Dec. 2. 1854.] 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



451 



they scarce ever sink a shaft but by its direction ; and 

 those who are dexterous in the use of it will mark on the 

 surface the course and breadth of the vein ; and after that, 

 with the assistance of the rod, will follow the same course 

 twenty times following, blindfold" — P. 23. 



M. Thouvenel arrived at the conviction that the 

 phenomena of the divining rod were attributable 

 to magnetism or electricity ; a similar opinion is 

 also formed by M. Formey, secretary of the Aca- 

 demy of Berlin, in his article on the subject in 

 the Dictionnaire Encyclopedique. It appears that 

 Bleton became aware of the presence of water, 

 &c., by an internal " commotion," as he termed it, 

 and was in no way dependent for the discovery 

 upon the " electrometrical caduceus," the virgula, 

 bacillus, or hazel rod, which from the time of 

 Moses and the Chaldsean soothsayers, to that of 

 Sidrophel and Dousterswivel, cuts so important a 

 figure in the modus ageridi. 



So also the Zahories of Spain, to whom is 

 ascribed the same faculty of discovering hidden 

 water without the agency of the rod ; together 

 with a keenness of perciplency not possessed by 

 others. Upon this the Quarterly Review re- 

 marks : 



" Eejecting, however, the supernatural powers of vision 

 which have been ascribed to them, and in which children 

 bom on Good Friday are also believed to share, it is not 

 unlikely but that by long experience, and attending to 

 indications which escape the less experienced eye, they 

 may be able to give a tolerable guess at the existence of 

 . subterraneous waters. Something similar is told' of the 

 Arabs of the Desert by a modern traveller, who says that 

 they have an uncommon facility in discovering distant 

 wells by atmospherical or other signs, which do not afl'ect 

 the senses of an European." — Vol. xi. p. 264.^ 



It would seem, on the other hand, that the rod 

 itself has been held to possess Independent powers, 

 and to be able to make the discovery without the 

 intervention of the human operator. The follow- 

 ing instructions are given in a rare chap-book, to 

 make — 



" The Mosaic Wand to find hidden Treasure. — Cut a 

 hazel wand forked at the upper end like a Y. Peel off 

 the rhine, and dry it in a moderate heat ; then steep it in 

 the juice of wake-robin or nightshade, and cut the single 

 lower end sharp, and where you suppose any rich mine or 

 hidden treasure is near, place a piece of the same mettal 

 you conceive is hid, or in the earthe, to the top of one of 

 the forks by a hair, or very fine silk or thread, and do the 

 like to the other end ; pitch the sharp single end lightly 

 to the ground, at the going down of the sun, the moone 

 being in the encrease, and in the morning at sun-rise, by 

 a natural sympathy, you will find the mettal inclining, 

 as it w^ere pointing to the places where the other is hid." 

 — The Shepherd's Kalcndar, or the Citizen and Country- 

 matCs daily Companion, 12mo., London ; p. 61. 



William Bates. 

 Birmingham, 



(To he continued.') 



BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONART OF LIVING AUTHORS. 



(Vol.x., pp.220. 313. 331.) 



A work of this kind Is a desideratum in our 

 literature. In my opinion, it should be a bare 

 statement of facts, without any other pretensions 

 than as a faithful record, leaving posterity to 

 award whatever praise or censure may be in store 

 for future critics and biographers. In the com- 

 pilation of the work mentioned by Mr. Bates, 

 and ascribed by him to Mr. Upcott, there must 

 have been more than one writer concerned : for 

 the Dedication to the Prince Regent is subscribed 

 by " The Editors." Mr. Corney is therefore 

 likely to be accurately informed on this head, as 

 he Is well known to be on most subjects of biblio- 

 graphical research. I doubt if Mr. Upcott was 

 acquainted with German literature, to which re- 

 ference is made in the Bibliog. Did. ; while it is 

 well known that Mr. Shoberl was a veteran in 

 that language, from which he translated very- 

 many works. Oxox. 



I have an interleaved copy of this of 1816, in 

 which, opposite to the name of John Watklns, a 

 former proprietor has written "The Author of 

 this book." The Literary Memoirs of Living- 

 Aidhors, 1798, is, upon the good authority of 

 Mr. Chalmers, the compilation of the " Rev. David 

 Rivers, a dissenting minister at Highgate;" which 

 is confirmed by his passing his own name and 

 works without a word of comment. J. O. 



All that is found in the advertisement of my 

 copy is — 



« It is evident that the idea of this undertaking has 

 been derived from a Catalogue of Five Hundred Living 

 Authors, published about ten years ago." 



This passage I had seen; but my object was to 

 state what I knew from actual inspection, and to 

 induce others to do the same. I could have got 

 more works from Watt, and I might have men- 

 tioned various French works, the German work 

 cited by the compiler of 1816, &c. I suspect the list 

 would not be very brief. 



Your correspondent has the work he mentions 

 before him, as is evident from the precise form of 

 his statement. Watt mentions the following work : 



" Marshall. Characters of 500 Authors of Great Britain, 

 now living. London, 1788. 8vo." 

 Those who compare this title with that given by 

 B. L. A., will either suspect Watt of much inac- 

 curacy, or will conclude that there must have 

 been a run of such works at the period mentioned. 

 This is among the points to be settled. Again, 

 there are the dictionaries of living artists, of musi- 

 cians, &c., of which several are mentioned : and 

 also the satirical dictionaries — such as the Glorie 



