MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS. 
tnrics prior to tl>e birth of onr Saviour. 
Organs were supposed to have been in- 
vented by Ctesibius ; but as to their con- 
struction we are left under great doubts ; 
all we can discover is, that they had many 
pipes, into which the wind was impelled by- 
water. A modern author seems to infer, 
that the air was acted upon by water, so as 
to be compressed, as in the air vessels of our 
fire-engines. This, though a plausible mode 
of solving the doubt, does not prove com- 
pletely satisfactory, because we have strong 
reasons for concluding, that the ancients 
were not acquainted with that part of cur 
pneumatic practice. The air-pump was 
not known until Otto de Gueriche, a consul 
of Magdeburgh, exliibited his invention be- 
fore the Emperor, and the states of Ger- 
many, in the year 16.54 ; and the fire-engine 
was first invented by Zachary Greyl in 
17gl, improved upon by Doctor Godfrey, 
and gradually brought to perfection by the 
successive additions and inventions of Moi- 
trell in 1725 ; Jacob Leufold, ditto; Neevs- 
ham in 1744, &c. &c. We are rather in- 
clined to believe, that the air was acted 
upon in the ancient keras, or hydraulic- 
organ, much in the same manner as in the 
French smelting furnaces, i. e. by water 
falling down a long pipe, and dashing on a 
large stone, placed in the centre of a small 
chamber at its bottom ; whence the air 
thus drawn down by the stream or succes- 
sion of dribblets, rushes into the furnaces 
with a violent and equable current. What- 
ever the mode might have been, the prac- 
tice of constructing organs, whose sounds 
proceeded from some hydraulic apparatus, 
appears certain from the many records all 
tending precisely to the same point. The 
performers were termed ascnlse. , Plato, 
and Prochis his commentator, mentions a 
wind instrument in use among the Greeks, 
which appears to have borne a strong re- 
semblance to the modern organs ; it was 
called panarmonium, and was so contrived, 
that every aperture was capable of yielding 
three or more sounds. The masrakitha, of 
the ancient Hebrews, was likewise an in- 
.strument composed of various pipes, fixed 
in a chest, open at top ; but closed at the 
bottom, where they had small perforations, 
communicating with a wind tube, into 
which the performer blew ; stopping those 
pipes that were not to sound with his 
fingers. In the foregoing references to re- 
mote antiquity, we discover the basis of our 
majestic instruments ; but tlie swell, which, 
by means of a slider, augments or smothers 
the sounds at pleasure, is tlie invention of 
modern mechanics, who have entirely 
brought the organ to wonderful perfection. 
The Eolian Harp may be best included in 
this class ; though it cannot, in every parti- 
cular, be arranged therewith. It consists 
of a long box, in which four or more strings 
are stretched for its whole length, and 
timed to the component parts of any com- 
mon chord, such as C, E, G, C, E, G, &c. ; 
opposite the line of the strings which stand 
over a slanting sounding board, are two 
slits, one on each side, running parallel with 
the entire strings. This instrument being 
placed opposite to a window, opened only 
an inch or two, the air will rush through the 
slits, and vibrating upon the strings, in ils 
passage through the box, will cause a kind 
of tremulous murmuring repetition of the 
various notes. The Eolian harp is by no 
means a disagreeable companion, when per- 
fectly in tune. Some idea of its notes may 
be formed by stretching a tliin violin string 
over the narrow slit between tlie upper 
and under compai-tmeuts of a sash win- 
dow; these being generally rather open, 
allow the wind to pass, and will cause the 
string to keep perpetually humming that 
note it yields when plectrated or touched 
by a bow. 
The Trumpet, with all its tribe, now 
comes under consideration. This most au- 
dible instrument is made of metal ; those of 
silver are by far the softest in tone ; but 
brass is in general used. The modern 
trumpet is very short and portable com- 
pared with the old form of the instrument ; 
its tone or pitch is varied by means of ad- 
ditional pieces called crooks, by which it 
:'>iy be made to accord with any given key- 
note. It has a mouth piece, which is about 
an inch in diameter, concaved for the lips 
to act within, and closing into a very narrow 
tube, tlirough which the wind passes, with 
considerable force, into the neck of the in- 
strument. The trumpet is a treble instru- 
ment ; but, excepting from C in the middle 
of the stave to its octave above, can only 
perform the three under notes G, E, C, and 
G in the bass ; in the above octave it can 
only deviate from the key C, by a sharp 
fourth, leading into the key of G. In saying 
this we speak of the instrument unaided by 
the hand ; for by various modes of fingering 
within the bell, or mouth, the trumpet can 
be made to yield a great variety ofc semi- 
tones. Trumpets with slides, which sud- 
denly lower or raise tlie pitch one or two 
notes, aie capable of great execution, and 
