Connected with these fancies is the theory that the traditional dragon of heraldry and of the Chinese is a memory handed down to the present day from immensely remote times, when—so we are asked to believe—man co-existed with the great extinct dragon-like creatures known as pterodactyles (see "Science from an Easy Chair," First Series; Methuen, 1910). As a matter of fact the heraldic dragon does not closely resemble the pterodactyle or other extinct reptiles, and is an imaginative creation of human artists based upon the realities of the great pythons of India and the little parachute lizard (8 inches long) of the same region, known to zoologists as Draco volans. The close agreement of this little lizard with European heraldic representations of the dragon is conclusive as to the origin of the details of form and appearance assigned to that legendary beast, though the great size ascribed to it and the terror associated with it is traceable to the great snakes of the Far East—"drako" being the Greek word for a serpent. And further, there is very good ground for concluding that a long interval of geologic ages separates the disappearance of the great extinct reptiles and the pterodactyles from the appearance, on this globe, of the earliest man-like apes, and no reason to suppose that the latter could have handed on any knowledge of such extinct reptiles to their descendants, even had they seen such creatures.
CHAPTER XXXIX
THE DIVINING-ROD
THE divining-rod, spoken of by the Romans as "virgula divina," and mentioned by Cicero and by Tacitus, was a different thing altogether from the modern forked twig of the water-finder, and seems to be of immemorial antiquity. Its use in "divination" was similar to that practised with a ring or a sieve suspended by a string. When the rod is thrown into the air and falls to the ground, or when the suspended object is set moving, it eventually comes to rest, and when thus at rest must point in one particular direction. It was supposed that gods or spirits invoked at the moment guided the movement and final position of rest, so as to make the divining-rod or ring or sieve point to buried treasure, to an undetected murderer, or to a witch or wizard who had used magic arts to injure the person seeking its aid. Bits of stick are so used at the present day by some savage races. The notion leading to its use is the same as that which has led to augury by inspection of an animal's entrails, by the flight of birds, and other such varying appearances. The notion is that an unseen protective power will, when properly invoked, interfere with the blindly varying thing and make it vary so as to give indications either of hidden objects or of future events. The unseen power which thus revealed itself was primitively supposed to be that of a god or a spirit, but later the augur or intermediary who worked the "show" acquired exclusive importance and arrogated to himself mysterious powers. The same transference of importance has come about in the case of the modern hazel-twig and the "douser," who now claims to "divine" without its aid.
The tossing of a halfpenny to decide as to alternative courses of action, still almost universally prevalent in this country, is in origin (and largely in actual practice) an appeal to supernatural powers to give an indication by interference with the natural fall of the coin, as to which of the alternative courses is the more favourable to the interests of the individual who tosses the coin or agrees to follow its decision if tossed by someone else. "Heads I go; tails I stay where I am." Of a like nature is the drawing of lots, and so are a number of similar practices originally devised for the purpose of obtaining guidance from supernatural sources. Some of them have survived without any associated superstition, and are commonly used at the present day merely in order to obtain an impersonal decision as to which of two or more claimants is to enjoy a certain privilege or exemption, as, for instance, when a coin is tossed to decide as to which side of the river at the start shall be occupied by competitors in a boat race, or which shall have choice of innings in a cricket match, or as when lots are drawn to determine who shall enjoy exemption from military service. But even in these cases there are large numbers of men and women who believe that some mysterious power which could possibly be won over to their side, or else what they call "a special providence," determines the issue. There are, I need hardly say, no facts which justify the belief in any such interruption of the orderly course of nature.
The forked twig (virgula furcata of the alchemists) used by water-finders has another significance and history. The forked twig is held, one branch in one hand and the other branch in the other hand, by the explorer. After a time, as the explorer walks along, the twig suddenly, and even vigorously, "plunges" or "ducks" as he holds it. It seems to do so "of its own accord." The old English word "douse" signifies ducking, dipping, or plunging. The forked twig "douses." Hence the persons who use it are called "dousers." The belief is widespread that this dousing or plunging of the forked twig is caused by the presence of a vein of metallic ore in the ground, or in other cases by the presence of subterranean water. It is interesting to ascertain what grounds there are for this belief.
The dousing-rod or twig is first mentioned in the fifteenth century by a writer on alchemy (Basil Valentine), and in 1546 by Agricola (De re metallica), who says it must be either of willow or hazel, and describes its use in the discovery of metalliferous veins and subterranean water. The purely fantastic belief on which its use was based was part of the doctrine of "sympathies." It was supposed that the branches of certain plants were drawn to certain "sympathetic" metals in the earth beneath them—a supposition suggested by the downward growth or "weeping" of the branches of trees and bushes in some cases. By the Germans the forked twig used in searching for metals or water was called "Schlagruthe," which has the same meaning as "dousing" or "plunging" or "striking rod." It was introduced into England by German miners who were employed in the time of Queen Elizabeth by merchant venturers in working the Cornish mines—and it has remained with us ever since—though one hears little at the present day of its use in searching for metalliferous deposits, and more about the supposed wonderful results obtained with its aid by professional water-finders.
We have to distinguish the facts established in regard to "the dousing-twig" from the inferences and suppositions based upon those facts by credulous people. There is no room for doubt that when the forked twig, in shape like a letter Y upside down, is held by a more or less nervous but perfectly honest person who takes the matter very seriously, and holds firmly one branch of the fork in one hand and the other in the other hand, the fingers well round it so as to bring it against the palm of the hand, a strange thing happens after some minutes. The twig seems to the person holding it to give a sudden movement as though drawn downwards. If he or she is walking along, intently awaiting this movement, and believing that it will be caused by some subterranean attraction, the effect is, naturally enough, startling. It occurs more readily with some persons than with others. What is the explanation of it? There is no necessity for supposing that it is due to any mysterious attraction by hidden water or metal. It has been clearly shown that it is due to fatigue of the muscles which are employed in keeping the hands and fingers in position. The muscles in use suddenly relax, and the hands turn to a new pose—one of rest—and with them the forked twig. In most persons attention and control are sufficiently active to prevent this sudden relaxation of the muscles. But those who are liable to mental absorption in the strange procedure, and are apt to become half-dazed by the solemn sort of "rite" in which they are engaged, find their tired hands (tired, though they are unconscious of it) suddenly turning, and the twig "ducking" downwards in a way which they can neither explain nor control. Such persons are the honest, self-deceived "dousers," who are, and have been, sufficiently numerous to establish a belief in the existence of a mysterious agency causing the twig to "duck." No doubt originally, with complete innocence and honesty, this mysterious agency was believed to be a sort of magnetic attraction due to a sympathy between the twig and subterranean metal. In later days, without any attempt to give a reason for the change, the same class of people have believed that it was water far below the surface of the earth which was the cause of the attraction, and consequent ducking or dousing of the twig.