s on the success, but,
unruffled, leave the unbelievers to their infidelity, and permit time
and Providence to convince people of the reality of the thing."

If one would know how to fashion the divining rod to give most surely
the magic results, he has only to consult "The Shepherd's Calendar and
Countryman's Companion" in which it is affirmed:

"Cut a hazel wand forked at the upper end like a Y. Peel off the rind
and dry it in a moderate heat; then steep it in the juice of wake-robin
or night-shade, and cut the single lower end sharp, and where you
suppose any rich mine or treasure is near, place a piece of the same
metal you conceive is hid in the earth to the tip of one of the forks
by a hair or very fine silk or thread, and do the like to the other
end. Pitch the sharp single end lightly to the ground at the going
down of the sun, the moon being at the increase, and in the morning at
sunrise, by a natural sympathy, you will find the metal inclining, as
it were, pointing to the place where the other is hid."

According to the author of the modern book, "The Divining Rod and its
Uses,"[8] "it is curious to note that about one hundred years ago there
was considerable excitement in the north of England owing to the
remarkable powers possessed by a lady of quality in the district, this
being no other than Judith Noel, afterwards Lady Milbank, the mother of
Lady Byron. Miss Noel discovered her marvelous faculty when a mere
girl, yet so afraid was she of being ridiculed that she would not
publicly declare it, thinking she might be called a witch, or that she
would not get a husband. Lady Milbank afterwards overcame her
prejudice and used the rod on many occasions with considerable success."

About 1880, a certain Madame Caillavah of Paris was at the height of
her fame as a high-priestess of the divining rod, and her pretensions
with respect to finding buried treasure quite set France by the ears.
She was besought to discover, among other hoards, the twelve golden
effigies taken from the Saint Chapelle during the Revolution and hidden
underground for safe-keeping; the treasure of King Stanislaus, buried
outside the gates of Nancy; and the vast accumulations of the Petits
Peres, or Begging Friars. The French Government took Madame seriously
and permitted her to operate by means of an agreement which should
insure a proper division of the spoils. There could be no better
authority for the singular exploits of Madame