1810.] On Perfecting the Scale of Keyed Musical Instruments. 
tomy, and architecture; and of triennial 
discourses, delivered by the president; 
all of which lectures, discourses, &c. 
contain an ample and impressive theory 
ef his profession. Besides all’ this, the 
student has free access, at stated periods, 
to a vast and luminous library, containing 
évery thing that has been written on the 
art, of which he is at full liberty to avail 
himself; besides an extensive range of 
port-folios, filled withthe choicest prints, 
after the most celebrated masters. In- 
“dependent of ail this, the student who is 
sv fortunate as to receive the gold me- 
dal (which is given every three years) 
for the best historical composition, is: 
sent to Rome for three years, at the ex- 
pense of the Academy, with an allowance 
of.a hundred pounds per annum: 
When it is considered that the student 
of the Royal Academy has ail the above 
advantages, free of expense, and that 
except in such an acadeniy he could not 
possibly have those advantages, we vi- 
brate between astonishment and cone. 
tempt at Hlogarth’s presumption, in pre- 
dicting, that the. “establishment of the 
Royal Academy would be ruinous to the 
arts.” * 
(To be continued: ) 
a 3 
To the Editor of the Monthly Magazine. 
SIR, ian 
INCLOSEto vou an extract from the 
Travels of Peter della Valle, into the 
East Indies, by which it will appear that 
the method of instruction introduced 
by Dr. Bell, fromm Madras, and some- 
times attributed as an invention to Mr. 
Lancaster, was Ii common practice two 
centuries ago, upon the coast of Ma- 
labar. : 
In a letter from [kkerie, dated Novem- 
ber 22, 1623, he says: 
** In the mean time, while the burthens 
‘“wete getting in order, | entertained my- 
self in the porch of the temple, (at 
Gavarada Naghar, not far from Onor,) 
beholding little boys learning arithmetic, 
after a strange manner, which I will here 
relate. They were four, ard having all 
taken the same lesson from the master, 
to get that same by heart, and repeat 
- hkewise their former lessons, and not for- 
get‘them, one of them singing musically 
with a certain continued tone, (which 
hath the force of making a deep impres- 
sion in the memory,) recited part of the 
lesson, as for example, one by itself makes 
one ; and whilst he was thus speaking he 
writ. down the same number, not with 
any kind of pen, noron paper, but, (not 
Xi 3 | 
~ 
127 
to spend paper in vain,) with his finger 
on the ground, the pavement being for 
that purpose strewed all over with very — 
fine sand; after the first had writ what he 
sung, all the rest sung and writ down the 
same thing together. Then the first boy 
sung and writ down another part of the 
lesson, as for example: “Two by itself 
make two,” which all the rest repeated in’ 
the same manner; and so forward ana 
order: when the paveinent was full of 
figures, they put them out with the hand ; 
and, if need were, strewed it with new 
sand froma little heap which they had 
before them, wherewith to write further: 
and thus they did as long as the exercise 
continued; in which manner likewise 
they, told me they learnt to read and 
write without spoiling paper, pens, oc ink, . 
which certainly isa pretty way. I asked 
them, if they happened to forget, or be 
vaistaken in any part of the lesson, who 
corrected and taught them, they being all 
scholars without the assistance of any 
master; they answered me, and said 
true, that it was not possible for all four 
of them to forget or mistake in the same 
part, and that they tls exercised toge- 
ther to the end, that if oue happened to 
be out, the others might correct him = 
inceed a pretty easy and secure way of 
learning.” Your's, &c. 
D. RB. 
For the Monthly Magazine. 
Gn PERFECTING the scaLE of KEYED 
| MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS. 
LLOW me to request of your cor- 
respondent, Capel Lofft, a coim- 
plete development of his plan for im- 
proving the tune of keyed instruments, 
such as the piano-forte, organ, &c. 
From the incomplete account of it 
which’he has given, in ‘Number 191 of 
your valuable Magazine, it appears to- 
consist, principally, in a new arrange- 
mentand division of the keys, or touches; 
for, by ‘ semi-tones, a quarter of. an 
inch shorter than at present,” I suppose’ 
he means the keys of those instruments. 
To the young student in harmony, it. 
may be a useful caution, never to call a’ 
sinele sound a semi-tone: it would be.as 
correct to calla mile a mile-stone: fora 
semi-tone is a Certain small interval, or” 
‘distance, between two sounds that differ ° 
in, pitchs, 4 
Grassineau, in his Dictionary of Ma.’ 
sick, (1740,) mentions, that a Mr. Bal- 
jouski had invented a new sort of keys, 
which could furnish “ all the sounds in’ 
musick, and, by consequence, ail the” 
; ‘ Ainagihary” 
