BASLE, or BASIL, the capital of the above can ton, is beautifully situated on the banks of the Rhine, about 60 miles south of Strasburg, and 120 north east of Geneva. The river, which is here in its great est beauty, broad, deep, and rapid, divides the city into two parts, called the large and small town ; which are joined by a noble bridge of 14 arches, and about 600 feet in length. Each of these divisions is sur rounded with walls and a ditch. • Without the com pass of the large town there are fine extensive suburbs, which form so many distinct quarters, and are all en closed by a regular rampart. Basle is the largest and was once the most populous town in Swisserland. It is capable of containing upwards of 100,000 in habitants, though its present population does not ex ceed 14,000. To account for this decrease, we may observe, that the natives of Basle, like the rest of the Swiss, have always been fond of emigration, and that here, as in all great cities, the number of births is inferior to that of burials. It is evident, therefore, that if the loss of numbers, thus produced, be not supplied by a regular accession of new inhabitants, the population must be rapidly diminished. Now the Basilians are so proud and so jealous of, their rights and privileges as burghers, that they very sel dom deign to confer them on strangers, who, thus deprived of the power of engaging in commerce, or practising any trade in the capital, have no induce ment to resort thither to supply the vacancies made in the population, by' the emigration or death of the native citizens. A more enlightened and liberal po licy might have rendered this city extremely po pulous and flourishing ; for it is most favourably si tuated for commerce, and enjoys besides several in ternal advantages peculiar to itself. No place can boast of a greater number of fountains, some of which have even their source within the town ; be sides the Birs, a stream which falls into the Rhine, a little above the city, supplies it by means of a ca nal with water, particularly well adapted to various purposes of trade.
This city is adorned with many noble streets and spacious squares. Its houses are in general built of stone, in a neat and elegant taste. Except some splendid mansions, in which a few rich manufacturers display their wealth, there are no buildings in Basle whose magnificence can offend the republican spirit of its inhabitants ; but in every house there appears that air of neatness and of comfort, which is the truest enjoyment, and the natural privilege of easy and independent circumstances. The cathedral is a superb Gothic stricture, but is much disfigured by • the rose-coloured paint with which it is bedaubed. It contains the monuments of many illustrious per sons, and is particularly consecrated by that of the great Erasmile, who made this town his principal re sidence, and published here many of his valuable works. The terrace of this cathedral, which serves as a public promenade, commands a very rich and ex tensive view ; but on another side there is a covered gallery, full of tombs and monuments, the unseemly appearance of which is as indecorous for the dead, as its noisome exhalations are pernicious to the living. Besides the cathedral, this town contains six parochial churches, and seven convents, which were secularised by the Reformation.
The public library is more remarkable for the rare and valuable editions of the books which it contains, than for the number of its volumes : it is enriched with numerous manuscripts, the most cu rious of which are the letters of the first reformers, and of other learned men in the 15th, 16th, and 17th centuries ; and an account of the proceedings at the council of Basle. Here, too; are preserved, with
great veneration, the hanger and seal of Erasmus, some of his letters, and his last testament, in his own handwriting.. There is a suite of apartments con nected with the library, which contain a cabinet of petrifactions, some ancient medals and gems, a few antiquities found at Angst, a large collection of prints, and some admirable drawings and paintings, consisting chiefly of originals by Holbein, who was a native of Basle, and the favourite painter of Hen ry VIII. to whom he was introduced by Erasmus. In these paintings, which are in high preservation, the progress of Holbein may be traced, from the ear liest efforts of his pencil till he attained that perfec tion in the art for which he has been so generally admired. Some pictures are preserved which he painted before he had reached his 16th year ; and one, particularly curious, which he drew upon a sign for a writing-master. The most esteemed of his productions is an altar-piece, in eight compartments, which represents the passion of our Saviour : a per formance which, for brilliancy of colouring, cannot be exceeded. The Dance of Death on the walls of an ancient convent of Dominicans, pointed out to strangers as a production of Holbein's, has been proved, from incontestable authority, to have been painted before he was born.
The hall still remains in which were conducted the deliberations of the famous council of Basle, which, after sitting for many years, came to the resolution of deposing the pope ; and published many edicts for the reformation of the church. A picture is still to be seen on the staircase of the zeal of the council-house, sup posed to have been suggested by these pious fathers, in which the devil is represented as driving the pope and several church dignitaries before them into hell. Basle is the seat of an university, which once ranked among the most eminent seminaries of learning in Eu rope. It was founded in the 1460, by Pope Pius II. and its fame will be perpetuated in literary history by the illustrious names of Oecolampadius, Amerbach, the three Bauhins, Grynxus, Buxtorf, Wetstein, Iselin, the Bernoullis, and Euler. All travellers have been struck by a s'ogularity in the regulation of the clocks of Basle, which were always exactly an hour faster than the real time of the day. The origin of this peculiarity was unknown even to the natives ; yet they seemed to think, that it in some manner reflected upon them a national honour, for every pro posal to regulate the clocks • by a sun-dial was op posed with the utmost violence. The clocks, how ever, like the people, now move under the direction of other masters, and are no longer allowed to out "strip the sun. The inhabitants of Basle claim the honour of having invented the manufacture of paper in 1417, and of having discovered the art of printing in 1418. N. Lat. 7° 35', E. Long. 7° 29' 30". See Coxe's Swisserland, ubi supra. Dictionnairc de la Suisse. Moore's View of Society in France, Germa ny, and Swisserland, vol. i. p. 178. (z)