M U S I C. 
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fubfifting afford ample evidence. In a letter from Mr. 
Bruce, printed in Dr. Burney’s Hiftory of Mufic, there is 
given a particular defcription of the Theban harp, an in- 
ftrument of extenfive compafs, and exquifite elegance of 
form. It is accompanied with a drawing taken from the 
ruins of an ancient fepulchre at Thebes, fuppofed by 
Mr. Bruce'to be that of the father of Sefoftris. We fhall 
infert the account of this instrument, and of the particu¬ 
lar fituation in which it was found, in Mr. Bruce’s own 
words. 
“ Behind the ruins of the Egyptian Thebes, and a very 
little to the north-welt of it, area great number of moun¬ 
tains, hollowed into monltrous caverns ; the fepulchres, 
according to tradition, of the firlt kings of Thebes. The 
melt coniiderable of thefe mountains thus hollowed, con¬ 
tains a large farcopliagus of granite, of which the lid only 
is broken. In the entrance of the paffage which leads, 
Hoping gently down, into the chamber where is the far- 
cophagus, there are two pannels, one on each fide; on 
that of the right is the figure of the J'carabccus Thehaicus, 
fuppofed to have been the hieroglyphic of immortality ; 
on the left is the crocodile, fixed upon the apis with his 
teeth, and plunging him into the waves : thefe are both 
moulded in baffo-relievo, in the ftucco itfelf. This is a 
fufficient indication of the grotto, to any one who may 
■wifh to examine it again. At the end of the paffage on 
the left-hand, is the picture of a man playing upon the 
harp, painted in frefco, and quite entire. He is clad in a 
habit made like a Ihirt, fuch as the women Hill wear in 
Abyffinia, and the men in Nubia. This feems to be white 
linen or mullin, with narrow lfripes of red. It reaches 
down to his ancles ; his feet are without fandals, and 
bare ; his neck and arms are alfo bare; his loofe wide 
fleeves are gathered above his elbows; his head is clofe 
lhaved ; he feems a corpulent man, of about fifty years 
of age, in colour rather of the darkeft for an Egyptian. 
To guefs by the detail of the figure, the painter fliould 
have had about the fame degree of merit with a good 
fign-painter in Europe ; yet he has reprefented the aftion 
of the muficiaq in a manner never to be miftaken. His 
left hand feems employed in the upper part of the inftru- 
ment among the notes in alto, as if in an arpeggio; while, 
Hooping forwards, he feems with his right hand to be 
beginning with the loweft firing, and promifing to afeend 
with the molt rapid execution ; this action, fo obvioufly 
rendered by an indifferent artift, (hows that it was a com¬ 
mon one in his time, or, in other words, that great hands 
were then frequent, and confequently, that mufic was 
well underftood, and diligently followed. If w f e allow 
the performer’s ftature to be about five feet ten inches, 
then we may compute the harp, in its extreme length, to 
be fomething lefs than fix feet and a half. It feems to 
fupport itfelf in equilibrio on its foot, or bafe, and needs 
only the player’s guidance to keep it fteady. It has thir¬ 
teen firings; the length of thefe, and the force and liberty 
with which they are treated, lhow that they are made in a 
very different manner from thole of the lyre. I did not 
choofe to embarrafs the harp with the figure that is play¬ 
ing on it, becaufe this would neceffarily conceal great 
part of the inftrument; and our bulinefs is with the in- 
firnment, and.not with the figure. 
“ This inftrument is of a much more elegant form than 
the triangular Grecian harp. It wants the fore-piece of 
the frame, oppofite to the longefi firing, which certainly 
muft have improved its tone, but mull iikewife have ren¬ 
dered the inftrument itfelf weaker, and more liable to ac¬ 
cidents, if carriage had not been fo convenient in Egypt. 
The back part is the founding-board, compofed of four 
thin pieces of wood, joined together in form of a cone, 
that is, growing wider towards the bottom ; fo that, as 
the length of the firing increafes, the lquare of the cor- 
refpondent fpace, in the founding-board, in which the 
tone is to undulate, always increafes in proportion. Be¬ 
tides that the whole principles upon which the harp is con¬ 
structed are rational and ingenious, the ornamental parts 
are Iikewife executed in the very bell: manner ; the bot¬ 
tom and fides of the frame feem to be vaneered, or inlaid, 
probably with ivory, tortoife-fhell, and mother-of-pearl, 
the ordinary produce of the neighbouring feas and de- 
ferts. It would be even now impoflible to finifn an in¬ 
ftrument with more tafte and elegance. Belides the ele¬ 
gance of its outward form, we muft obferve, Iikewife, 
how near it approached to a perfeCt inftrument; for it 
wanted only two firings of having two complete oCtaves 
in compafs. Whether thefe were intentionally omitted 
or not, we cannot now determine, as we have no idea of 
the mufic or tafte of that time ; but, if the harp be'painted 
in the proportion in which it was made, it might be de- 
monftrated that it could lcarcely bear more than the thir¬ 
teen firings with which it was furnifhed. Indeed the 
crols bar would break with the tenfion of the four longefi, 
if they were made of the fize and coniiftence, and tuned 
to the pitch, that ours are at prefent. 
“ I look upon this inftrument, then, as the Theban 
harp, before and at. the time of Sefoftris, who adorned 
Thebes, and probably caufed it to be painted there, as 
well as the other figures in the fepulchre of his father, as 
a monument of the iuperiority which Egypt had in mufic 
at that time, over all the barbarous nations that he had 
feen or conquered. 
“ Aftronomy, and, we may imagine, the other arts, 
made a rapid progrefs at this period in Upper Egypt, and 
continued to do fo for fifty years after; between which 
time and the Perfian conqueft fome cataftrophe muft; 
have happened that reduced them to the loweft ebb, 
which hiftorians have miftaken fqr their firft original. 
“ We know about the time of Sefoftris, if, as fir Ifaac 
Newton fuppofes, this prince and Sefac were the fame, 
that in Paieftine the harp had only ten firings ; but as 
David, while he played upon it, both danced and fung 
before the ark, it is plain that the inftrument upon which 
he played could have been but of finall volume, we may 
fuppofe little exceeding in weight our guitar-; though 
the origin of this harp was probably Egyptian, and from 
the days of Mofes it had been degenerating in fize, that 
it might be more portable in the many peregrinations of 
the Il'raelites. 
I fhall fay nothing of the capabilities of this harp, 
nor what may be proved from it relative to the ftate of 
mufic at a time when men were able to make fuch an 
inftrument; I fhall with impatience expeft this detail 
from you, better qualified than any one I know now in 
Europe for this difquifition ; it is a curious one, and 
merits your utmoft reflection and attention. It over¬ 
turns all the accounts of the earlieft ftate of ancient mufic 
and inftruments in Egypt, and is altogether in its form, 
ornaments, and compafs, an inconteftible proof, ftronger 
than a thoufand Greek quotations, that geometry, draw¬ 
ing, mechanics, and mufic, were at the greateft perfec¬ 
tion when this harp was made ; and that what we think 
in Egypt was the invention of arts, was only the begin¬ 
ning of the sera of their reftoralion." 
Dr. Burney, in his remarks upon this letter, calls the 
Theban harp “ the moft curious and beautiful of all the 
ancient inftruments that have come to my knowledge. 
The number of firings, the fize and form of this jnftru- 
ment, and the elegance of its ornaments, awaken reflec¬ 
tions, which, to indulge, would lead me too far from 
my chief enquiries, and indeed out of my depth. The 
mind is wholly loft in the immenfe antiquity of the paint¬ 
ing in which it is reprefented; indeed the time when it 
was executed is fo remote, as to encourage a belief, that 
arts, after having been brought to great perfection, were 
again loft, and again invented, long after this period ; 
and there can be no doubt but that human knowledge 
and refinements have fhared the fame fate as the king¬ 
doms in which they have been cultivated. They have 
had their gradual rife and declenfion ; and in fome of 
the countries firft civilized, arts, by the arrival of new in¬ 
vaders, and eftablijhment of new modes, new laws, and 
new 
