BASPE. 714 BAT. Weise ( 1781 ) , and, vith the assistance of Horace Walpole, a treatise on the origin of painting in oil (1781). Later he became assay-master at mines in Dolcoath, Cornwall (1782-85), and compiler of the excellent Descriptive Catalogue of more than 15,000 casts of gems, forming the collection of James Tassie of Edinl)nrgh. In 1791 he was in the north of Scotland, where he obtained from Sir .John Sinclair of Ulster funds for metallurgical experiments. He then decamped with the money to JIuckross, County Donegal, Ireland. This incident was introduced by Scott in The Antifjuarji. Raspe jjublished in 1785, in chap-book form, Jiaron MiinchJmusen's Narrative of His Marvelous Travels and Campaigns in Rus- sia, based partly on his recollections of Hieroni- nius Karl Friedrich, Baron von ilfinchhausen (1729-97). who had much local renown in Han- over for his exaggerated tales of putative hunting adventures, and partly on similar material pre- served in his commonplace-book. His work con- stitutes chapters 2-ti of the latter-day JMiinch- hausen. See iMiJNCiiHAUSEX. BASS, res, Andreas (1794-1887). A German theologian, born at Sigolsheim, Alsace, and educated in Jlainz. He was ordained priest in 1810. In 1842 he was nominated Bishop of Strassburg. At the Vatican Council he was a stanch supporter of the dogma of infallibility. Riiss founded the periodical Der Katholik, and wrote many theological treatises. His printed works include: Konve^-liten scit dfr Reformation (1806-80), and together with Weiss, Bishop of Speyer, he pul)lished Lcben der VAter vnd Mar- tyrer (23 vols., 1821-27), a translation of But- ler's LirdS of the Haints. BASSAM, ras-sam', Hormuzd (1826—). A celebrated Assyriologist, born of native Christian parents at ]Mosul. He acted as agent and over- seer for La yard (q.v. ) during his two expedi- tions in 1845-47 and 1849-51. In 1852-54 he conducted excavations at Kalat Shirgat, Xim- rud, and Knyunjik under the direction of Sir Henry Rawlinson and the British Museum, and discovered the palace of Asshurbanipal and the second half of the library at Koyunjik. (See Nineveh.) In 1864 he was sent by the British authorities to Abyssinia, where the King had imprisoned certain Europeans. Rassam was himself held captive from 1866 until Sir Robert Napier's victory over the Abyssinians in 1868. After the sudden death of George Smith in 1876 the officials of the British Museum again asked Rassam to take charge of excavations in Assyria. In 1878 he began operations in Nineveh, and from January of that year till July, 1882, he was continuously in the field in both Assyria and Babylonia, with the exception of three visits to England to report and receive funds to continue the work. He strove to excavate a great number of sites and to make striking discoveries rather than to do the best kind of work, and his lack of proper training also proved a disqualification for his task. Nevertheless he made important discoveries, such as the bronze gates of Balawat (q.v.), obtained a large number of exceedingly valuable inscriptions, and identified and partial- ly excavated the ancient Sippara (Abu Habba). He published The British Mission to Theo- dore, King of Abyssinia (1869) and Asshur and the Land of Nimrod (1897), an account of his excavations. BASSE (from Javanese rasa, from Skt. rasa, flavor, taste). A Malacca weasel. A small civet ('iverricnla malaccensis) which inhabits the Malay Peninsula, eastward to Formosa, and also the island of Madagascar, where it was probably introduced long ago. It dift'ers from the ordinary civets, being of slighter build, enal)ling it to climb trees, and in lacking a mane. It has along its back an<l sides seven blackish stripes, more or less broken into spots, some curving bars on the throat, and a long, tapering dark-ringed tail. This animal is made to yield the scent called 'civet,' which accumulates in its prescrotal glands, and which is removed from them at in- tervals, by means of a little spoon-shaped instru- ment. BAS'SELAS. A prose romance by Dr. Samuel .Johnson (17.511), written during the evenings of one week to defray the expenses of his mother's funeral. !Most popular of all .Johnson's works, it has been translated into most modern lan- guages. The story of the Prince of Abyssinia, wlio left the Happy 'alley, where he had been brought up, to explore the world, shows the vanity of human hap))iness, the author's protest against the easy optimism of his day. BASTATT, or BASTADT, r-i'stat. A town in the Grand Duchy of Baden. Germany, on the Murg, three miles from its junction with the Rhine, and 15 miles by rail southwest of Karls- ruhe (Map: Germany, C 4). Its strong fortifica- tions were dismantled in 1890. The town has a large palace (now a barrack), a gj'mnasium, and an industrial school. It manufactures iron hearths, tobacco, and lace. Rastatt is memorable for the two congresses held here. At the first, in 1714, a treaty of peace (following that of Utrecht) was signed which brought the War of the Spanish Succession to a close. The second congress was that of 1797-99 between France and the German Empire. It effected nothing, a new coalition having been formed against France. Its dissolution was followed by the assassination of two of the French delegates, a crime which aroused great indignation througliout Europe. For about 20 years previous to 1860 the forti-ess of Rastatt was occupied by the troops of the German Confederation. The Baden revolution in 1849 began and ended in Rastatt, wdiich finally surrendered to the Prussians. Population, in 1890, 11,557: in 1900. 1.3,940. Consult Huffer, Der Rnsldtirr (lesandtenmord (Bonn, 1896). BASTENBUBG, riis'ten-bTJorK. A town in the Province of East Prussia, Prussia, on the River Guber, 64 miles southeast of Konigsberg by rail (Map: Germany, .11). It has a royal gymnasium and a sanatorium for epileptics. Among the industrial establishments are iron and brass foundries, sugar factorv, flouring mills, etc. Population, in 1900, 11,144. BAT (AS. raett, OHG. ratio, Ger. Ratte, Ft., Prov. rat. It. ratio, rat; of uncertain etymologj'). Any of the larger rodents of the genus Mus. (See Mouse.) Two species are very widely distribut- ed over the world — the black rat (Mus raiius) and the brown rat (Mus dreumanus) . Both ap- pear to be natives of Central ."^sia. The black rat found its way to Europe about the beginning of the 16th century, but the brown rat did not reach England until about 1728. The British Jacobites were accustomed to delight themselves with the notion that it came with the House of Hanover,
