Page:Polynesian Mythology by George Grey (polynesianmythol00greyuoft).djvu/360

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Appendix.
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paper, by Mr. Vincent, from certain MSS. in the King of France's library.

Dr. Barney, in common with most other modern writers on the subject, says, "the intervals of the close enharmonic tetrachord

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appear wholly strange and unmanageable," and hence it has been concluded that the enharmonic was impossible in practice.

Dr. Burney, however, one day received a letter from his friend Dr. Russell, regarding the "state of music in Arabia, and to the Doctor's utter astonishment, he learnt from that letter that the Arabian scale of music was divided into quarter tones; and that an octave, which, upon our keyed instruments is only divided into 12 semitones, in the Arabian scale contained 24, for all of which they had particular denominations."

This latter observation would seem to tally very well with what Mr. Lane[1] says of the canoon (κάνων) of the present Arabs, which, he says, has 24 treble notes. Only, that he adds, each note has three strings to it, which (later, as we shall see) he affirms to have been thirds of tones. If so, the system is a shade of the chromatic; and if Mr. Lane is right (and he gives a drawing of the instrument). Dr. Russell must err, or speak of another instrument. I should be inclined to give preference to Lane, because of the great pains he has taken in describing the instrument.

Mr. Lay Tradescant,[2] speaking of the Chinese intervals,

  1. ↑ Lane's "Modern Egypt."
  2. ↑ Lay Tradescant's "Chinese as they are."
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