ce of the earth. Let us say
'almost,' because Mr. Andrew Lang instances this as one form of
superstition which is not prevalent among savage races; or rather, to
use his exact words, 'is singular in its comparative lack of copious
savage analogues.' The qualification seems to be necessary, because
there are certainly some, if not 'copious,' instances among savage
peoples of the use of the divining-rod in one form or other. And Mr.
Lang is hardly accurate in speaking of the 'resurrection' of this
superstition in our own country. It has, in fact, never died, and there
is scarcely a part of the country where a 'diviner' has not tried
his--or her, for it is often a woman--skill with the 'twig' from time to
time. These attempts have seldom been known beyond the immediate
locality and the limited circle of those interested in them, and it is
only of late years, since folklore became more of a scientific and
general study, that the incidents have been seized upon and recorded by
the curious. From the time of Moses until now the 'rod' has been almost
continuously used by innumerable peoples in the effort to obtain
supplies of water.

In ancient times it was used, as we have seen, for a variety of other
purposes; but its surviving use in our generation is to indicate the
locality of hidden springs or of mineral deposits. There are cases on
record, however, so recently as the last century, when the rod was used
in the detection of criminals, and a modified application of it to a
variety of indefinite purposes may even be traced to the planchette,
which, at this very day, is seriously believed in by many persons who
are ranked as 'intelligent.'

Now, of the use of the divining-rod in England, Mr. Thiselton-Dyer thus
wrote some years ago: 'The _virgula divinatoria_, or divining-rod, is a
forked branch in the form of a Y, cut off a hazel-stick, by means of
which people have pretended to discover mines, springs, etc.,
underground. It is much employed in our mining districts for the
discovery of hidden treasure. In Cornwall, for instance, the miners
place much confidence in its indications, and even educated, intelligent
men oftentimes rely on its supposed virtues. Pryce, in his Mineralogia
Cornubiensis, tells us that many mines have been discovered by the rod,
and quotes several; but after a long account of the method of cutting,
tying and using it, rejects it, because 'Cornwall is so plentifully
stored with tin and copper lodes, t