Of course, as Mr. Hunt assigns not the good reason referred to for his statement, it can but be regarded as the expression of an individual opinion. It may, perhaps, be locally true, either wholly or in part. However, whatever may be its value, in such matters it is incumbent on the earnest seeker after truth to conceal no apparently incongruous facts or hostile opinions.
The writer of an article on "Stick and Table Turning," published in "All the Year Round," makes the following comments on the manner in which this superstition exhibits itself during the present generation:—
"A good deal of attention was paid by the newspapers to certain alleged achievements of two diviners, or dowsers, about twenty years ago. They were West of England men, named Adams and Mapstone. A farmer near Wedmore, in Somerset, wishing for a supply of water on his farm, applied to Mapstone. Mapstone used a hazel rod in the usual way, and when he came over a particular spot declared that water would be found fifteen or twenty feet beneath the surface. Digging was therefore commenced at that spot, and water appeared at a depth of nineteen feet. The other expert, Adams, who claimed to have been instrumental in the discovery of nearly a hundred springs in the West of England, went one day by invitation to the house of Mr. Phippen, a surgeon, at Wedmore, to dowse for water. He walked about in the garden behind Mr. Phippen's house until the stick became so agitated that he could not keep it steady; it bent down at a spot which he asserted must have clear water underneath it. Mr. Phippen caused a digging to be made, and water was really found at the spot indicated. As a means of testing Adams's powers in relation to metals, three hats were placed in a row in the kitchen, and three silver spoons under one of the hats. Adams walked among the hats, and his rod told him which of them covered the treasure. Then three kinds of valuables, gold, silver, and jewels, were placed under three hats, one kind under each, and he found out which was which. On one occasion he dowsed for water in the grounds of the Rev. Mr. Foster, of Sodbury, in Gloucestershire. Using the same method as before, he announced the presence of water at a particular spot, twenty feet beneath the surface. A pamphlet published by Mr. Phippen concerning these curious facts attracted the attention of Mr. Marshall, partner in the great flax factory at Leeds. Water was wanted at the mill, and the owners were willing to see whether dowsing could effect anything in the matter. Mr. Marshall invited Adams to come down and search for springs. On one occasion, when blindfolded, Adams failed, but hit the mark pretty nearly in the second attempt, excusing himself for the first failure on the ground that 'he was not used to be blindfolded.' Of the main experiments, Mr. Marshall afterwards said, in a letter to the newspapers, 'I tested Adams by taking him over some deep borings at our manufactory, where he could have no possible guide from anything he could see; and he certainly pointed out nearly the position of the springs, as shown by the produce of the bore-holes, some being much more productive than others. The same was the result at another factory, where Adams could have had no guide from what he saw, and could not have got information otherwise.'"
This superstition has been imported into Australia, where it seems to flourish with remarkable vigour, notwithstanding the boasted enlightenment and civilisation of the race and age. The following paragraph, which appeared in a Melbourne newspaper in the early part of the year 1867, speaks for itself:—
"In the area of Kiora, lying to the southward of Ararat, the settlers, who are very anxious to discover springs of water upon their selections, have engaged the services of an old man, apparently between sixty and seventy years of age, who professes to discover springs by the aid of a divining rod. He has already pointed out two spots where he confidently states water will be found at a moderate depth, and the farmers are now engaged in practically proving his skill. We are told that the diviner holds a slender strip of steel between the finger and thumb of both hands, and walks about the land with it in this position. When water is approached, the rod trembles violently, and the motion ceases as the place is left. One of the settlers, Mr. Tomkins, with the view of testing his accuracy, had the diviner blindfolded (after pointing out the spot where water would be found) and taken to another portion of his land, but he states that the motion of the rod led him, with but little hesitation, back to the same place. The old man refuses to take money for his services till water be obtained, and when proved to exist asks £3 from each individual. He states that the rod was owned by his father, and that it will not indicate water in the hands of any of his brothers. While engaged at Kiora he showed some of the farmers letters which he had received from a number of squatters engaging his services on their stations in a similar capacity; and he left to fulfil these engagements, with a view of returning for payment when the sinking is concluded. He professes to name within three feet of the depth at which water will be obtained, but cannot say if it will prove fresh or salt."
A superstition somewhat akin to that in which the divining rod plays so prominent a part, still lingers in various parts of the country. It is believed that a loaf of wheaten bread, containing a quantity of quicksilver in its centre, will, on being placed in a running stream, rest over the spot where a drowned body lies. The experiment was tried very recently, and an account of it appeared in the newspapers. In this instance, however, the "faithful believers" were grievously disappointed, as the loaf floated past the spot where the body was afterwards discovered.
Another form of this superstition is referred to by Dr. Randal Caldicot, who, evidently, lacked not faith in its efficacy. He says,—"When any Christian is drowned in the river Dee, there will appear over the water where the corpse is, a light, by which means they do find the body, and it is therefore called the holy Dee."
Aubrey, in his "Miscellanies," quotes a letter addressed to Mr. Baxter, referring to the Welsh "corpse-candle" superstitions, in which the writer naively says that the light "doth as much resemble a material candle-light as eggs do eggs."