zerland and England (Cologne, 1668) and a number of discourses
upon various subjects.

The best edition of the _Memoires_ is that issued by the Societe de
l'Histoire de France (Paris, 1877); see also G. Tallemant des Reaux,
_Historiettes de la princesse de Conti, et du marechal de Bassompierre_
(Paris, 1854-1860).

[Illustration: FIG. 1.--Bassoon with 17 keys. Savary Model. (Rudall, Carte
& Co.)]

BASSOON (Fr. _basson_; Ger. _Fagott_; Ital. _fagotto_), a woodwind
instrument with double reed mouthpiece, a member of the oboe (_q.v._)
family, of which it is the bass. The German and Italian names of the
instrument were bestowed from a fancied resemblance to a bundle of sticks,
the bassoon being the first instrument of the kind to be doubled back upon
itself; its direct ancestor, the bass pommer, 6 ft. in length, was quite
straight. The English and French names refer to the pitch of the instrument
as the bass of the wood-wind.

The bassoon is composed of five pieces, which, when fitted together, form a
wooden tube about 8 ft. long (93 in.) with a conical bore tapering from a
diameter of 1-3/4 in., at the bell, to 3/16 in. at the reed. The tube is
doubled back upon itself, the shorter joint extending to about two-thirds
of the length of the longer, whereby the height of the instrument is
reduced to about 4 ft. The holes are brought into a convenient position for
the fingers by the device of boring them obliquely through the thickness of
the wood. The five pieces are:--(1) the bell; (2) the long joint, forming
the upper part of the instrument when played, although its notes are the
lowest in pitch; (3) the wing overlapping the long joint and having a
projecting flap through which are bored three holes; (4) the butt or lower
end of the instrument (when played) containing the double bore necessitated
by the abrupt bend of the tube upon itself. Both bores are pierced in one
block of wood, the prolongation of the double tube being usually stopped by
a flat oval pad of cork in the older models, whereas the modern instruments
have instead a U-shaped tube; (5) the crook, a narrow curved metal tube
about 12 in. long, to which is attached the double reed forming the
mouthpiece.

The performer holds the instrument in a diagonal position; the lower part
of the tube (the butt joint) played by the right hand resting against his
right thigh, and the little bell, turned upwards, pointing over his left
shoulder; a strap round the neck af