The fathers, as referred to by CALMET, compare its general shape to a triangle, and such no doubt was the form of many; but to restrict its form to this only, is, I conceive, improper. To conclude: Some of these instruments were touched with a quill, or plectrum, and even with a bow; and some of them were rattling and harsh, in which rather the player than the instrument was to blame, if we may judge by what occurs among ourselves, where the same harp in the hands of a learner jingles and clatters, which in the hands of a master is sonorous and mellow.

Thus we have traced a gradation in this kind of stringed instrument.-(1.) The harp of three, four, and seven strings.-(2.) The oshur, of ten strings.-(3.) The psaltery, of twelve strings, and all above. I shall only add, that the suspicion of this instrument being brought from a remote country, is heightened by the remark of Strabo: των οργανων ενια βαρβαρως ονοματι, ναβλα και σαμβύκη ή και βαρβιτος, και άλλα πλείω, “ Some musical instruments have barbarous [i. e. foreign-neither Egyptian, Greek, nor Roman] names; as the nabla, and the sambuka; also the barbitos, and several others." (lib. x.)

As to the form of these instruments among the Hebrews, I conceive, if ever we recover them, it must be from their representations preserved in Egypt, as all the Hebrew memorials of them have perished and very fortunately Denon has lately published among the plates to his "Travels in Egypt," copies from those ancient paintings which adorn the sepulchres of the kings at Thebes in that country, and these appear to contain the very articles under discussion, some of which we have therefore copied.

Explanation of the Plates of Ancient Musical Instruments.

PLATE I.

Terpsichore Lyran, i. e. player on the lyre or harp. The name terpsichore signifies a delighter in dancing: the dances before the altars of the gods were called cori, or coree; and these were directed from right to left, a certain number of steps, and then from left to right back again. Hence the musical odes which accompanied them, are divided into strophe and antistrophe: [and this dancing before the altar, perhaps was practised by Balaam, Num. xxiv. 1, and by the priests of Baal, 1 Kings xviii. 26, where our expression "leaped upon the altar" is certainly incorrect. The probability is, that they made a choral procession to right and left before the altar, as they had been accustomed to do.] Now, the proper instrument to accompany these sacred dances was the lyre; and the antiquity of the lyre exceeds our researches, for in all nations we find music is an article of remote usage.

The lyre or harp of this figure is not large, but is easy of carriage; it has seven strings, and she has no plectrum with which to play on it.

Erato psaltrian, i. e. player on the psaltery. This instrument is large, and of considerable weight: it has nine strings; with one hand she plays on it with a plectrum, with the other her fingers only.

These two figures are from pictures dug up at Herculaneum, which city was overwhelmed shortly after St. Paul was martyred at Rome, and before St. John wrote the Revelations. Very fortunately, the names are written on these pictures, so we are certain what instruments they represent.

The middle figure shows what a great number of strings was employed in the psaltery, upwards of twenty. This is an Egyptian psaltery, from the sepulchres of the kings of Egypt.

PLATE II.

No. 1. Is a harp with the strings not upright but turned across: it is very likely that this construction formed a distinction in the name, &c. of this instrument.

No. 2. A triangular instrument, the strings also turned across. This is given as the ancient sambuca, which is written sabuca; (Dan. iii. 5.) and is rendered sackbut by our translators, where it stands between the harp and the psaltery; so that it was, no doubt, allied to them in kind. This is supposed to have been invented by the Syrians, or Phoenicians, and was called the Phoenician lyre. Suidas says, "the sambuca was a triangular instrument, with cords differing in thickness and in length." It was used to accompany singing. No. 3. Shews an Egyptian harp having only four strings. No. 4. Is also an Egyptian harp having nine strings.

As stringed instruments with all these different powers were used in old-testament worship, while wind instruments do not appear to have been used, it is humbly thought that this distinction deserves the attention, at least, of those who patronize music in public worship under the gospel.1

The above article is from the pen of the late erudite editor of Calmet, Mr. C. Taylor; and was kindly presented to us, with the accompanying plates, by

his son.

8

Sacred Geography.

CANAAN, OR THE HOLY LAND.1

NAZARETH.

Nazareth, or according to its modern name, Naszera, celebrated in sacred writ as having been the residence of Jesus Christ, during the early period of his life (Matt. ii. 23; iv. 13.) and appertaining to the tribe of Zebulon, is now one of the principal towns in the Pashalik of Akka, situate about twenty miles west of the lake of Tiberias, seventy miles north of Jerusalem, and twenty east of mount Carmel. The valley of Naszera is of a round concave form, and encompassed with mountains. It seems, says Dr. Richardson, as if fifteen mountains met to form an enclosure for this delightful spot: they rise round it like the edge of a shell, to guard it from intrusion. It is a rich and beautiful field in the midst of barren mountains; it abounds in fig-trees, small gardens, and hedges of the prickly pear; and the dense, rich grass, affords an abundant pasture. The town stands on an elevated situation, on the west side of the valley.

The private dwellings of the town, to the number of about two hundred and fifty; are built of stone, which is a material always at hand; they are flat-roofed, being in general only of one story, but are sufficiently spacious and commodious for the accommodation of a numerous poor family. The streets are steep, from the inclination of the hill on which they stand, narrow from custom, and dirty from the looseness of the soil.

Of the public buildings, the mosque is the most conspicuous from without, and it is indeed a neat edifice. It has five arches on one of its sides, for no more of it can be seen, as it is enclosed within a wall of good masonry, and furnished with a plain whitened minaret, surrounded by a gallery, and surmounted by the crescent; the whole rising from the centre of the town, as if to announce the triumph of its dominion to those approaching it from afar.

The principal curiosity in Nazareth is the convent of the Latin friars, a very spacious and commodious building, which was thoroughly repaired, and considerably enlarged in the year 1730. Within the convent is the church of the Annunciation, in which the spot is shewn where the Angel stood, when he announced to the Virgin the tidings of the Messiah! Behind the altar is a subter

raneous cavern divided into small grottos, where the Virgin is said to have lived: her kitchen, parlour, and bed-room, are shewn, and a narrow hole in the rock, in which the child Jesus once hid himself

1 Continued from Vol. II. p. 435.

2 Buckingham's Travels in Palestine, p. 96.