A WEEKLY ILLUSTRATED JOURNAL OF SCIENCE. 



" To the solid ground 

 Oj Mature trusts the mind which builds for aye." — Wordsworth. 



THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 1899. 



WATER, WATER, EVERYWHERE. 

 The Theory of Water Finding by the Divining Rod : 

 its History, Method, Utility and Practice. By B. 

 Tompkins, W.F., author of the " Theory of Water 

 Finding." Second and enlarged edition, with illus- 

 trations. Pp. ix + 127. Copyright and all rights re- 

 served. (Published by the author, B. Tompkins, 

 Expert Water Finder, Chippenham, Wilts, 1899.) 



BOTH the subject and the method of treatment of 

 the Theory of Water Finding by the Divining Rod, 

 by Mr. B. Tompkins, W.F., are so unlike what are 

 usually met with by those gentlemen whom you, Mr. 

 Editor, honour by a request for a review, and there are 

 such risks of becoming involved in a sort of fourth- 

 dimensional conflict or of giving offence, that I feel the 

 case is one in which the reviewer should write in the first 

 person, and sign his name. Neither the editorial we 

 nor the security of anonymity would, in my opinion, be 

 appropriate. 



Mr. Tompkins is a thorough enthusiast ; he has dis- 

 covered that he possesses a power denied to most 

 mortals, and this he practises, so we read in his book, to 

 the great advantage of dwellers mostly in the West of 

 England, in Wales and in South Africa. Evidence of 

 this is given at once in a list, covering seven pages, of 

 patrons, many with handles to one or other end of their 

 names, and of public bodies for whom Mr. Tompkins has 

 found Springs of Running Water. 



The divining rod has been known from ancient times, 

 and we are told has been practised for " the tracing of 

 boundaries, murderers, mines, metals, minerals, and 

 hidden sources of water" (mostly things beginning with 

 an " M," as in Alice). " The scientific name given to the 

 art is Rhabomancy." 



"The rod is regarded as a symbol of authority, and 

 is often referred to as such in Holy Scripture, and em- 

 ployed in schools. There are, I find, some 130 references 

 t^ a 'rod,' staff or sceptre as a symbol of power or 

 authority." 



Three instances are given in which Moses used a rod 

 with great effect, and Aaron's rod budded. We need 

 NO. 1566, VOL. 61] 



j not, therefore, be surprised at the success of the Diviner 

 or present Professional Expert Water-Finder. 



Mr. Tompkins goes at some length and detail into his 

 own early history and experiences, for which he gives the 

 following excellent reason : — 



" My object in giving a detailed account of genealogy 

 and career is to show that the suppositions made by so 

 many persons, that the Water-Finder is some supernatural 

 being, of a low class, possessing a supernatural power, 

 inherited from a race which existed before the flood men- 

 tioned in the sixth chapter of Genesis, caused by the 

 amalgamation of these people, resulting in their possessing 

 occult arts, and from these sprung the Water-Finder, are 

 incorrect and most absurd, absolutely without foundation, 

 they being drowned by the Flood ; and further there exists 

 no evidence of a supernatural power, which my readers 

 will see later on." 



Here is the account of Mr. Tompkins' discovery of his 

 power of water-finding. 



" Quite alone and in the month of February 1886, one 

 who was destined to become a philanthropist of some re- 

 pute, and play an important part in the affairs of life, 

 steps forth quite unconscious of these thoughts being in 

 his mind, or that they were really in existence as regard 

 to his future prospects. Like a nest within a nest . . . 

 I lifted my eyes and saw the trees and hedges just show- 

 ing signs of life ; in one I saw a white thorn twig . . . 

 I held this rod by both prongs in both hands, so — " (here 

 is a picture) "gripping it tightly so that it should not 

 move, and commenced to walk in an upright position, 

 with the apex of the twig downward and some distance 

 from the ground. This was in an orchard where there 

 were no signs of water existing or wells near, or any in- 

 dication that water could be found at one place more than 

 another. After walking a distance of 80 yards or so, I 

 suddenly felt a running or creeping sensation come into 

 my feet, up my legs and back and down my arms which 

 caused me to look to see what had happened. I 

 noticed the rod began to rise in my hands ; I gripped it 

 still tighter to prevent it, and kept walking ; still I found 

 the sensation get stronger and stronger, and that I was 

 being led in a zigzag course, the twig at the same time 

 exercising a great determination to turn up. So strong 

 had this influence become that I was powerless to keep 

 it down, and eventually after proceeding some distance 

 further it attained a vertical position, and revolved over 

 and over. So great was this sudden and unexpected 

 pressure or influence on me that I fainted and became 

 very ill. ..." 



B 



