its praoticp. It enjoys the unique distinction of liavini; been invented by a single brain at one sitting. In 1801 a lecturer on psychology in the training-school of the Young IMen's Christian Association at Plainfield, ilass,, speaking of the mental processes of invention, proposed the example of a game with its limitations and necessities. The same night, .Tames Xaismith, a member of the class, worked out basket ball as an ideal game to meet the hypothelical case: and the next d.ay in the lecture-room it was put in practice with the aid of the members of the gym- nastic class. Thence it spread to other br.anches of the Young Men's Christian Association, and in two or three years to other athletic clubs and to the general public.
BAS'KET-FISH'. A group of cchinoderms of
the same class {Opliitiroida) as brittle-stars, but
of tlie genus Astrophj-ton, characterized by diclio-
tomously branched arms, in some species so
numerously subdivided that when they are curled
up tlie creature seems inclosed in a basket. The
five-sided disk varies in size with age and species,
hut may be 3 inches broad, while the arms may
be 10 to 15 inches in length. The upper side of
the disk has ten radial ribs, hearing short, blunt
spines. The animal is wholly covered with an
cpiiU'rmis, granulated above, but smooth be-
neath, except that it seems to have a doulde line
of stitches under each arm. The general cohn- is
light buff; but the intcrbrachia! spaces in the
living animal vary from dark purjile to bright
pink. The mouth is on the under side and cen-
tral, and is set with spiniform bristles hiding
numerous thorn-like teeth. From around the star-
shaped mouth branch 5 stout arms, each of
which is divided at the edge of the disk. Each
of these 5 main branches is divided into 2,
making 10: each of the 10 is divided, making
20 — and so indcf.nitely down to the least visible
filament. An English naturalist counted 81,920
of these 'small sprouts, twigs, or threads' in
one species. On capture or disturbance the crea-
ture instantly folds its arms closely about its
body, shrinking from the touch like a sensi-
tive 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-
fisli is probably a vegetable feeder, and its pecu-
liar arms serve possibly for its protection from
its enemies. 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 tip-
toe, so that "the ramifications form a kind of
trellis-work all around it reaching to the ground,
while the disk forms the roof." A number of
species of basket-fish are known : perhaps a
dozen are valid. They are found in moderately
deep water in most parts of the ocean, especially
in the tropics, though the best-known species are
of the North Atlantic.
BAS'KETWORM:'. See Bagworii.
BASKING FISH, or BASKING SHARK.
See Shark.
BASLE, bal. See Basel.
BASNAGE DE BEAUVAL, ba'nazh' de b6'-
vil', .Jacques (1053-172.3). A French statesman
and writer on theology; the most distinguished
of a French family known as supporters of the
Protestant cause. He was the son of Henry
Basnage (1615-95), an able advocate in the Parliament of Normandy, and was born at Rouen, August 8, 1653, Having studied theology at Geneva and Sedan, he became pastor of the Reformed Church in Rouen (1070). That church being interdicted in 1085, Basnage obtained leave to retire to Holland, where he finally ( 1709) settled as stipendiary minister of the Walloon
Church in The Hague, having gained the friend-
ship 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 de-
fensive alliance concluded between France, Eng-
land, and the States-General, February 14, 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. He died at The Hague, December
22, 1723.
His chief works, which have been frequently laid under contribution withoiit being named, are Iia communion sriintr (l(i88). a work approved even by Roman Catholics, and often reprinted; Traite de la coyiscience (10!)6, 2 vols.) ; Hisloire de VEglise (1699, 2 vols, fob), in four parts, of which the fourth reprints his Hinf.oire de la re- ligion des eglises rcformces (Rotterdam, 1690, 2 vols. ; 3d ed., 1725) . It was a Protestant reply to Bossuet's Variations of Protestantisiu. to show that Protestantism is the true successor of^the Apostolic Church: Histoire des Jutfs (1706, 5 vols.), one of Basuage's best produc- tions, and translated into English by Th. Taylor (1708) : Dissertatio)i historigue sur les diieis et les ordres de chevalerie (1720). For biography, consult his Life, by E. A. Mailhet (Geneva, 1881).
BA-SONGE, ba'son'ga. Negroes of the
Kassai-Sankuru Basin, Congo Free State; noted
for their potter.y, weaving, and iron and copper
work. Their towns are of great extent. The men
are tall and of splendid physique.
BASQUE (Fr. Biscayan, Lat. Vascones,
whence Fr. Gascons, Med. Lat. Biscaini, Busci,
Basque Euskaldun or Eskalkun) . An isolated
language of Southern France and Northern" Spain,
of entirely unknown affmities, spoken by about
440,000 persons. It is most plausibly supposed
to be the sole representative of the ancient Ibe-
rian languages, which were siijierseded by Latin
when the Romans conquered Spain and Gaul. In
structure, Basque belongs to the so-called poly-
sj'nthetic or agglutinative type of languages,
since it incorporates into the verb the pronomi-
nal elements for su'oject and object. In this re-
spect it bears a marked resemblance to certain
dialects of the Caucasian group, and even to
some North American Indian languages. All
attempts to trace a real connection, however,
between Caucasian and Bascpie have thus far
proved unsuccessful, while parallels between
Basque and American Indian arc probably to be
regarded merely as accidental coincidences. The
late Georg von der Ciabelentz sought to trace an
affinity between Basque and the Berber dialects,
but this theory also is open to grave doubts. It
seems safest, in the present stage of linguistic
knowledge, to regard this language as forming a
family by itself.
