The Divining Rod. - 805 
sestrain the rod is so applied by the unnatural position of his 
hands, as to become itself the sole cause of the rod’s motion. 
Let the diviner release his grasp, and the rod can no more 
turn itself in his hands, than the unbent bow can throw an 
arrow. . By grasping the rod smartly, he strains the bows; 
and if the red be small and elastic, and of a smooth bark, it 
as creep round in moist hands slowly and mysteriously. 
ut if the rod be large, and otherwise properly qualified, its 
limbs are too stout, and its motion, w s ent, 
comes ungovernable. This renders a small rod essential to . 
the diviner; a rod whose motions he can bridle, but not whol- — 
ly overcome. 
of the hands on the wrists is not observed by the diviner, but 
if he mark the position of his hands in the commencement, 
and again at the end of the experiment, he will find it appa- 
rent. = ee ee 
~ Two large goose quills tied together at their tips, and 
held like a divining rod, are a fine test of the nature of this 
moving force. Two sticks of polished whalebone, flattened 
and joined at one extremity, form a perfect divining rod: 
The motions of these quills and bones are as perfect for the 
discovery of fountains as those of any green branch ever cut: 
Indeed, polished whalebone excels witch hazel itself in divin- 
ing, as it is firmer, smoother, and more elastic. But polish- 
ed whalebone has neither sap nor juices to be attracted by 
metals nor by fountains.* “ 
The laws by which the depth of the discovered mines or 
fountains is supposed to be determined, are a curiosity suffi- 
cient to attract a moment’s attention. There is something 
amusing in the oddity of their moonstruck features; but it is 
a sober and a mélancholy sight to see a good man working 
them, wise men confounded by the results, and the mul 
titude inclined by the whole operation to trust in superstitious 
observances. 
_ * Since writing this, have learned that a professional gentleman, a most 
excellent man, and a well-known diviner, not many years deceased, som: 
®monly-used a fork of whalebone for a divi 
VOL. XI.—No. Il. 
