Mr. Du Ponceau enjoyed the well-earned honor of being made a member of various learned societies in Europe and in this country, and for many years he was the President of the American Philosophical Society at Philadelphia. We mention our own country in particular, because this eminent man felt a higher pleasure in the honors conferred upon him by our own learned associations, than those which he received from abroad. In short, his heart was purely and entirely American; and no reminiscence, even of his native country, could excite a more thrilling sensation in his bosom, than those relating to his adopted country. So strong, indeed, was his American feeling, that he has been known, on some occasions, to deem it affrontive, to be called or treated otherwise than as an American. And, in respect to his own personal merits, he ever strenuously insisted, that the country had bestowed upon him more honors and more marks of regard, than he was entitled to.

We will only add, that the purity and elevation of his moral character were not surpassed by his eminent intellectual endowments. With these were united a purity and elevation of moral worth, that are rarely to be found; and we may justly apply to him the sentiment of his favorite Horace,

Cui Pudor, et Justitie Soror

Incorrupta Fides, nudaque Veritas,
Quando ullum invenient parem?

Such is a very imperfect sketch of the interesting life of this great man; who was an honor to his adopted country and to the human race.

He had reached a venerable old age, and had outlived almost all his contemporaries; and, out of his bereaved family, he has left behind him few individuals, that were not of an age too far differing from his own, to experience that anguish which is most keenly felt by those who are our equals in years, and in the associations of past times. To the writer of this notice, for whom he had long cherished an affection almost parental, his death is an irreparable loss; a long-tried friend and counsellor is no more!

Multis ille bonis flebilis occidit
Nulli flebilior quam mihi.

Boston, April 6, 1844.

J. P.

A TREATISE ON ARAB MUSIC,

CHIEFLY FROM A WORK BY MIKHAIL MESHÂKAH, OF DAMASCUS.

TRANSLATED FROM THE ARABIC,

BY ELI SMITH.

TREATISE.

INTRODUCTION.

[BY THE TRANSLATOR.]

THE investigations which have led to the compilation of the following article, were not entered into in consequence of a knowledge of the science of music, or of any particular taste for it, for I can lay no claim to either; but in consequence of the necessities of my calling. The mission with which I am connected, has not yet succeeded in introducing singing into Arabic worship. The obstacles which have prevented, are two; one, the peculiarities of Arabic versification, the other, the equally strong peculiarities of Arab music. The former is such, that a hymn composed according to Arabic rules of prosody, would, in very few cases, if any, be adapted to our tunes; and one composed according to our rules, would be still less adapted to Arab taste. This point, or rather the whole science of Arabic versification, has been thoroughly studied by my colleague in missionary labors, the Rev. C. V. A. Van Dyck, and I hope some early number of the Society's Journal may be enriched by an article, which he has already prepared on that subject. The obstacles arising from the peculiarities of Arab music are such, that, not only do we find the singing of the Arabs no music to us, but our musicians have found it very difficult, often impossible, to detect the nature of their intervals, or imitate their tunes. The first intimation I had of the nature of the difficulty, was derived from observing, that a native singer, in attempting to repeat the octave in company with one of our musical instruments, did not observe

the same intervals, and of course the two were not at every note in unison. Subsequently one of my colleagues attempted to write Arab tunes on our stave, and found that he was unable to do it, owing to some peculiarity in the intervals. But it was not until I fell in with the work, which has served as the basis to this article, that the whole subject was revealed to me. Its author, Mikhail Meshâkah, of Damascus, is my personal friend and correspondent, and one of the most intelligent of his nation whom I have known. Having a good knowledge of mathematics, as well as much practical skill in music, he was well qualified for his task. In translating, I have abridged his work a good deal, have not always observed his order in the arrangement of the sections, and have frequently taken the liberty to express his thoughts in my own style.

It is of modern Arab music only, that Meshakah treats; and to explain that, is the specific object of this article. The ancient, having been closely copied from that of the Greeks, has less of oriental interest. The subject of musical rhythm, however, perhaps from its natural affinities with versification, the Arabs of those times seem to have treated more in their own style; and, my author being defective. here, I have resorted to the ancients. For an ability to do this, I am indebted to the kindness of Professor Salisbury of Yale College, whose valuable collection of Arabic books, contains two very important works on this subject. One is a manuscript in folio, of nearly two hundred pages, by an anonymous author, composed in the year of the Hegira 666. From this I have translated most of the chapter on rhythm, and also the section on the ancient guitar, dealing as freely with it in translating, as with Meshakah's work. The other work is Kosegarten's edition of Ispahâny's kitáb el-aghány, (Book of Odes ;) to which the editor has prefixed a labored treatise on ancient Arab music, taken chiefly from the great authority on that subject, Faràby's Book on Music, and containing large extracts from that work. It is from Fârâby as thus quoted, that my extracts are taken. He died at Damascus, A. H. 339. Owing to want of time and feeble health, my examination of these two books has been hasty and superficial. It is hoped that their possessor will erelong