B A S 



are diy, they are much more brittle than before ; the leaft 

 force imas^inable deftroying them. 



The (hoals of Nantucket, an ifland on the coaft of New- 

 England, at timc3 fiirnifh the fifhermen with this creature ; 

 but it is remarkable, that they are never feen there unkfs 

 when taken by hooks in fifhing for other filh. They clafp 

 the hook -bait fart, and encirle it with all their arms, com- 

 ing up, wiien drawn by it, in form of a wicker baiktt ; 

 wiience the name ; but when they have been fome time out 

 of the water, they become flat. 



The ufe of the numerous arms of this fifli is phinly to 

 catch its piey. It probably extends them to their full leiigth 

 while under the water, and then clafps hold of any thing fit 

 for food that chances to iwim over them. Tiie fiihtrmcn 

 have fometimes found the arms containing fmall mackrel, or 

 pieces of larger. Phil. Tanf. N"^ 57 and 74. It is evident 

 from the defcription, that this fifh is alx.htjlella arlorsfccn:, 

 or branche<i ilar-tilh kind ; but whether the fame with the 

 commonly known kind, called the caput mediift. is not evi- 

 dent from this defcription. The body of this filh, by what 

 is related of its protuberance, and refcmblarce to th.e ulimi 

 viarini, may probaWy be the aft'ropoc.ium in its foUil llate. 

 See AsTERiAS, and AsTtRoponiuM. 



Basket fait. This is brine fait, made from the water of 

 our {Ax. fprings in Chelhirc, and eliewhere, didering from 

 the common brine fait in the iincnefs of the grain, and in its 

 whitenefs and purity. 



In the preparing of this kind of fait, fome ufe refin, and 

 other additions, to break the grain and make it fmall : others 

 efTcft this by keeping up a very bridt fire under it, and llirring 

 it all the while : but the moil approved method is only to 

 take out of this kind the third draught of every pan that is 

 working fcir the common brine fait, and to do this before 

 the granules or cry Hals arc porfcftly formed. By this means 

 the fait is very fine ! ar.d when it has been hard prefTed ddwn 

 into fmall wicker baikets, it is dried at the Hove in them, and 

 fo kept for fale. 



BASKING-SnAaK, in Ichthyokg-;, the Englifli name of 

 Squalus Maximus. 



BAS'-tiNaiDGE, in Geographv, a town of America, in 

 Somerfet county, New Jerfey, on the W. fide of a N. W. 

 branch of PalTaio river, nearly 6 miles N. E. from I'lucktmin, 

 aod 7 .S. r>. W. from MorriiSown. 



BASNAGE, Eenjamjn, in Biography, fon of a French 

 minillcr, fir.l fettled at Norwicli, in Knghind, and afterwards 

 it Charent'.i;, in Normandy, was born in 1 5><o ; and devoting 

 himfelf to his lather's profeffion, fucceeded him at Charenton, 

 where he fpcn.t the remainder of his life. In \f)2\ he airillc<l 

 at the fynod of Charenton, as dcpuly from the province of 

 Normandy; and he was choftn, on account of liis diltingniihed 

 talents and prudence, moderator of the national fynod of 

 Aletiijon, in 1657. He was afterwards afioclattd to the mo- 

 derator cf the fynod of Charenton in 1C44, and being de- 

 puted by this fynod to the queen-mother, received from her 

 tokens of efteem. He was alfo deputed by the proteilant 

 churches in France, to king James VI. of Scotland ; and being 

 allowed to vifit that country, he was eminently ufeful in ferv- 

 ing the intertfls of his conllitucnts. Bafnage had feveral 

 difputcs with the Catholics, and wrote " aTreatife o.T the 

 church" which" was mucliellccmEd. tie alfo leit an imperfcft 

 •' Work againll the indifcreet wor'.hipptrs of the bleiTed vir- 

 gin." He died in 1652, in tie fifty-firll year of hisminilhy, 

 and left two fons of diitinguilhed merit. Gen. Dift. 



Basn AGE, Antony, clileil fon of the form.er, wasbom in 

 1610, and became minillcr of Baycux. He ditiinguifhed him- 

 felf by his firmnefs and refolution during the perfecution of 

 the proteilanti; and uitcr having bter. impriioncd at Havre- 



B A S 



de-Grace, at the age cf 75 years, he was releafed by the 

 revocation of the edicl of Nantes, and fled to Holland. 

 He died at Zutphen in 1691. Gen. DidV. 



Basx AGE, Henry, younger fon of Benjamin, was bom at 

 Sainte Mere Eglife, in Eower Normandy, in 1615. Educated 

 to theprofefhonof thelaw, he became one of the moll learned 

 and eloquent advocates of the pavlinment of Normandy, 

 into which he was admitted in 1636; fo that he was employed 

 in every cauft of importance. In 1677 he was appointed com- 

 mifiioner for the affairs of religion, and difcharged the office 

 with great honour. He was highly etlcemed as an author, 

 as well as an advocate; and in 1678 he publiilied the " Cou- 

 tume de Normandie," with ample commentaries, of which 

 a fecond edition, in 2 vols, foho, was publilhed in 1^94. At 

 the lame time was pubhflied a third edition of his " Traite 

 des Hypotheques," a Treatife on Mortgages. He died at 

 Rouen m 1695. Gen. Didl. 



Basnace, Samuil, de Flottemasvili-E, fon of An- 

 tony, was firll co-pallor with his father at Bayeux, and after- 

 wards at Zutphen. He was eminent for liis learning ; and 

 publifhed in I-atin a continuation of Cafaubon's Critical Exa- 

 mination of Baronius's Annals, entitled " De Rebus Sacriset 

 Eccicfiailicis Exercitationcs Hiilorico-criticx," Ultrajecl. 

 4to. 1692 ; and alfo " Annales Politico-Ecclefiafticse," 3 

 vols, folio, 1706. He died in 1721. Gen. Dicl. Nouv. 

 Did. Hid. 



Basnage DE Beawtal, James, eldeft fon of Henry, the 

 moll illuKrious of the name, and fitter, fays Voltaire, for 

 being miniller of ftate tiiun of a parilh, was born at Rouen 

 in 1653. Having acquired a competent knowledge of Greek 

 and Latin, and feveral m.odern iangtiagcs, he went, at the age 

 of feventceri, to Geneva, where he ifudicd philofcphy and 

 divinity. ITpon his return to Routn, he commenced the ex-* 

 crcife of his profefilon as pallor of the church in 1676, and 

 in confequence of the revocation of the edicl of Nantes, re- 

 tired to Holland, and fettled as miniftcr at Rotterdam. Such 

 was the reputation he acquired for political fngacity, that 

 wl'.en the Abbe du Bois came to the Hague, in i7o6, under 

 the character ot ambailador plenipotentiary, to negociate a 

 defenfive alliance between France, England, and the States- 

 General, he was ordered by the duke of Orleans, regent of 

 France, to confult Mr. Bafnage, and to be dlrefted by his 

 advice : and as a reward for his affitlance on this occafion, he 

 obtained a rcllitution of his eftate in France. His works 

 are very numerous and valuable; the principal are as follow, 

 viz. " A Hidoi-y of the Church," in French, 2 vols. Rot- 

 terdam, J 699; " The Hifloiy of the Reformed Churches," 

 part of th.e above work, printed feparately in 2 vols. 4to. 

 1725; " The Hillory of the Jews, from Jeius Chrill to the 

 prefeut time, being a continuation of the hiflory of Jofephus," 

 written in French ; of this work, diilinguilhid by erudition 

 and critical ikill, the bell edition is the fecond of the 

 Hague, in 15 vols. i2mo. 1716; "The Republic of the 

 Hebrews," 3 vols. Svo. Amll. 1705; " Jcwilh Antiquities," 

 2 Tols. Svo. 1713 ; " Difftrtation on Duels and Chivalry," 

 8vo. 1720 ; " Annals of the United Provinces, fince the 

 Pe.icc of Munfler," 2 vols. fol. Hague, 1719 and 1726; 

 " A Treatife on Confcience," 2 vols. Svo. ; " Sermons ;" 

 " On the Holy Communion ;" " Thefaurus Monumento- 

 mm F.cclcfiafticonim ct Hilloricorum, &c." fol. 4 vols. 

 Amfl. 172?, being a new edition of the " LcAioncs Anti- 

 qus:" of Henry Canifius, enriched with learned prefaces and 

 remarks. The matter of Bafnage is good, but his ftylc, 

 though fufiicienily perfpicuous, is rtiif and inelegant. Is 

 the latter part of his life he removed to the Hague, and died 

 there in I723. He was polite and affable, benevolent and 

 friendly, aiid more mild in his difpofition than moll con. 

 > C J troverfialiltJ. 



