trath ; the local colours are well observed, the carnations are fresh and brilliant, and his chiaroscuro and perspective are unexceptionable. He is said lo have finished a great number of pictures ; but his genuine works are somewhat rare and valuable, many of those which are called originals being copies either by the sons of Bassano, or by others. He died in 1592, aged eighty-two. Bassano s style varied con siderably during his lifetime. He naturally was at first a copier of his father, but his productions in this style are not of great value. He was then strongly attracted by the lightness and beautiful colouring of Titian, and finally adopted the style which is recognized as his own. Although he painted few great pictures, and preferred humble subjects, yet his altar-piece of the Nativity at Bassano is estimated highly by the best judges, and in Lanzi s opinion is the
finest work of its class in existence.BASSE-TERRE, the capital of St Christopher s, one of the British West India Islands. Population, 8500. See Saint Christopher's.
BASSE-TERRE, formerly the capital of Guadeloupe, one of the French West India Islands. Population, 9480. See Guadeloupe.
BASSEIN, a British district on the eastern coast of the Bay of Bengal, under the jurisdiction of the Chief Commis sioner of Burmah, lies between 15 3 and 18 N. lat., and 94 and 96 D E. long. It is bounded on the N. by the dis tricts of Kyouk Phoo and Myanoung, on the E. by the district of Rangoon, and on the S. and W. by the Bay of Bengal. A mountain range called the Anouk-phet Toung- myeng stretches through the district from north to south along the coast. The principal river of the district is the Irawadi, which debouches on the sea at its eastern extremity through a delta intersected with salt water creeks, among which the Pymalaw, Deay Pyoo, Thekacloung, and Nga Woon or Bassein River rank as important arms of the sea. Shagay-gyee and Engyay-gyee are the only two lakes in the district. The delta of the Irawadi forms, wherever cul tivable, a vast sheet of rice, with cotton, sesamum, and tobacco as subsidiary crops. Bassein district has an area of 8954 square miles, of which only 351 are cultivated. In 1871-72 the population amounted to 316,883, residing in 65,722 houses, and inhabiting 1554 villages, of whom 213,816, or 67 per cent, were Buddhists, 78,684 abori gines, 20,810 Christians, 2119 Mahometans, 723 Hindus, and 12 Parsfs. Density of population, 34 - 03 per square mile. The population consisted of 31,369 agriculturists, and 285,464 non-agriculturists. Total revenue in 1870- 71, 118,672, of which 36,676, or 30 per cent, was derived from land. Principal towns and villages in Bassein (1), Bassein, population 19,577; (2), Lay- myethna, 5325; (3), Pautanaw, 5876; (4), Yaygyee, 4893; (5), Nga-thainkhyoung, 3178; (6), Kang-yeedaing, 1500, (7), Shweloung, 1317; (8), Myoung-mya, 1477; (9), Nga-poo-tau, 981; and (10), Kyoon-pyaw, 1655.
Bassein, the principal place of the district of the same name, situated in 16 45 N. lat., and 94 50 E. long., on the eastern bank of the Bassein River, one of the main arteries by which the waters of the Irawadi discharge themselves into the sea. It forms an important seat of the rice trade, and has great capabilities both from a mercantile and a military point of view, as it commands the great outlet of the Irawadi. It fell before the British arms, in May 1852, during the second Burmese war. Since then the town population has rapidly increased, and numbered 19,577 in 1871, chiefly fishermen, craftsmen, traders, and persons connected with the rice commerce.
BASSELIN, Olivier, an old French poet or writer of verses, was born in the Yal-de-Yire in Normandy about the middle of the 14th century, and died about 1418 or 1419. He was by occupation a fuller, and had a mill on the small river Yire. His songs were sprightly and joyous, and became famous. The modern Yaudevilles take their origin and name from them, and were originally called Yaux-de-Yire, vaux being the plural of val ; though, according to Menage, the word is derived from a small town Yaux near the Vire. Basselin s poems were collected and published in the 16th century by Jean le Houx, and have since been re-edited by M. Asselin in 1811, and by M. Travers in 1833. The latest edition, that by P. L. Jacob, 1858, contains some other poems in addition to those of Basselin.
BASSI, Laura Maria Caterina, an Italian lady, eminently distinguished for her learning, was born at Bologna in 1711. On account of her extraordinary attain ments she received a doctors degree, and was appointed professor in the philosophical college, where she delivered public lectures on experimental philosophy till the time of her death. She was elected member of many literary societies, and carried on an extensive correspondence with the most eminent European men of letters. She was well acquainted with classical literature, as well as vith that of France and Italy. In 1738 she married Giuseppe Yerrati, a physician, and left several children. She died in 1778.
BASSIANUS, Joannes, a distinguished professor in the law school of Bologna, the pupil of Bulgarus and the master of Azo. Little is known of his origin, but he is said by Carolus de Tocco to have been a native of Cremona. The most important of his writings which have been preserved is his Summary on the Authentica, which Savigny regards as one of the most precious works of the school of the Gloss-writers. Joannes, as he is generally termed, was remarkable for his talent in inventing ingenious forms for explaining his ideas with greater precision, and perhaps his most celebrated work is his " Law-Tree," which he entitled Arbor Arborum, and which has been the subject of numerous commentaries. The work represents a tree, upon the branches of which the various kinds of actions are arranged after the manner of fruit. The civil actions, or actiones stricti juris, being forty-eight in number, are arranged on one side, whilst the equitable or praetorian actions, in number one hundred and twenty-one, are arranged on the other side. A further scientific division cf actions is made by him urder twelve heads, and by an ingenious system of notation the student is enabled to class at once each of the civil or praetorian actions, as the case may be, under its proper head in the scientific division. By the side of the tree a few glosses were added by Joannes to explain and justify his classification. His Lectures on the Pandects and the Code, which were collected by his pupil Nicolaus Furiosus, have unfortunately perished.
BASSOON, a musical wind instrument of the reed order, made of wood, and played through a bent mouth piece of metal. It has a compass of about three octaves, from B fiat below the bass staff to C in the treble staff, and may thus be regarded as the bass instrument corre sponding to the oboe and clarinet. See Musical Instruments.
BASSO-RILIEVO. See Alto Rilievo and Relief.
British India, situated between 20 10 and 17 40 of N. lat,, and 80 30 and 82 15 of E. long., bounded on the N. by the Kanker zamindari and the Rdipur district ; on the E. by the Bendrd Nawagarh zamindari arid Raipur, Jaipur state, and Sabari River ; on the S. by the Sironchd district ; and on the W. by the Indravatf River and the Aheri zamindari. Extreme length of the state, 170 miles; extreme breadth, 120 miles; area, estimated at 13,000 square miles. Total population, 78,856, consisting of Hindus, 29,060; Musalmans, 1704; aboriginal tribes of
Gond origin, 48,092. Among the latter, the MariAs are a