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scent of violets or cut flowers. The occult science of the Divining 
Rod is of very old standing, originated some say in the rods of 
Moses before Pharaoh and Aaron in the matter of Korah. It 
grew prodigiously among the Hebrews, so that Hosea (iv. 12) 
rebuked them. “ My people ask counsel at their stocks, and 
their staff declareth unto them.” LEaring Gould in his volume 
“Curious Myths of the Middle Ages,” has an interesting chapter 
on the Divining Rod, and especially its use by the dowser 
of European celebrity, 1688, Jacques Aymar, in discovering 
murderers and thieves in Lyons and Paris. The occult science 
holds its own as regards water-finding against all the advance- 
ment of education of the 19th century, and defies its professors 
to offer any rational explanation of its phenomena. De Quincey 
in his works argues that the local name in the Vale of Wrington, 
“‘jowsers” for water-finders, is derived from the word ‘to 
chouse,” and shows that the public opinion of the natives 
exhibited grave suspicion of the honesty of the dowser’s 
pretensions, 
Hearty thanks were voted to Surgeon-Major Mantell for his 
paper at the close of the meeting. 
Keynsham Briefs. January 25th, 1899.—An interesting paper 
was contributed by the Rev. C. W. Shickle to the Proceedings 
of the Field Club on the subject of Briefs in general, and par- 
ticularly of those recorded in a valuable volume belonging to the 
Parish of Keynsham, which was exhibited at the meeting by the 
Rev. C. E. Crellin, Curate of Keynsham. 
The thanks of the Members present were subsequently accorded 
unanimously to the Rev. C. W. Shickle for his paper, which gave 
rise to very considerable discussion. 
At the conclusion the Rev. C. W. Shickle exhibited to the 
Members two very quaint deeds, lent to him by Mr. Christopher 
Gill, of the firm of solicitors Messrs. Gill and Bush. In one of 
these deeds a Somerset yeoman was exempted during his life of 

