3^4 



pfant "bore, l9e,Qer^ff ariel "ISLjric/, 



In the eighteenth century its use was ably advocated by De Thou- 

 venel in France, and soon afterwards in our country by enthu- 

 siasts, Pryce, in his Mineralogia Corimhiensis, states that many mines 

 have been discovered by means of the rod, and quotes several. Sir 

 Thomas Browne describes the divining-rod as "a forked Hazel, 

 commonly called Moses' Rod, which, held freely forth, will stir and 

 play if any mine be under it." He thinks, however, that the rod is 

 of pagan origin, and writes : — " the ground whereof were the 

 magical rods in poets — that of Pallas, in Homer; that of Mercury, 

 that charmed Argus ; and that of Circe, which transformed the 

 followers of Ulysses: too boldly usurping the name of Moses's rod; 

 from which, notwithstanding, and that of Aaron, were probably 

 occasioned the fables of all the rest. For that of Moses must 

 needs be famous to the Egyptians, and that of Aaron unto many 

 other nations, as being preserved in the Ark until the destrucflion of 

 the Temple built by Solomon." In the ' Quarterly Review,' No. 44, 

 is a long account (vouched for by the editor), proving that a Lady 

 Noel possessed the faculty of using the divining-rod : — " She took 

 a thin forked Hazel-twig, about sixteen inches long, and held it by 

 the end, the joint pointing downwards. When she came to the 

 place where the water was under the ground, the Hazel-twig 

 immediately bent, and the motion was more or less rapid as she 

 approached or withdrew from the spring. When just over it, the 

 twig turned so quick as to snap, breaking near the fingers, which by 

 pressing it were indented and heated, and almost blistered ; a degree 

 of agitation was also visible in her face. The exercise of the 



faculty is independent of an}^ volition." The use of the forked 



Hazel-twig as a divining-rod to discover metals is said to have been 

 known in this kingdom as early as the days of Agricola : its deri- 

 vation is probably to be sought in an ancient custom of the 

 Israelites, to which the Prophet Hosea alludes when he says : " My 

 people ask counsel at their stocks, and their stafT declareth unto 



them." In Sweden, Hazel-nuts are believed to have the mystical 



power of making invisible. An old-fashioned charm to cure the 



bite of an adder was to cut a piece of Hazel-wood, fasten a long bit 

 and a short one together in the form of a cross, then to lay it softly 

 on the wound, and say thrice in a loud tone — 



•'Underneath this Hazelin mote, 

 There's a Braggotty worm with 

 speckled throat. 

 Nine double is he. 

 Now from 9 double to 8 double. 

 And from 8 double to 7 double, 

 And from 7 double to 6 double, 



And from 6 double to 5 double, 

 And from 5 double to 4 double, 

 And from 4 double to 3 double, 

 And from 3 double to 2 double, 

 And from 2 double to i double, 

 And from I double to no double, 

 No double hath he ! " 



To dream of Hazels, and of cracking and eating their Nuts, por- 

 tends riches and content as the reward of toil. To dream of finding 



hidden Hazel-nuts predicts the finding of treasure. Astrologers 



assign the Hazel to the dominion of Mercury. 



