ning-rod; but whether it
is so solely I am unable to decide. The powers of Nature are so
mysterious and inscrutable that we must be cautious in limiting them,
under abnormal conditions, to the ordinary laws of experience.' As,
however, Jacques Aymar failed ignominiously under all the subsequent
trials to which he was subjected, the most reasonable explanation of his
success, with regard to the Lyons murder, is that he was by nature a
clever detective, and that he was favoured by circumstances after he had
once caught a clue.

To return to the employment of the divining-rod in England, we find
numerous instances of its application in searching for water, and these
instances happen to be among the best authenticated of any on record.
Some years ago a writer in the _Times_ boldly declared that he had
himself seen the rod successfully used in seeking for water. He had even
tried it himself, with the determination that the rod should not be
allowed to twist, 'even if an ocean rolled under his feet.' But he
confessed that it did twist in spite of him, and that at the place was
found a concealed spring.

Then it is recorded of Lady Milbanke, mother of Lord Byron's wife, that
she had found a well by the violent twisting of the twig held in the
orthodox way in her hand--turning so violently, indeed, as almost to
break her fingers. Dr. Hutton was a witness of the affair, and has
recorded his experience, which is quoted in a curious book called
Jacob's Rod, published in London many years ago. This case, and others,
were cited by a writer in the twenty-second volume of the _Quarterly
Review_. De Quincey also asserted that he had frequently seen the
divining-rod successfully used in the quest of water, and declared that,
'whatever science or scepticism may say, most of the tea-kettles in the
Vale of Wrington, North Somersetshire, are filled by Rabdomancy.' Mr.
Baring-Gould also quotes the case of a friend of his own who was
personally acquainted with a Scotch lady who could detect hidden springs
with a twig, which was inactive in the hands of others who tried it on
the same spots.

Other instances might be cited, but enough has been said to show that
the magic rod, from the earliest periods, has been an instrument of
supernatural attributes, and that even to this day in our own country it
is still believed by some to have the special faculty of indicating the
presence of minerals and water. With regard to minerals, there are no