminate in a minute but sharp hook. The animal, in moving, lifts itself on the extreme end of its long arms, standing, as it were, on tiptoe, so that "the ramifications form a kind of trellis-work all around it reaching to the ground, while the disk forms the roof." This latticed bower is but a trap for entangling heedless little fishes and shrimps, whose escape from those coils is as hopeless as the efforts of a fly to break loose from a spider's web.

BASNAGE DE BEAUVAL, JAQUES, the most distinguished of a distinguished French family, mostly supporters of the Protestant cause, was the son of Henry Basnage, an able advocate in the parliament of Normandy, and was born at Rouen, Aug. 8, 1653. Having studied theology at Geneva and Sedan, he became pastor of the Reformed church in Rouen (1676). That church being interdicted in 1685, Basnage obtained leave to retire to Holland, where he finally settled as stipendiary minister of the Walloon church in the Hague, having gained the friendship of the grand pensionary Heinsius. Here, while zealously discharging his religious duties, he was called upon to take an active part in state affairs, particularly in negotiating the defensive alliance concluded between France, England, and the states-general, 14th Feb., 1717. Amid all these duties and distractions, Basnage cultivated literature with ardor, and was no less distinguished for his extensive learning than for the polish of his manners and the integrity of his character.

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280

Basnage, who commanded in a singular degree the esteem both of Protestants and
Catholics, died on the 22d Sept., 1723.

His chief works, which have been frequently laid under contribution without being named, are La Communion Sainte (Rott., 1688), a work approved even by Catholics, and often reprinted; Traité de la Conscience (Amst. 1696, 2 vols.); Histoire de l'Eglise (Rott. 1699, 2 vols. fol.); Histoire des Juifs (Rott. 1706, 5 vols.), one of Basnage's best productions, and translated into English by Th. Taylor (Lond. 1708); Dissertation Historique sur les Duels et les Ordres de Chevalerie (Amst. 1720).

BASQUE PROVINCES, a district of Spain, in lat. 42° 25′ to 43° 28′ n., and long. 1° 44' to 3° 25' w., and comprising the three provinces of Biscay, Guipuzcoa, and Alava, which constituted the ancient Cantabria. They form a sort of triangle, the base of which is the bay of Biscay on the n., and the apex the town of Logrono in the s.; the boundary. lines of Navarre on the e., and Santander and Burgos on the w., forming the two sides. The total area of the provinces is about 3000 sq.m., and the population in 1870, 471,989. The surface of the B. P. is very mountainous, particularly that of Alava, which is everywhere cut up into deep narrow valleys by offsets from the main chain of mountains. The rivers of Biscay and Guipuzcoa, none of which are important, empty themselves after a short course into the bay of Biscay; those of Alava flow down the opposite slopes into the Ebro, which carries their waters to the Mediterranean. The climate in all the three provinces is, on the whole, mild and salubrious. The general aspect of the country is very picturesque, the hills in most cases being covered with wood to the very summit. The principal trees are oak, beech, and chestnut. The fruit of the chestnut forms an article both of diet and of export. The soil in the valleys and plains, though not very rich, has been rendered productive by the energy of the people, who spare no labor in the cultivation. But as yet, science and machinery have done little or nothing to assist nature and manual exertion. A spade, or prong-fork, is the chief mechanical aid the Basque peasant has. or five acres, and rarely more than can be managed by the farmer and his family. NotThe farms are small, usually only about four withstanding, the roads and agriculture of these provinces contrast very favorably with those of Spain generally. The products are wheat, barley, maize, flax, hemp, etc.; the wheat, however, only ripening in the most favored localities. Iron is found in abundance; also copper and tin, marble, porphyry, and jasper. The fisheries on the coast are productive.

The Basque race is not confined to the B. P., or to the southern side of the Pyrenees. The greater part of the inhabitants of Navarre (q.v.) are pure Basques. French side of the Pyrenees, three cantons of the department Basses Pyrénées, with a And on the pop. of 145,000, are inhabited by Basques, who, though they retain their own tongue, have not so fully preserved the characteristics of the race as their Spanish brethren.

The Spanish Basques are a simple, brave, and independent people, willing to undergo any hardships rather than surrender their mountain-freedom. None of their many invaders were ever able to effectually subdue or expel them. The B. P. retained till 1876 a separate constitution, guaranteeing them many political and fiscal privileges not possessed by the rest of Spain (see FUEROS). But on the suppression of the Carlist insurrection, which had all along its stronghold in the B. P. and in Navarre, the old immunities were abolished. The Basques are even prouder than Spaniards, and the mere fact of being born in their territory secures the privilege of "universal nobility." Euscaldunac is the name the Basques give themselves; their country they call Euscaleria; and their language, which is peculiarly their own, Euscara-the prefix Eusc being the old Osc, Vesc, Vasq of Italy and Iberia." considers them descendants of the ancient Iberi, who once occupied the whole of the The origin of the Basques is doubtful. Humboldt peninsula, and spoke the language now confined solely to the B. P.; while Mr. Borrow's opinion is, that the language is of Tartar origin. The Basques are fond of music, and on their chief holiday, Sunday, they indulge in singing, dancing, and single-stick, which they enjoy immensely. For a more particular account of the B. P., we would refer to Ford's Hand-book of Spain; Michel's Le Pays Basque (1875).

BAS-RELIEF'. See ALTO-RILIEVO.

BAS-RHIN, now a part of the German territory of Alsace-Lorraine; but once a department of France.

BASSE, Labrax, a genus of sea-fishes of the perch (q.v.) family, distinguished from the true perches (perca) by having the tongue covered with small teeth. The species are found on the shores both of Europe and America. The only British one is the common B. (L. lupus), a fish which in its fins, scales, etc., much resembles a perch, but has a more elongated and salmon-like form. It is pretty abundant on some parts of the British coasts, and is not unfrequently taken by angling from the rocks, or by small seine-nets on sandy shores; often, also, by the hand-line and by the long line. It is a strong, active fish, and was well known to the ancients; labrax is its Greek name; the Romans called it lupus (i.e., wolf), from its remarkable voracity. It is much esteemed for the table. It sometimes attains a large size, 15 lbs. or more in weight, but is generally much smaller. It not unfrequently ascends rivers to some distance, and the experiment of keeping it in a fresh-water pond has even been tried with success.-The striped B., or rock-fish of the United States (L. lineatus), very nearly resembles the common B., but attains a larger

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size, and is marked by seven or eight longitudinal black lines. The name stone B. is given to the polyprion cernium, a fish very rare on the coasts of Britain, but abundant in more southern parts of the Atlantic ocean, as far as the cape of Good Hope, and found on the American coasts and in the Mediterranean. In general appearance it resembles the common perch more nearly than the B., but differs from both in having only a single elongated dorsal fin. It sometimes follows ships of which the bottom is covered with barnacles, is easily taken, and is esteemed excellent for the table.

BASS, Labras, a family of fresh-water and sea fishes, abundant in the United States. The sea-bass, centropristis nigricans, never comes into fresh water. Its general color is blue black, and the black edges of the scales give its surface a netted appearance; fins pale blue, the anal and dorsal spotted with darker. Teeth are set over all the bones of the mouth. Its weight is very rarely as much as 17 lbs. The striped bass, labras lineatus, is the rock fish of the Delaware and Potomac. Color, bluish brown above, silvery below, with seven stripes of chocolate brown. This fish in spring pursues the smelt into shallow water, and devours the spawn of the shad. Its weight reaches 50 to 70 lbs.; it is excellent food, and furnishes choice sport for the angler. A variety which has the lateral bars broken into spots is L. notatus, or the bar-fish. The black bass of the lakes, grystes nigricans, is blue-black, marked with darker bandings. It frequents all western waters from the St. Lawrence to the Mississippi. Its weight runs to 8 lbs. It is a favorite both before and after it is caught. The Oswego bass, G. megastoma, often confounded with the black bass, is distinct by the greater size of its mouth. It is taken in the shallow waters of lake Erie. The white bass, G. multilineatus, or white perch, abounds in all the upper lakes. The grass bass, centrarchus hexacanthus, is found in company with the Oswego bass. Its weight rarely exceeds 2 lbs. The rock bass, C. aëneus, is dark copper yellow, with darker clouds; fins bluish green. It is common in the St. Lawrence, in the canals, and in the Hudson. The growler, grystes salmonus, is the white salmon of the southern states. Color, deep bluish green, with 25 or 30 longitudinal dark bands. For illus. of sea bass, see FISHES, vol. VI., p. 14, fig. 1.

BASS. See BASE.

BASS, or BASSWOOD. See LIME, or LINDEN.

BASS, EDWARD, D.D., 1726-1803; b. Mass.: graduate of Harvard; ordained in England by bishop Sherlock in 1752, and in 1797 consecrated first Protestant Episcopal bishop of Massachusetts, his diocesal functions being afterwards extended over New Hampshire and Rhode Island.

BAS SA, or BAF'FA, an excellent port on the Grain coast, Guinea, formerly much resorted to by trading vessels for coarse pepper; latterly for slaves. The country around produces lemons, oranges, and bananas in abundance.

BASSA'NO, a t. of Italy, in the province of Vicenza, 19 m. n.e. of the city of Vicenza, on the Brenta; pop. '81, 14,524. It is situated on a rising ground in an extensive plain, and has a considerable trade in wine, olives, silk, leather, etc., as well as a great printing establishment. It has 30 churches, and a number of fine palaces. One of its gates, the work of Palladio, is greatly admired. It is famous for a victory of Bonaparte over the Austrian field-marshal, Wurmser, on 8th Sept., 1796, and was the scene of other battles between the French and Austrians in the wars of that period.

BASSA'NO (or, more properly, GIACOMO DA PONTE), an artist of great eminence, was b. at Bassano, in the n. of Italy, in 1510. He was first educated in the principles of his art by his father, Francesco da Ponte, who was himself a painter of considerable merit, and afterwards visited Venice, where he became a pupil of Bonifazio Veneziano. Here he enjoyed opportunities of studying the designs of Parmegiano, Titian, Tintoretto, and others. The earlier stages of his professional career clearly indicate that these great painters had kindled a rich and emulative enthusiasm in B., for his works display a loftier genius, both as regards conception and execution, than at a later period. His principal effort, belonging to this higher epoch, is a fresco painted on the front of the house of the Michelli family. It represents Samson destroying the Philistines; the figure of the mighty Israelite being considered not unworthy of Michael Angelo. After his father's death, he returned to Bassano, where he devoted himself to a simpler style of art. From this time, however, dates his celebrity. He may even be said to have founded a school, whose peculiarity was the delineation of common things, markets, fairs, country inns, farm-yards, etc. He had a passion for introducing cattle into his pictures, even under the most inappropriate circumstances. The special merits of this lower style, into which B. finally lapsed, are its vigorous and picturesque coloring, and its accurate imitation of nature. B.'s landscapes, however, betray a comparative ignorance of perspective. Occasionally, during his later years, B. showed that his early love of the sublime was not wholly extinguished, by painting several altar-pieces, which exhibit a noble grandeur of execution, such as the "Entombing of Christ," in the church of St. Maria, Padua; a Nativity," now in the Louvre, Paris; "St. Roche interceding with the Virgin for a People infected with the Plague," at Vicenza; "The Wise Men's Offering," and the "Seizure of Christ in the Garden.' His rural pictures are abundant in the Italian galleries and in English collections. B. also painted heads of several of his contemporaries, Tasso, Ariosto, etc., and was in high favor with the emperor Rudolph II., for whom he