efeed ; and, at the same time, produce an 
abominable jargon, highly offensive to a 
good ear ; and, in general, a sure proof of 
the want of a delicate finger, and of judi- 
cious expression. 
We have one species of the piano-forte of 
which the notes are formed by collision ; 
this is the Cdestina, whose remarkable soft 
and fascinating tones result from the passage 
of silken lines over its wires. 'Ihe action of 
this instrument cannot easily be described 
in writing: we will, therefore, pass on to 
the consideration of the 
Spinet. This is a plectrated instrument ; 
its shape is not much unlike a harp laid ho- 
rizontally. It is cased the same as a piano- 
forte ; the notes have double wires, almost 
wholly of steel, there being but few of 
brass ; thev are touched by jacks, as in the 
harpsichord ; and, like it, the tones are very 
wiry and rough. Its compass is rarely more 
than four octaves, or at most five, llns in- 
strument is completely out ot vogue ; such 
as we now see are, in general, from 25 to 
.50 years old. It evidently was the parent 
of the harpsichord, as that was of the several 
kinds of piano-fortes. 
Beyond the spinet we find the firginal, 
whicli for a long time stood its ground. The 
citole, which was a little box, with wires on 
its lid. The magadis, which had its notes 
tuned in octaves. And the clarichord, or 
rlumb-spinet, which was much used in nun- 
neries, having its wires wound round with 
silk ; it yielded a peculiarly soft, but low 
sound. This instrument seems to have been 
in vogue for a great while ; though now ex- 
tremely scarce, and only to be found in re- 
ligious institutions on the Continent. 
We must do the English manufacturers 
of the present age the justice of saying, 
that, for power and clearness of tone, free- 
dom and certainty of motion, elegance of 
finish, facility of touch, and standing in 
tune, they stand unrivalled throughont Eu- 
rope. The names of Tomkinson and Kirk- 
man, for grand pianos, and of dementi and 
Eroadwood, for scjuare pianos, stand emi- 
nently conspicuous in this branch of mecha- 
nism ; but to obtain excellent instruments, 
even of their make, application should be 
made to them, and not t» the paltry retailers 
of a few ; which, though made by tliose 
manufacturers, are of a very inferior descrip- 
tion, suited to the low prices paid by such 
advertising gentry. 
The Harp next claims our notice: its 
form and manner of performance being so 
well known, require but little description. 
MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS. 
The name of this instrument is supposed Iff 
be derived from the Arpi, a people of I taly, 
to whom its invention is, by many, attribut- 
ed ; though others assert that the Arpi 
received it from the Irish. The Hebrew harp 
was said to be remarkable for its beauty, 
and for the great extent of its scale ; the 
latter was supposed to surpass that of tlie 
modern harp, which docs not exceed five 
octaves. Ours is always tuned to tlie same 
pitch, generally E flat, and its semitones are 
made by a number of pedals, placed round 
the base, or plinth, on which it stands ; 
tliese communicate with the top-piece by 
means of a hollow column in front of the 
strings ; on being pressed by the foot they 
cause the strings (which are chiefly made of 
what is usually called cat gut, the grayest 
being of flock-silk, covered with fine wire) 
to be shortened by projecting stops, and 
thus to give a tolerable chromatic effect. 
The Irish, and the Welsh, used to be famous 
for their performance on the harp ; but, at 
present, only a few itinerant bards are to 
be found in those countries : these preserve 
the tradition of many very appropriate na- 
tional airs ; hut their execution is not to be 
compared with those of our great masters : 
nor are their harps to be rated with those 
superb instruments made by our best manu- 
facturers, Evard, Erat, &c. 
The antiquity of the harp appears to be 
as remote as it is certain. The psaltery, 
called by the ancient Hebrews the nebel, 
seems to have been a kind of harp. The 
simi cum, of the ancient Greeks, was of 
this species also. The epigonum was of 
very ancient date, beyond what w'e can 
trace ; it had forty strings ; but its scale is 
certainly lost. Tlie tripodian, invented by 
Pythagorus the Racynthian, was a species 
of harp, on which three different keys, or 
modes, were prepared : by turning the tri- 
pod round with the foot, either side could 
be presented to the performer, who chang- 
ed his key at pleasure. A vase at the 
top answered the purpose of a sounding- 
board. 
The Guitar, or Cittern, is much in use 
among the Spaniards, and their neighbours ; 
it was also in vogue with us many years 
back ; when some improvements were made, 
particularly the addition of six keys, corres- 
ponding with the six wires ; these were 
called boxed guitars, and by some, piano- 
forte-guitars. The instrument, as we see it 
in England, has a broad neck, on which 
are various frets, made of wires, fixed into 
the finger-board, at right angles with the 
