Bassus

“ Bassus maintained, sadly, "no extenuation even, for a commander who loses a whole squadron of warships to an inferior enemy and is himself the sole survivor. And if there were anything to be said in my favor it would have no weight. I must be made an example of. There is no use trying to deceive our minds. I go to death. My only chance is one of his whims. It is a small chance. Let us hope till the end. But even if death is a certainty for me, let us not forget what we have to rejoice over." ”

“ It was known that a mighty host was being led by Ædan and by Hering the son of Hussa up the course of the river. Bassus had arranged with his friends that strong parties of scouts should be thrown [Pg 249] out to watch the movements of the enemy. They were led by Forthere, Godric, and Sivel. After a few days Forthere came back with the news that a large body of the enemy, apparently nearly half their army, had been detached, and was marching up the hills to the west. "Our plan works," said Bassus to Lilla, "just as the plan of Narses worked, our great master in the art of war." ”

“ The terms Cantus, Altus, Tenor, and Bassus, sufficed for Compositions written for any number of Voices. In the 'Missa Papae Marcelli,' and innumerable like Compositions, we find parts for Tenor I and II, and Bassus I and II. In these cases, the second Voice is always of exactly the same compass as the first ”

“ P. Ventidius Bassus was what the Romans call a “novus homo,” the first of his family who distinguished himself at Rome. He had the courage of a soldier and the talents of a true general. When a child he was made prisoner with his mother in the Marsian war (Dion Cass. xliii. 51) , and he appeared in the triumphal procession of Pompeius Strabo (Dion Cass. xlix. 21) . The captive lived to figure as the principal person in his own triumph, B.C. 38. In his youth he supported himself by a mean occupation. Hoche, when he was a common soldier, used to embroider waistcoats. ”

“ Pomponius Bassus had been Consul under Septimius Severus and Governor of Mysia under Caracalla. In fact, so important were they in their own estimation, that nothing set bounds to their ambition. Already between them they had contrived the deposition of the Emperor Julianus, and the election of Septimius, and, like the great Earl of Warwick of fifteenth-century fame, they were by no means averse to putting their heads together once again, in order to rid the state of whomsoever they thought incapax imperii. ”

“ But he was deceiving himself without knowing it; for the hopes of wicked men are unstable, as they guess what is more favourable to them while they suffer what is quite contrary to it, as in fact they deserve. For Bassus, the centurion, was sent from Italy by the appointment of Gaius with the company of soldiers which he commanded. (110) And having embarked on board one of the fastest sailing vessels, he arrived in a few days at the harbour of Alexandria, off the island of Pharos, about evening ”

“ Basque hunter transformed into bear, xi. 226, 270
—— story of the external soul, xi. 139
Bassa tribe, of the Cameroons, reputed to be magicians, ix. 120
Bassareus, a title of Dionysus, viii. 282 n. 5
Bassari, the, of Togoland, their superstition as to the mothers of twins, ii. 102 n. 1;
their offerings of new yams, viii. 116
Bassia latifolia worshipped, viii. 119
Bassus, Roman officer, ix. 309
Bastar, province of India, treatment of witches in, xi. 159
Bastard, traveller in Madagascar, iii. 103
——, name applied to the last sheaf in West Prussia, vii. ”

“ Bass inquired, with an air of surprise.
"Take it—no; devilish clear of it. Why, he's a reg'lar genius; can make a plough beam, wagon tongue—anything, as well as you can. Marshall wanted to put up one of his niggers agin him and raffle for them, but I told him I would see the devil have him first."
"I don't see anything remarkable about him," Bass observed.
"Why, just feel of him, now," Epps rejoined. "You don't see a boy very often put together any closer than he is. He's a thin-skin'd cuss, and won't bear as much whipping as some; but he's got the muscle in him, and no mistake." ”

“ Thus Bassianus gloried in the beauty, which to his mind expressed, however inadequately, the potency of his ineffable deity. Here was a God who was able to make men happy, and had taken him into a very specially protective embrace; a God who was evidently supreme, only, and alone, the God of the Universe. ”

“ Three Days will soon be o'er, and your Return,
Shall make me fully blest——If I should stay
'Twould look like base Distrust, and I can't think
Bassino would be false——
Bass. (aside.) Oh! Heaven that I were not!
Arm. Indeed, my Lord, I think you're truly happy.
Scarce does any Age produce so good a Wife.
Bass. Oh! that I could reward this wondrous Goodness!
Pla. My Lord, what makes you sigh?
Bass. To part from thee: But since 'tis your Desire,
It shall be so. Armando, to thy Charge
I here commit the Treasure of my Soul,
Take Care of her, and think that on her Safety
My Life depends. ”

“ Enter Bassanio, Antonio, Gratiano, and their Followers.
Bass. We should hold day with the Antipodes,
If you would walk in absence of the sun. 128
Por. Let me give light, but let me not be light;
For a light wife doth make a heavy husband,
And never be Bassanio so for me:
But God sort all! You are welcome home, my lord. 132
Bass. I thank you, madam. Give welcome to my friend:
This is the man, this is Antonio,
To whom I am so infinitely bound. ”

“ Bassia'nus, brother of Satur'nius emperor of Rome, in love with Lavin'ia daughter of Titus Andron'icus (properly Andronicus) . He is stabbed by Deme'trius and Chiron, sons of Tam'ora queen of the Goths.— (?) Shakespeare, Titus Andronicus (1593) .
Bassi'no (Count) , the "perjured husband of Aurelia" slain by Alonzo.—Mrs. Centlivre, The Perjured Husband (1700) .
Bassanio, a youth of noble birth but crippled fortunes, whose desire to win the hand of Portia, a rich heiress, is the moving spring of the action of Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice. ”

“ Towards the end of supper a slight contre-temps occurs, for Basan, being ordered in a voice of thunder to ring the bell, starts up, poor willing youth, with extraordinary celerity and not spying a large silver dish-cover lying near him, plants a well-directed kick in the centre of its hollow body, which sends it flying across the room into the fire-place, where it lodges amid a crash of falling irons. ”

“ A bass! Only a little fellow, half to three-quarters of a pound, but who ever heard of a bass taking bait thus placidly? Up in a Massachusetts lake that I know the large-mouthed bass take a bait with a rush that carries everything before it. They whirl beneath the water and leap above it, shaking their heads to throw from the mouth the thing that hurts them. Surely Southern languor has gotten into the bones of the bass. Another comes to the hook in the same peaceful way and I land him. Then there is a lull. A wind out of the south blows up river and brings me the odor of palmetto blooms. ”

“ These new singers are called by the novel appellation of basso cantante (which by-the-bye is a kind of apology, and an acknowledgment that they ought not to sing) , and take the lead in operas with as much propriety as if the double-bass were to do so in the orchestra, and play the part of the first fiddle. A bass voice is too unbending and deficient in sweetness for single songs, and fit only for those of inferior character, or of the buffo style. ”

“ When a man is forward, we may conclude he has some selfish view, some self ends. Brother asked him if he and his party would carry that argument through. It holds stronger against Captain Thayer and Major Miller, than it ever did against anybody in this town, excepting Colonel Gooch and Captain Mills. But I desire the proof of Bass s forwardness. Has he been more so than Major Miller? Come, come, Mr. Veasey, says Master Jo Cleverly, don't you say too much ; I an't of that mind. Ego. Bass is an active, capable man, but no seeker by mean begging or buying of votes. ”

“ On one occasion the postman, being ill, sent another man in his place. Bass went up to the stranger, who naturally retired before so formidable-looking a dog. Bass followed, showing a determination to have the post-bag. The man did all he could to keep possession of it; but at length Bass, seeing that it was not likely to be given to him, raised himself on his hind-legs, and putting a great fore-paw on each of the man’s shoulders, laid him flat on his back in the road, then quietly picking up the bag, proceeded peaceably on his wonted way. ”

“ The Dey of Algiers was at this time one Mahomet Bassa, a very Bold, Fierce, Fighting Man, but of the meanest Extraction, and one, indeed, that had been no more than a common Soldier, from which he had sprung to be, by turns, Oda-Bashee or Lieutenant, Bullock-Bashee or Captain, Tiah-Bashee or Colonel, and Aga or General. For among these strange [236] people every valiant and aspiring Soldier,—I wish 'twas so in England,—though taken yesterday from the Plough, may be considered as Heir-Apparent to the Throne. Nor are they ashamed of the obscurity of their birth. ”

“ There was a man named Bassianus, of most noble family, a secretary, and eminently distinguished for his military services, who, on a charge of having entertained ambitious projects, and of having sought oracles concerning their issue, though he declared he had only consulted the oracles to know the sex of his next child, was saved indeed from death by the great interest made for him by his relations who protected him ”

“ Five pounds, four ounces, he weighed, and his relatives under the canal bridge knew him no more for ever.
The bass has countless vagaries, and one never knows what he will do under given circumstances. As a father and son were fishing for small-mouth on the St. Lawrence, the senior hooked a fish which broke the snood and went free. Now there is a persistent tradition that, when a bass has been pricked by the hook, he does not bite again until the passing of twenty-four hours or such a matter has served to wipe the experience from his memory. ”

“ You would argue that black was white, or white black, if any body would contradict you. Nothing suits you in this world, and I don't believe you will be satisfied with the next, if you should have your choice in them."
Conversations substantially like the foregoing were not unusual between the two after this; Epps drawing him out more for the purpose of creating a laugh at his expense, than with a view of fairly discussing the merits of the question. He looked upon Bass, as a man ready to say anything merely for the pleasure of hearing his own voice ”

“ But if I was Cantine, and you ain’t goin’ to perforate Cantine on sight, what in Hades do you mean?”
“Mean?” echoed Bassett. “Your gall is sure chilled steel and case-hardened on top. Do you think as me or any other white man’s goin’ to eat, drink or sleep with or breathe the same air as you? You as broke the bond of bread and blanket, the Northland law as no man ever breaks, and lives to boast of it! Days on end I seen you sit at table with my pardner Sark under his own roof in White Pass City. ”

“ The grey cubes piled against the mountain brightened into tall houses still locked in sleep. Presently, with a fore-glow of citron, the clear rim of the sun cut the sea-line; and the sea became jade green. The air was diamond pure; the mountains took on colour; and Bastia awakened to another careless day.
High caserne-like houses, massive-walled and stucco-fronted; shabby shops half a century behind the times; mustiness and age; cigarettes, vendetta knives, and goat-flesh,—these were some of Hugh’s first impressions of Bastia. ”

“ Which never hopes more heaven than rests in thee:
This is the day of doom for Bassianus;
His Philomel must lose her tongue to-day,
Thy sons make pillage of her chastity, 44
And wash their hands in Bassianus' blood.
Seest thou this letter? take it up, I pray thee,
And give the king this fatal-plotted scroll.
Now question me no more; we are espied; 48
Here comes a parcel of our hopeful booty,
Which dreads not yet their lives' destruction.
Enter Bassianus and Lavinia.
Tam. Ah! my sweet Moor, sweeter to me than life!
Aar. No more, great empress; Bassianus comes: 52
Be cross with him ”

“ Bass into the country, having seldom any other society than his two dogs, he could have been no great object of dread to a people ignorant of the effects of fire arms, and would certainly have been hailed by any one who might have seen him. ”

“ The river runs of the Striped Bass are very singular, and though I will not say unaccountable—by no means accounted for. So soon as the Smelt, Shad, and Herring enter the river-mouths and estuaries, the Striped Bass is found following them; and in every different water it appears that he acts on a peculiar and instinctive principle. Where, when, or how he spawns no man knows or has written. ”

“ This angelic Creature had spent the first Years of her Youth in a Mosque of holy Women, who, to make themselves amends for the Vow they have taken to renounce the World, employ themselves in breeding up young Ladies according to its current Maxims, and most fashionable Practices. There was no beholding her youthful Charms, tho' not yet arrived at their full Perfection, without Admiration. A Bassa of the first Rank, thought her entirely deserving of his Homage. ”

“ Some man about him was the festival robe
That made him shew so glorious and divine.
Bass. I cannot tell, my Lord; but I should know,
If any such there were.
Vinc. Should know, quoth you?
I warrant, you know well. Well, some there be,
Shall have the fortune to have such rare men
(Like brave Beasts to their arms) support their state;
When others, of as high a worth and breed,
Are made the wasteful food of them they feed.—
What state hath your Lord made you for your service?
******
The same Bassiolo described. ”