THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. i 3 * 



playing with both his hands near the middle of the harp, 

 in a manner feemingly lefs agitated than in the other. 



I went back to my firfl harp, verified, and examined my 

 drawing in all its parts ; it is with great pleamre I now give 

 a figure of this fecond harp to the reader, it was miflaid 

 among a multitude of other papers, at the time when I was 

 folicited to communicate the former drawing to a gentle- 

 man then writing the Hiflory of Mufic, which he has already 

 fubmitted to the public ; it is very lately and unexpectedly 

 this lail harp has been found ; I am only forry this accident 

 has deprived the public of Dr Burney's remarks upon it. I 

 hope he will yet favour us with them, and therefore abflain 

 from anticipating his reflections, as I confider this as his pro- 

 vince ; I never knew any one fo capable of affording the pub- 

 lic, new, and at the fame time juft lights on this fubjedl. 



There flill remained a third harp of ten firings, its precife 

 form I do not well remember, for I had feen it but once 

 w r hen I firfl entered the cave, and was now preparing to 

 copy that likewife. I do not recoiled: that there was any 

 man playing upon this one, I think it was rather refting 

 upon a wall, with fome kind of drapery upon one end of it, 

 and was the fmallefl of the three. But I am not at all fo 

 certain of particulars concerning this, as to venture any 

 defcription of it ; what I have faid of the other two may be 

 abfolutely depended upon. 



I look upon thefe harps then as the Theban harps in 

 life in the time of Sefoflris, who did not rebuild, but deco- 

 rate ancient Thebes ; I confider them as affording an in- 



R 2 conteflible 



