teen-stringed lyre, the double pipe, and a harp of fourteen
chords; of the harp and two guitars; or of two seven-stringed harps and
an instrument held in the hand, not unlike an eastern fan, to which
were probably attached small bells, or pieces of metal that emitted a
jingling sound when shaken, like the crescent-crowned _bells_ of our
modern bands. There were many other combinations of these various
instruments; and in the Bacchic festival of Ptolemy Philadelphus,
described by Athenaeus, more than 600 musicians were employed in the
chorus, among whom were 300 performers on the _cithara_.

Sometimes the harp was played alone, or as an accompaniment to the
voice; and a band of seven or more choristers frequently sang to it a
favorite air, beating time with their hands between each stanza. They
also sang to other instruments, as the lyre, guitar or double pipe; or
to several of them played together, as the flute and one or more
harps; or to these last with a lyre or a guitar. It was not unusual
for one man or one woman to perform a solo; and a chorus of many
persons occasionally sang at a private assembly without any
instrument, two or three beating time at intervals with the hand.
Sometimes the band of choristers consisted of more than twenty
persons, only two of whom responded by clapping their hands; and in
one instance we have seen a female represented holding what was
perhaps another kind of jingling instrument.

The custom of beating time by clapping the hands between the stanzas
is still usual in Egypt.

On some occasions women beat the tambourine and _darabooka_ drum,
without the addition of any other instrument; dancing or singing to
the sound; and bearing palm branches or green twigs in their hands,
they proceeded to the tomb of a deceased friend, accompanied by this
species of music. The same custom may still be traced in the Friday
visit to the cemetery, and in some other funeral ceremonies among the
Moslem peasants of modern Egypt.

If it was not customary for the higher classes of Egyptians to learn
music for the purpose of playing in society, and if few amateur
performers could be found among persons of rank, still some general
knowledge of the art must have been acquired by a people so alive to
its charms; and the attention paid to it by the priests regulated the
taste, and prevented the introduction of a vitiated style.

Those who played at the houses of the rich, as well as the ambulant
musicians