WATER DIVINING 



power I thought the matter was worth investi- 

 gating, and so I sought an interview with Mullins 

 to start with. He was a stonemason, but had so 

 much of a reputation as a water-diviner that a 

 good deal of his time was spent in searching for 

 water in various parts of the kingdom. He 

 undertook to sink wells in localities where he had 

 previously stated water would be found, and in 

 cases which came under my notice had acted upon 

 the principle of " no cure, no pay," by contracting 

 to make no charge for sinking the well if a plentiful 

 supply of water were not forthcoming. I inter- 

 viewed Mullins on more than one occasion, and 

 have been present when he has been searching 

 for water. He was open and straightforward it. 

 manner, and without any of the outward character- 

 istics of the professional charlatan. He put on 

 no air of mystery or pretentiousness, but appeared 

 ready and willing to tell all he knew, and to submit 

 to any practical test. I catechized him on 

 various points, and obtained the following answers 

 to my questions. He had no reason to believe, 

 he said, that he inherited the divining gift. He 

 discovered it in himself during his boyhood, when, 

 having witnessed the operations of a "dowser," 

 he picked up the twig and ascertained he could 

 use it. He found a hazel twig gave the best 

 results and a hawthorn one next, but had no idea 

 why ; box, elder, and plane would not do at all. 

 He felt a sensation in his arms similar to that 

 produced by a very slight electric shock when 

 the rod was agitated by the presence of water 

 or metal, and the degree of force in the sensation 

 enabled him to say whether the spring was a 



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