m8 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



[No. 267. 



Benedict Mol, the fanatical Swiss treasure-seeker, 

 narrated in Borrow's Bible in Spain. 



I do not remember that the divining rod, with its 

 mysterious sympathy for hidden value, has been 

 made frequent use of by our poets as an illus- 

 tration or simile. We find it, however, among the 

 Epigrams, Theological, Philosophical, and Tto- 

 mantick, &c., of Samuel Sheppard, London, 8vo. 

 1651. 



" Virgula divina. 

 " Some sorcerers do boast they have a rod 

 Gather'd with vowes and sacrifice, 

 And (borne about) will strangely nod 



To hidden treasure where it lies : 

 Mankind is (sure) that rod divine. 

 For to the wealthiest (ever) they incline." 



Lib. vl. Epig. I. p. 141. 



Swift, in his lines on TTie Virtnes of Sid Hamet 

 the 3fagician's Rod (1710), says, — 



" They tell ns something strange and odd, 

 About a certain magic rod, 

 That, bending down its top, divines 

 Whene'er the soil has golden mines ; 

 Where there are none it stands erect. 

 Scorning to show the least respect ; 

 As ready was the wand of Sid, 

 To bend where golden mines were hid ; 

 In Scottish hills found precious ore 

 Where none e'er look'd for it before ; 

 And by a gentle bow divin'd 

 How well a cully's purse was lin'd ; 

 To a forlorn and broken rake, 

 Stood without motion, like a stake." 



Swift's Works, by Sheridan, vol. vii. p. 66. 



So also M, F. Tupper : 



" The mines of knowledge are oft laid bare by the forked 

 hazle wand of chance. 

 And in a mountain of quartz we find a grain of gold." 

 Proverbial Philosophy, " Education." 



Much more might be said; but I must now 

 content myself with the addition of a few biblio- 

 graphical memoranda, which may enable those to 

 pursue the subject who do not jump to the con- 

 clusion, that because a thing is undreamt of, or 

 as yet unexplained in our philosophy, it is ne- 

 cessarily absurd or charlatanic ; or if it is so, that 

 it is therefore not worth attention. 



A Discovery of Subterranean Treasure, by Gabriel 

 Platte, p. 11. 



Van Helmont's Theatrum Chymieum, vol. iv. p. 271. 



Last Will and Testament of Basil Valentine, c. 13. 



Metallographia ; a History of Metals, &c., by John 

 Webster, 4to., London, 1671, p. 108. 



Dictionnaire Infernal, &c., par Colin de Plancy, Paris, 

 4 vols. 8vo., 1814. 



Salverte's Philosophy of the Occult Sciences, by Dr. 

 A. T. Thomson, London, 2 vols. 8vo., 1846. 



Willis's Current Notes, June 25, 1854, p. 48. 



Dr. Mayo, On the Truths contained in Popular Super- 

 stitions, London, 8vo., 1851. 



Chambers's Journal, Nov. 5, 1853, p. 298. 



Chambers's Repository of Tracts, " Cornish Mines and 

 Miners." 



The Astrological Magazine. 



Decremps' La Magie Blanche Devoilee, on Explication 



des Tours surprenans qui font I'Admiration de la Capitale 

 et de la Province, avec des Re'flexions sur la Baguette 

 divinatoire, les Automates Joueurs d'Echecs, &c., Paris, 

 8vo., 1792. 



A World of Wonders, with Anecdotes and Opinions 

 concerning Popular Superstitions, 8vo., London, 1845, 

 p. 249. 



Dissertation physique en forme de lettre h M. de Sevre, 

 Seigneur de Fle'chferes, &c., 12mo., Lyons, 1692. 



Reflexions sur les Indications de la Baguette par le pfere 

 Menestrier, 12mo., Lyons, 1694. 



Secret de la Baguette divinatoire, et Moyen de la faire 

 tourner, tir^ du Grand Grimoire, 12mo., p. 87. 



Works of Sir T. Browne ("Vulgar Errors"), edited by 

 Simon Wilkin, 4 vols. 8vo., 1836. 



Mineralogia Cornubiensis ; a Treatise on Minerals, 

 Mines, and Mining, by William Pryce, M.D., London, 

 1778, folio. 



Tilloch's Philosophical Magazine, vol. xiii. p. 309. (A 

 paper by Mr. William Phillips). 



Transactions of the Geological Society, vol. ii. p. 123. 



Voltaire, Dictionnaire Philosophique (" Verge "). 



Gentleman's Magazine, vol. xxi. p. 507. 



Brand's Popular Antiquities, London, 1813, vol. ii. 

 p. 622. 



Selections, Grave and Gay, by Thomas de Quincy 

 (" Popular Superstitions "). 



Other sources of information might doubtless 

 be added, but it is believed that a reference to 

 the works cited in the foregoing paper will leave 

 little to be told in this"" branch of the science of 

 Rhabdomancy. William Bates. 



Birming^ham. 



(Vol. i., p. 440.) 



The meaning of yeoman, as given below, is not 

 to be found in Johnson's or any other English 

 dictionary : 



" The title yeoman is generally in no esteem, because 

 its worth is not known. A yeoman that is authentically 

 such, is by his title on a level with an esquire . . . The 

 title yeoman is of military origin, as well as that of 

 esquire and other titles of honour. Esquires were so called 

 because in combat they carried for defence an ecu or 

 shield ; and yeomen were so styled because, besides the 

 weapons fit for close engagement, they fought with arrows 

 and the bow, which was made of yew ; a tree that hath 

 more repelling force and elasticity than any other. 



" The name how seems to be derived from yew, or yeu 

 from bow ; as Walter is derived from Gauter, Wales from 

 Gales. The proper name Eboracum, York, is an instance 

 that the ancients, in transferring words from one lan- 

 guage or dialect into another, sometimes changed y into 

 b, or b into y ; for, by leaving out the E in Eboracum — 

 which is done in several other words, as in especial special 

 — and then changing the b into y, the word is Yoracum, 

 its exact etymology . . . What I have said is sufficient 



* I say this branch, no allusion having been made to 

 the other kinds of divination by rods, to which the word 

 Rhabdomancy may be thought to be more especially ap- 

 plicable ; such, for instance, as that by the staff, men- 

 tioned in Hosea iv. 12., or that by arrows, spoken of by 

 Ezekiel xxi. 21., and forbidden by Mahomet in the 

 Koran (Sale's), cap. v. See Calmet, &c.' 



