of the Hindus. 8c, 



bute." We may add, that the Hindu poets never fail' to change the metre* 

 which is their mode, according to the change of fubject or fentiment in the 

 fame- piece; and I could produce inftances of poetical modulation (if fuch a 

 phrafe may be ufed) at leafr. equal to the moil affecting modulations of our 

 greatefl compofers : now the mufician mufl naturally have emulated the 

 poet, as every tranflator endeavours to refemble his original • and, fince each of 

 the Indian modes is appropriated to a certain affection of the mind, it is hard- 

 ly poflible, that, where the paffion is varied,' a fkilful mufician could' avoid a 

 variation of the mode. The rules for modulation feem to be contained in 

 the chapters on mixed modes, for an intermixture of Mellarl with Tc'di and 

 Saindbavi means, i fiip.pofe, a tranfition, however fhort, from one to ano- 

 ther : but the queflion mufl remain undecided, unlefs we can find in the^ 

 Sangitas a clearer, account of modulation, than I am able to produce, or 

 unlefs we can procure a copy of. the Gitagovinda with the mufick, to. 

 which it was fet, before the time of Calidas, in fome notation, that 

 maybe eafily decyphered. It is obvious, that I have not been fpeaking of 

 a modulation regulated by harmony, with- which the Hindus, I believe 

 were unacquainted .;. though, like the Greeks, they diftinguifh the confonant 

 and dijfonant founds? I mean only fuch a tranfition from one feries of 

 notes to another, as we fee defer i bed by the Greek muficians, who were 

 ignorant of harmony in the modern fenfe of tbe word, and, perhaps, if they 

 had known it ever fo perfectly, would have applied it folely to the fup- 

 port of melody,, which alone fpeaks the language ofpailion and fentiment, - 



It would give me pleafure to clofe this efTay with feveral fpecimens of 

 old Indian airs from the fifth chapter of So'ma ; but I have leifure only to 

 prcfent you with one of them in our own characters accompanied with the 

 original notes : I felected the mode of Vafanta, becaufe it was adapted bj 



