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424 the character, language, and manners of the inhabitants, and by the enjoyment of political privileges which make the form of their government nearly republican, are Biscay (Vizcaya), Guipuzcoa, and Alava. The territory occupied by them is in the form of a triangle, bounded on the N. by tho Bay of Biscay, S. by Soria, E. by Navarra and part of France, and W. by Santander and Burgos. It com prises an area of 2958 square miles; population in 1857, 414,146. These three provinces are more particularly described under their respective heads. The French Basque provinces now form the arrondissements of Bayonne and Mauleon. The Basque language, which is also prevalent in Navarre, is still spoken by about 600,000 Spaniards and French. Its native name is Eskuara. It cannot be classed with any Indo-European or Semitic tongue, and appears to be of earlier origin, presenting some grammatical analogies with Mongol, North American, and certain East African languages. The forms of ordinary grammar are therefore imperfectly applicable to it. The substantive has no distinction of gender ; it is made to express, by means of an extensive system of affixes, all the ordinary declen sional and conjugational relations, and many which in other languages can only be expressed by periphrasis. The termination of a word may thus express together mood, tense, person, number, the case and number of the object, and also the sex, rank, and number of the individuals addressed, besides other relations. Foreign words are thus easily assimilated, but with modifications to suit the Basque ear, the latter varying according to local dialect. Diminutives and other general affixes increase the delicacy of expression, and a wide range of speech is early acquired by the natives. Compound words are readily formed by mere juxtaposition, or by elision of syllables, with peculiar modifications for euphony. The article has two forms a for the singular, ale for the plural affixed to the substantive. There appears to be no genuine Basque word beginning with r. In the usual structure of the sentences the noun, with the article affixed, occupies the first place; it is followed by the adjective, then the adverb, next the verb, and lastly the object with its prepositional affix. No written Basque is known of earlier date than the 15th centmy, and little genuine literature exists; the orthography is therefore arbitrary, and the earliest writings are difficult to inter pret. All that has yet been noticed regarding manners, customs, institutions, and legends may be paralleled by those of other PjTenean peoples, or traced to foreign influences. But, through their moral qualities&quot;, physical situation, and historical circumstances the Basques have built up and preserved a body of customs and institutions highly original in the mass. Each province is governed by a parliament composed of representatives selected partly by election, partly by lot, among the householders of each country parish or town. A deputation, named by the parliament, ensures the strict observance of the special laws and customs of the province, and negotiates with the representative of the Spanish Crown. Delegates from the three parliaments meet annually to consider the common interests of the provinces; they employ a seal representing three interlaced hands, with the motto Iruracbat, &quot;the three are one;&quot; but no written federal pact exists. Much speculation regarding the origin of the Basques has been indulged in without sufficient special knowledge. The belief that they originally occupied great part of Spain and Southern France, founded on the apparently Basque character of certain local names, is very generally accepted. The best introduction to all Basque questions is Blade s Etudes surl origine des Basques, which sums up the literature of the subject to 1870. Elements de Grammaire Basque, by L. Geze, Bayonne, 1873, is a good practical grammar and vocabulary with exercises ; the Dictionnaire Basque Francais of Van Eyss is a par ticularly instructive lexicon.  BASS ROCK, an islet of greenstone and trap tuff, about a mile in circumference, on the coast of East Lothian near the entrance of the Firth of Forth, in 56 4 N. lat,, and 2 37 W. long. Purchased from the Lauder family by Charles II. in 1671, it was afterwards converted into a place of confinement for state prisoners, and during the religious troubles of Scotland numbered among its captives Peden r Blackadder, and other Covenanting leaders. At the Revolution a party of King James s adherents got posses sion of the island, and held out after the whole of Great Britain had submitted. Dismantled of its fortifications in 1701, the Bass Rock again became private property, and is now farmed for the sake of the sea-fowls that resort thither during the breeding season. See The Bass Rock, its Civic and Ecclesiastical History, &c. (Edin. 1848), by M Crie, Hugh Miller, Anderson, Fleming, and Balfour.  BASS'S STRAITS, the channel which separates Tas mania from Victoria. It is about 180 miles in length from E. to W., and about 140 from N. to S. The navi gation of the strait is rendered dangerous in some parts by groups of barren islands and coral reefs scattered through it. It bears the name of Bass, the surgeon of a man-of-war, who was the first to discover, in 1798, indications of a channel between Tasmania and the neighbouring island- continent.  BASSÁHIR, a Rajput hill state in Hindustan, under the political superintendence of the Lieutenant-Governor of the Panjab, situated between 30 56 and 32 8 N. lat., and 77 34 and 78 52 E. long. It is bounded on the N. by the Spiti valley, on the E. by Chinese Tartary, on the S by the district of Garhwal, and on the W. by several small hill states. The aspect of the country is very hilly, and ifc is nowhere less than 4000 feet above sea-level. Principal rivers, the Pabur and Satlej. Estimated population, 90,000 ; chief towns and villages, Rampur, Chini, Songla, and Morang. Agricultural products wheat, opium, and Indian corn. Manufactures blankets, shawls, and woollen cloths. Estimated gross revenue of the state, 5000 a year. Tri bute paid by the chief to the British Government, 394, 10s. per annum. Estimated military force of the state, 100 men.  BASSANO, a city of Italy in the province of Vicenza. It stands on the river Brenta, over which there is a bridge 180 feet in length, built by Palladio. It is surrounded with walls, and has six gates, one of which, also by Palladio, is very much admired. In the centre of the town is the tower of Ezzelino, which now contains a library and armoury. The town contains thirty-five churches (some of them with fine paintings), several religious houses, and other public edifices. It has extensive silk-mills, besides manufactures of cloth, paper, straw hats, copper wares, &c. ; and the printing establishment of S. Remondini is one of the most extensive in Italy. In 1796 Bonaparte defeated the Austrian general &quot;Wurmser in the neighbourhood, and various skirmishes took place between the two forces in 1801, 1805, 1813. Maret derived from the town his title of duke of Bassano. Population, 13,254.  BASSANO,, a Venetian painter, born in 1510 at Bassano. He was educated by his father, who was himself an artist, and then completed his studies at Venice. On the death of his father he returned to Bassano, and settled there. His subjects were generally peasants and villagers, cattle, and landscapes, with some portraits and historical designs. His figures are well designed, and his animals and landscapes have an agreeable air of simple nature. His compositions, though they have not much eloquence or grandeur, have abundance of force and 