CHAPTER III

THE MOST ANCIENT CIVILIZED NATIONS

Conjecture and authority--The Assyrians and Babylonians; instruments; scales--The Hebrews--The Egyptians; social aspects; Plato’s testimony; instruments--Egyptian influence on Greek culture and its musical significance.

The researches and discoveries of the past fifty years in the valley of the Nile and among the deeply buried ruins of Babylon and Nineveh have thrown light on much that was hitherto obscure in the history of the ancient cultured nations of the East. Yet, even to-day, our knowledge of that history is at best fragmentary and largely conjectural. Out of the mass of fragments and conjectures at our command we can pick very little that will fit into the structure of an authoritative musical history.

We know definitely that the Assyrians, Babylonians, Egyptians, and Hebrews possessed in their heyday an advanced civilization and a large amount of æsthetic culture. From analogy with other old civilizations of which we have more accurate knowledge, however, we have no reason to suppose that their musical culture kept pace with their advance in other arts. From the plastic to the pictorial and last to the musical seems to have been the historical order of advance in the evolution of artistic expression. Music, to quote John Addington Symonds, 'is the essentially modern art.’ Nevertheless, even in default of any more specific evidence, we could safely assume that musical culture among the ancient civilized nations had advanced considerably beyond the stage reached by primitive peoples.

I

In support of this assumption we have an amount of definite evidence; which indeed goes very little beyond a corroboration of our beliefs. In the case of the Assyrians and Egyptians this testimony consists of bas-reliefs and mural paintings representing musical instruments, and a few actual instruments which have been discovered in the ruins of Nineveh and in the tombs of Egyptian kings. These sculptures show a wide variety of instruments, the general construction of which would indicate considerable musical knowledge, and they testify clearly that among the Assyrians and Egyptians music was an indispensable adjunct to all affairs of ceremony, and consequently, in all likelihood, a subject for serious cultivation.

The Assyrian bas-reliefs represent chiefly historical events, religious ceremonies, and royal entertainments. We have no means of knowing whether the musical instruments shown thereon were the only ones in use among the Assyrians, or whether there were not other instruments in widely popular use which the priestly conventions excluded from all ceremonial observances. The instruments represented, however, are numerous and interesting. Judged by the frequency of its appearance on the monuments, the favorite instrument of the Assyrians seems to have been the _asor_, which consisted of a square or triangular frame mounted with six to ten strings of silk or catgut and was played with a plectrum. It was carried in front of the performer by means of a strap slung over his shoulder, and both hands were used in playing it--the right with the plectrum and the left either to twang the strings or to stop any unnecessary vibration. The number of strings on this or on any other Assyrian instrument can only be conjectured. Apparently the artist was never at pains to secure fidelity of detail, for sometimes there are more strings than tuning-pegs and sometimes the reverse.

After the _asor_ the harp seems to have come next in popular estimation. The Assyrian harp was an imposing instrument, about four feet high, and was carried in ceremonial processions before the breast of the performer, much as a side-drum is carried in a military band. It was furnished with tuning-pegs and with about twenty strings, probably of silk, but possibly of catgut. The most essential point of differentiation between the Assyrian harp and the modern instrument was the lack of a front pillar. This would argue a rather weak and harsh tone; though if the frame were made of metal or ivory--as in the case of the later Egyptian harps--it would allow of sufficient tension to secure a tone not necessarily very inferior to that of our own harp.

Besides the _asor_ and the harp the representations of Assyrian stringed instruments included the lyre, dulcimer, and tamboura or lute. The Assyrian lyre strongly resembled the Nubian _kissar_ of to-day. It carried from four to ten strings tied around the upper bar, which was raised or lowered to change the pitch, and it was probably played with a plectrum. The tamboura was an instrument resembling the banjo or guitar and was the prototype of the instrument which may be found all over the East at the present day. The dulcimer contained about ten strings and was played with a plectrum.

Of wind instruments the Assyrians possessed only pipes and trumpets. Their trumpet was a small instrument, either straight or slightly curved, and was probably made of horn. Presumably it suffered from severe limitations musically. The nature of their pipes, however, indicates that the Assyrians had done some successful experimenting in musical effects and must have constructed a definite scale system of some sort. In the museum of the Royal Asiatic Society in London there is a small Assyrian pipe of baked clay in a very good state of preservation. It is about three inches long and has two holes equally distant from the end. The fixed notes on this pipe are a tonic, third, and fifth. The closing of the left finger-hole produces a note about a quarter tone lower than the right, and it is possible that this was intended for a minor third. Of a later development than the single pipe was the double pipe, which consisted of two pipes, sometimes of equal, sometimes of unequal length, held one in each hand, with the playing ends of both in the mouth. Probably one of the pipes gave a sort of droning accompaniment to the other and the general effect must have been something like that of the bagpipe. The syrinx, or pipes of Pan, was doubtless known to the Assyrians as well as to the Hebrews, and may be the instrument whose invention is ascribed to Jubal in Genesis.

The Assyrians seem to have been well provided with instruments of percussion, including tambourines and cymbals. Their drums were usually covered only at one end, but they also had barrel-shaped drums covered at both ends and beaten at both ends like a tom-tom. All their drums, apparently, were beaten with the hands. Bells were presumably in high favor among them, as we learn from the Bible, and there have been discovered a number of Assyrian bells of various sizes, all open at the top, like Chinese bells, and indicating that the first use of chimes antedates by a long time their introduction into India and China.

The habit peculiar to ancient artists of depicting the part for the whole, or two to mean many, makes it impossible for us to determine from the reliefs whether the Assyrians used regularly any definite number of musical instruments in their performances. We know, however, that they employed various combinations of instruments. On the Assyrian bas-reliefs in the British Museum (some of which are fragments) we find such combinations as harp and drum; lyre, harp and double pipe; two _asors_ and drum; three lyres; two trumpets; seven harps, one dulcimer; two double pipes, a drum and chorus. The predominance of strings over instruments of percussion in all representations of Assyrian concerts prompts the supposition that the music was of a soft, suave character. Rhythm seems to have been marked chiefly by the clapping of hands, and musical performances were probably accompanied usually, if not always, by singing and dancing. The evidence of the bas-reliefs on this point is supplemented by the Bible accounts of ceremonial observances among the Hebrews, who must have been profoundly influenced by Babylonian culture. Dancing was undoubtedly an integral part of all ceremonial observances and triumphal processions among the ancient nations of the East, and it would seem that as a rule it was accompanied by vocal as well as instrumental music. The Bible is replete with illuminative references on the subject.

On the Assyrian bas-relief above mentioned, showing the instrumental band and chorus, the women of the chorus are represented with their hands to their throats and are evidently performing that peculiar shrilling which constitutes the Hebrew _Allelujah_, and which may still be heard in Syria, Arabia, and Persia. This strange style of singing--if it may be so called--was a feature of triumphal processions, and was always performed by women. Various references to this custom may be found in the Bible--for instance, David’s reception by the women after his victory over the Philistines and Jephthah’s reception by his daughter and her companions after the battle against the children of Ammon. We can only guess as to the nature of the choral singing at Assyrian religious festivals. Probably it was in unison or octaves, and it may have been antiphonal, as it was among the Hebrews.[20]

The constant employment of chorus with well-developed musical instruments of different tone quality would seem to have suggested to the Assyrians at least some elementary harmonic effects. But that is entirely a matter of conjecture. As far as we know, they did not possess any system of musical notation, and, lacking that, they could not have developed an harmonic system that was anything but very crude or very haphazard. It is the opinion of Engel[21] that they 'produced together different notes which appeared to them agreeable in concord,’ but that their instruments were too incomplete for a systematic combination of a fixed number of different parts. A scale system of some sort they must have had, but what it was we are at a loss to determine. Engel, pointing out the analogies between the various old musical systems of Oriental countries, concludes that the Assyrians probably used a pentatonic series consisting of the tonic, second, third, fifth, and sixth. Such a scale is found in China, Japan, India, Burmah, Siam, and Java, and is supposedly of high antiquity in those countries. The deduction that it was also used by the Assyrians is based on the assumption, which Engel supports by much plausible evidence, that there was a common fountain-head of all Asiatic musical art. It is also pointed out as a significant fact that the Nubian _kissar_, which so closely resembles the Assyrian lyre, is tuned in that scale. On the other hand, from the construction of the Assyrian instruments, and from comparison with the music of other peoples, even those in a more primitive state of musical development, it may be inferred that the Assyrians were acquainted with other effects and may have used other scales.

II

The decree which forbade the Hebrews the making of graven images, salutary as it may have been as a theological safeguard, must always prove a source of regret to the archæologist and historian. Because of it we cannot now visually reconstruct the life of the chosen people in Biblical times with the same satisfactory vividness as we can that of the Assyrians and Egyptians. We are thus deprived of what has been our chief source of information in considering the state of musical culture among the other civilized nations of the ancient East. A few illustrations of what may have been Hebrew musical instruments have, it is true, come down to us; but they are very doubtful and far from enlightening. There is an Egyptian painting of the time of Osirtasen II (about 1800 B. C.), discovered in a tomb at Beni-Hassan, which shows three men--obviously captives--playing on lyres. The hieroglyphics refer to these men as 'strangers,’ and it is the opinion of Sir Gardner Wilkinson that they were Jews. We also possess some coins of the time of Simon Maccabæus (second century B. C.), on some of which are pictured lyres of different shapes and sizes, while on others are shown a couple of small figures which may represent trumpets or drums. Possibly the musical instruments carved on the Arch of Titus were exact copies of Hebrew originals, but, for all we know to the contrary, the sculptor of the arch may never even have seen a Hebrew instrument. Apart from these scanty and problematical remains, pictorial evidence of the musical culture of the ancient Hebrews is, as far as we know, non-existent.

The documentary evidence in our possession is fuller but not at all definite. It consists chiefly of the Bible and the rabbinical records; and upon the accuracy of the information obtainable from these sources we cannot implicitly rely. This statement is made in due reverence and without any suggested denial of the spiritual truths embodied in writings which millions of men regard as sacred. The peculiar figurativeness which lends such charm to the language of the Bible makes it impossible for us to be quite sure of its literal meaning, and this obscurity is intensified by the fact that the identification of many names of things in the original text has been the purest guesswork on the part of translators. The identification of the names of musical instruments, especially, has been a stumbling block to scholars. For instance, it has never been determined which of the many names of stringed instruments occurring in the Bible refers to the harp--an instrument which was undoubtedly known to the ancient Hebrews. On the other hand, the _ugab_, mentioned in Genesis as the invention of Jubal, has invariably been translated _organ_--an instrument which just as certainly was not known to them. Nor are the rabbinical records any more trustworthy. On many points they contradict the Bible--which raises an indeterminable question of veracity between them--while on other points their statements are irresistibly provocative of doubt in the mind of the judicious reader. It must always be remembered that the Bible and the rabbinical records are, in the main, history written by unscientific historians concerning the past of their own race, and the tendency in such cases to drape an attractive garb of fiction over the bare bones of fact has in all ages been an ineradicable trait of human psychology. The old historians, while in a preferential position compared with us in regard to time, suffered obviously either from lack of knowledge or superfluity of imagination. Josephus, the most authoritative of them, tells us seriously that there were prepared for the dedication of the Temple a band and chorus consisting of 200,000 trumpets, 40,000 stringed instruments, and 200,000 Levite singers--truly a Brobdignagian ensemble!

In spite of the paucity of our information, however, we are able to form a general idea of the state of musical culture among the ancient Hebrews. Except for inevitable local differences, Hebrew music must have resembled closely that of the Assyrians and Egyptians--probably more the former than the latter, if indeed there was any radical dissimilarity between them. The Hebrew and Assyro-Babylonian people sprang from the same Semitic stock. Abraham, we learn, 'came out of Ur of the Chaldees,’ and up to the time of the exile to Egypt it is probable that Hebrew and Babylonian culture were almost identical. The long sojourn of the Jews in Egypt, however, must have had a profound influence upon them. It is important to remember that they were not really captives in Egypt; they were not restricted in their activities; they were not socially ostracised. The daughter of a Pharaoh married a Hebrew, and it is reasonable to suppose that such intermarriage was common. At the period of the Exodus, therefore, there must have been little to distinguish the culture of the Hebrews from that of the other people of Egypt. Moses, we know, 'was learned in the wisdom of the Egyptians,’ and in that respect he probably differed little from his followers. Later we shall advert to the complementary influence of Hebrew culture on the Egyptians as well as to the probability of Babylonian influence on the latter. Consequently the culture which the Jews brought out of Egypt must still have remained Babylonian in essence. Subsequently we see a renascence of Babylonian influence which becomes particularly noticeable after the captivity in Babylon. All the names of musical instruments given in Daniel are Chaldean. Max Müller observes that several of the apocryphal books were written originally in Chaldee, not in Hebrew, and points out that Ezra contains fragments of Chaldee contemporaneous with the cuneiform inscriptions of Darius and Xerxes.

The rabbinical records mention thirty-six musical instruments in use among the ancient Hebrews, while the Bible contains references to about half that number. As has been said, the names of these instruments have never been exactly identified and it is possible that several different names may refer to the same instrument. The Hebrews almost certainly possessed the harp, though we do not know what they called it. The _psanterin_, mentioned in Daniel, was perhaps a dulcimer. The Arab dulcimer of the present day is called _santir_. We may assume from the representation of the lyre on the coins of the high-priest Simon Maccabæus that the Hebrews employed that instrument, and it may have been the _kinnor_ of King David. The _minnim_, _machalath_, and _nebel_ were perhaps instruments of the guitar or lute type. The _chalil_ and _nekeb_ were names of pipes or flutes, while the _mishrokitha_, mentioned in Daniel, is supposed to have been a double pipe. It is likely that the _ugab_, which is translated as 'organ’ in the English authorized version of the Bible, was the syrinx or Pandean pipes. Forkel and other historians are of the opinion that the _sumphonia_, mentioned in Daniel, was a bagpipe, basing their conclusion apparently on the fact that the Italian peasants call the bagpipe _zampogna_. The _magrepha_ was probably also a sort of bagpipe. Three kinds of trumpets were used by the ancient Hebrews--the _keven_, _shophar_, and _chatzozerah_. The last-named was a straight trumpet, about two feet long, and was sometimes made of silver; the others were curved trumpets probably made of horn. The _shophar_ is still found in Jewish synagogues. Presumably the Hebrews used a number of drums. Of these we know only the _toph_, which has been translated timbrel or tabret, and was probably a sort of tambourine. There still exists in the East a small hand-drum, called by the Arabs _doff_ or _adufe_. According to Saalschütz and other historians, the _menaaneim_, referred to in Samuel, and translated cymbals, was the sistrum.[22] The _tzeltzelim_, _metzilloth_, and _metzilthaim_ may have been cymbals. The _phaamon_ (Exod. xxxviii and xxxix) were little bells on the robe of a priest, and we still find them in Jewish synagogues attached to the 'rolls of law’ containing the Pentateuch.

There is abundance of evidence that music played a very important part in the lives of the ancient Hebrews and that musical performances were carefully, often elaborately, organized. As with other ancient nations of the East, the most important function of music was to lend solemnity and effect to religious ceremonial. King David, who seems to have filled in the development of Hebrew liturgical music the same rôle traditionally ascribed to St. Gregory in the history of the Christian liturgy, employed in the service of the Temple no fewer than 4,000 musicians, of whom two hundred and eighty-eight were virtuosi, and the remainder assistants and pupils (1 Chron. xxiii and xxv). In the introduction to the _Psautier polyglotte_ of L’Abbé Vigouroux, the following historical sketch is given of the musical organization of the ancient Jewish cult:[23] 'When David ascended the throne he organized sacred music which comprised instrumentalists and singers; and the institution expressly maintained by Ezekiah and Nehemiah continued until the ruin of the Temple. In a first group there were three choir leaders: Hamon, Asaph, and Ethan; in a second, fourteen Levites distributed in three choirs according to the instruments they played--the first comprising three chiefs who had cymbals to direct the singers and instrumentalists, the second composed of eight musicians who played the _nebel_, and the third composed of musicians who played the _kinnor_. Later Daniel completed this work. Among the descendants of Levi four thousand were chosen “to praise God with instruments of music.” The singers, like the priests, were divided into twenty-four classes, the chiefs of which were the sons of Asaph (four), Jeduthun (six), and Hamon (fourteen). These chiefs have under their orders two hundred and eighty-eight masters charged with instructing the others. This musical organization, established by David and conserved by Solomon, was altered more or less under their idolatrous successors; but the reformer kings, Ezekiah and Josiah, took pains to revive it. In the fifth century, under Nehemiah, they sang and played 'in the manner of David.’[24]

Apart from its importance in religious service, music had a deep significance in the lives of the ancient Hebrews. They attributed to it peculiar curative and inspirational powers. We know how David used it to relieve the illness of Saul, and even Elias employed it to stimulate the spirit of prophecy. It was the accompaniment of all important occasions, both sad and joyful. There is frequent mention in the Bible of triumphal songs and of the use of trumpets in war. Bridal processions were accompanied by music (Jer. vii), and it also seems to have been commonly employed at funerals (2 Chron. xxxv _et al._). Love songs were not unknown to the Hebrews (Isaiah v; Psalm xiv), nor were they lacking in songs of a convivial and lightly popular nature. They welcomed itinerant musicians as warmly as the courts of Europe in the chivalric period welcomed the Troubadours. Indeed, from what we know of them, they seem to have been an intensely music-loving people, and this fact can but add to our regret that we are unable to determine the exact nature of their music or what the proportions were to which they had developed it as an art.

III

Regarding Egyptian music, the evidence at our disposal is fuller and more suggestive, though the deductions to be drawn from it are hardly less conjectural. It consists mainly of monumental sculptures, mural paintings, and fragments and nearly preserved specimens of actual instruments. There are also many fugitive references to Egyptian music in the works of Herodotus, Plato, Diodorus Siculus, Strabo, and other Greek writers. Between the earliest representations of Egyptian musical instruments and the visits to Egypt of Herodotus and Plato stretches a period of nearly two thousand years--time enough for such a complete revolution to have taken place as to render valueless the references of the Greek writers as throwing light on Egyptian musical culture at the noontide of Egypt’s greatness. Yet such a revolution almost certainly did not take place. During two thousand years, as we may see from the monuments, Egyptian art stood practically still.

The system of hereditary castes was an impermeable barrier to the advance of culture. Caste conventions were elevated to the dignity of sacred laws and innovations were regarded almost as sacrilege. Herodotus, who lived in Egypt, tells us that the musical profession was strictly hereditary and had been so for uncounted centuries. No one, for instance, who was not of a family of professional singers, he asserts, could adopt the profession of a singer. Considering the rarity of good voices, even where such restrictions do not exist, one can easily imagine that vocal performances in Egypt were not stimulating. Nor could Egyptian music be very rich in inspiration, if we are to accept the following admiring tribute of Plato, who had lived thirteen years in Egypt, and who, like other Greek philosophers, was himself a musical scholar.

'The plan which we have been laying down for the education of youth,’ he says in one of his dialogues,[25] 'was known long ago to the Egyptians, that nothing but beautiful forms and fine music should be permitted to enter into the assemblies of young people. Having settled what those forms and what that music should be, they exhibited them in their temples; nor was it allowable for painters and other imitative artists to innovate or invent any forms different from what were established. Nor is it now lawful, either in painting, statuary, or any of the branches of music, to make any alteration. Upon examining, therefore, you will find that the pictures and statues made two thousand years ago are in no one particular better than what they make at the present day.’

As further evidence of the unchanging antiquity of Egyptian music Plato quotes the tradition that 'the music which has been so long preserved was composed by Isis.’ The fact that, as Strabo says, music, both vocal and instrumental, was an integral part of the ritual in the worship of all the gods, except Osiris, tended to conserve still more strictly that rigidity of system to which Plato so admiringly refers. The priestly caste in Egypt was the perfect embodiment of petrified conservatism and its influence was all-pervading and absolute. Egyptian music must eventually have come to be a lifeless, colorless, meaningless thing--the dry and chalky skeleton of an art--and we are not surprised to learn from Diodorus (60 B. C.) that the Egyptians of his time despised it and looked upon its cultivation as an effeminate and undesirable occupation.

Comparative studies of Egyptian and Assyrian culture lead George Rawlinson[26] to the conclusion that the former has been vastly overrated. While Assyrian art flourished apace, he asserts, art in Egypt remained a stunted growth. The inference that musical art among the Egyptians lagged behind that of the Assyrians is not borne out by the evidence of the monuments and mural paintings. From these we may see that Egyptian musical instruments were much superior in design and construction to those pictured on the Assyrian bas-reliefs. This, of course, may be explained by the superior mechanical talent of the Egyptians, which is apparent in their architecture, and cannot be taken as conclusive evidence of a higher æsthetic development. The whole question of the comparative culture of Egypt and Assyria is a very doubtful one. Whether Egypt was influenced by Assyrian culture or the reverse, and to what extent, is a moot point. There are evidences of similar influences in the art of both countries. The fact seems to be that Egypt and Assyria interacted on each other closely and borrowed from each other or from a common source. Their musical instruments show striking resemblances and seem to have been used in much the same way and in connection with similar ceremonies.

There are, however, important points of divergence. The _asor_, which was apparently the favorite instrument of the Assyrians, is not found represented on any Egyptian monuments that have come down to us. In its stead the harp obviously held the place of honor. The Egyptian harp was much superior to the Assyrian instrument, both in design and construction; indeed, except for the lack of a front pillar, pedals, and double strings, it must have been little inferior to our own harp, even in musical quality, while in beauty of design it could hold its own with the best we are able to show. This is all the more remarkable in view of the fact that it was brought to perfection at least three thousand years ago. The two ornate and beautifully modelled harps found by the English traveller Bruce, painted in fresco on the walls of the Tomb of the Kings at Thebes, are attributed to the period of Rameses II (about 1250 B. C.) and, whatever they may have been musically, they are perfect models of grace and finished workmanship. Most of the harps on the Egyptian monuments are highly ornamented and were obviously constructed with an eye to decorative effect. The harp seems to have been the instrument _de luxe_ in Egypt--the necessary finishing touch to the furniture of every well-appointed home--the Egyptian counterpart of our piano. It varied in size to suit the taste, or perhaps the pocket-book, of its owner. The largest harps were almost as tall as a man and were equipped with twenty or more strings, the smallest ones had four strings and were easily carried about. In regard to the number of strings, however, the fidelity to numerical truth of the ancient artists cannot unquestionably be assumed. It is the opinion of Carl Engel that the Egyptian harp was tuned in the same diatonic series of intervals as the Greeks obtained by two conjunct tetrachords. He bases his opinion on the apparent number of strings. Probably it was tuned in a diatonic series of some sort; but opinions on the subject are the purest guesswork.

A favorite instrument among the Egyptians was the _trigonon_ or triangular harp--referred to as a Phrygian instrument by Sophocles. It was small and easily carried, and its tone must have approximated somewhat that of the lyre. The latter instrument is represented frequently on Egyptian monuments and apparently varied very much in size and shape. It seems to have been much more powerful than the Greek lyre, but was not so symmetrical in design. Several well-preserved specimens of Egyptian lyres may be seen in the museums of Berlin and Leyden. One end of the top bar is higher than the other, and the instrument obviously was tuned by sliding the strings up and down the bar. On the whole, the Egyptian lyre must have been a somewhat crude and ungainly instrument. It does not seem to have been nearly so esteemed as the harp, nor did it apparently hold the same place in popular regard as the tamboura or _nofre_. The latter is found represented in various shapes, and it seems likely that it was, above all others, the instrument of the people. Instruments closely resembling it are popular in many Oriental countries to the present day. These usually contain three strings, which are tuned in the tonic, fifth, and octave. It would be assuming too much to declare that the Egyptian _nofre_ was similarly tuned. There is in the British Museum a small Egyptian terra-cotta vase upon which is depicted a tamboura with frets distinctly marked over the whole neck, and we may reasonably argue from this that the _nofre_ players used habitually a number of strictly defined intervals. Besides the long-necked _nofre_ the Egyptians possessed a short-necked tamboura strongly resembling the Arabian _oud_. They had also a peculiar instrument with four or five strings, which was carried on the shoulder; a kind of lyre which was placed on a stand and played by both hands, and a primitive variety of harmonicon.

By far the most interesting and instructive relics of Egyptian musical instruments that have come down to us are a number of pipes and flutes, many well-preserved specimens of which may be seen in the British and Leyden museums. They contain from three to five--usually four--holes, and in many of them pieces of thick straw or other similar material are found inserted in the playing ends. There does not appear to have been any restriction as to the number of holes. In the British Museum there is an Egyptian pipe about twelve inches long, with seven holes burned in the sides. Two straws of about the same length as the pipe were found with it. Straw reeds have also been found with Egyptian flutes. The latter were very long instruments, reaching from the player’s mouth to beyond the length of his arm. The most interesting and perfectly preserved specimens of those that have yet come to light are a pair of reed flutes, eighteen inches long and three-sixteenths of an inch in diameter, which were discovered by the distinguished Egyptologist Flinders Petrie in a rock-hewn sepulchre at Kahan--the town inhabited by workers employed in building the pyramid of Userteen II. On these flutes were elicited the following notes:

The testing of facsimiles produced between the flutes the following scale:

By varying the pressure, a fifth and an octave higher were obtained, and by the same means was elicited from the three-holed flute the complete diatonic scale of C. Allowance must, of course, be made for the possible differences between the facsimiles of these old flutes and the original instruments, as they were in the time of Userteen II. There is also to be considered a probably wide divergence in method between modern European and ancient Egyptian flute players. The experiments, however, suggest interesting speculations.

The double-pipes are represented frequently on Egyptian monuments; the trumpet less frequently. Trumpets apparently were not very popular in Egypt. They seem to have been made of wood--though brass may have been used. The scarcity of trumpets is peculiar, because the Egyptians obviously did not affect a soft, suave style of music, as the Assyrians did. Some of their dances look almost riotous, and they must have had a strong sense of rhythm. They had a partiality for drums, of which they possessed a variety. Besides drums, their instruments of percussion included _sistra_, _crotola_, bells, cymbals, and tambourines. The _sistrum_ or _seshesh_ was a peculiar instrument, almost identical with the _sarasel_ used to-day by the priests of a Christian sect in Abyssinia, and seems to have been employed exclusively in religious ceremonies. The _crotola_ were two balls or knobs of wood or metal, with handles, and were used apparently in the same way and with the same effect as castanets.

The representations of Egyptian musical performances furnish a wide and fascinating field for speculation; but beyond the testimony that music played a very important part in the lives of the Egyptians they supply us with little definite information. The contention of Rawlinson that the Assyrians were more advanced æsthetically is supported to some extent by the apparent fondness of the Egyptians for barbaric rhythmical effects. The same line of reasoning, however, would place the music of Wagner and Strauss lower in the scale of evolution than that of Mendelssohn and John Field. Between the Assyrians and the Egyptians a difference in musical taste is obvious; a difference in musical development is decidedly questionable. There are always to be taken into consideration dissimilarities in national character. It is the opinion of some ethnologists that, about 5000 B. C., there came into the valley of the Nile a Semitic people from East Africa or South Arabia who mingled with the aboriginal Hamites and produced the historic Egyptians. These immigrants, it is contended, had been under the influence of the culture which had already grown up on the plains of Babylonia, and introduced into Egypt elements of art which were unknown to the ruder Hamitic stock. These elements the Egyptians may have developed to greater perfection in certain technical aspects than the Babylonians, owing partly to their superior industry and partly to the fact that, in comparison with the Assyrio-Babylonian people, their history was peaceful, and favorable to the development of the arts and crafts.