Their most favourite stringed instrument was the lyre, of which they had various kinds, called, according to their form and arrangement of strings, _lyra_, _cithara_, _chelys_, _testudo_, _fidis_ (or _fides_), and _cornu_. The name _cornu_ was given to the lyre when the sides of the frame terminated at the top in the shape of two horns. The _barbitos_ was a kind of lyre with a large body, which gave the instrument somewhat the shape of the Welsh _crwth_. The _psalterium_ was a kind of lyre of an oblong square shape. Like most of the Roman lyres, it was played with a rather large plectrum. The _trigonum_ was the same as the Greek _trigonon_, and was probably originally derived from Egypt. It is recorded that a certain musician of the name of Alexander Alexandrinus was so admirable a performer upon it that when exhibiting his skill in Rome he created the greatest _furore_. Less common, and derived from Asia, were the _sambuca_ and _nablia_, the exact construction of which is unknown. The flute, _tibia_, was originally made of the shin bone, and had a mouth-hole and four finger-holes. Its shape was retained even when, at a later period, it was constructed of other substances than bone. The _tibia gingrina_ consisted of a long and thin tube of reed with a mouth-hole at the side of one end. The _tibia obliqua_ and _tibia vasca_ were provided with mouth-pieces affixed at a right angle to the tube; a contrivance somewhat similar to that on our bassoon. The _tibia longa_ was especially used in religious worship. The _tibia curva_ was curved at its broadest end. The _tibia ligula_ appears to have resembled our flageolet. The _calamus_ was nothing more than a simple pipe cut off the kind of reed which the ancients used as a pen for writing. The Romans had double flutes as well as single flutes. The double flute consisted of two tubes united, either so as to have a mouth-piece in common or to have each a separate mouth-piece. If the tubes were exactly alike the double flute was called _Tibiæ pares_; if they were different from each other, _Tibiæ impares_. Little plugs, or stoppers, were inserted into the finger-holes to regulate the order of intervals. The _tibia_ was made in various shapes. The _tibia dextra_ was usually constructed of the upper and thinner part of a reed; and the _tibia sinistra_, of the lower and broader part. The performers used also the _capistrum_,--a bandage round the cheeks identical with the _phorbeia_ of the Greeks. The British museum contains a mosaic figure of a Roman girl playing the _tibia_, which is stated to have been disinterred in the year 1823 on the Via Appia. Here the _holmos_ or mouth-piece, somewhat resembling the reed of our oboe, is distinctly shown. The finger-holes, probably four, are not indicated, although they undoubtedly existed on the instrument. [Illustration]