_Rhabdomancy_ is the power considered by some as existing in particular individuals, partly natural and partly acquired, of discovering things hid in the earth, especially metals, ores, and bodies of water, by a change in their perceptions, and likewise the art of aiding the discovery of these substances by the use of certain instruments; for example, the divining rod. That rhabdomancy, generally speaking, is little more than self-delusion, or intentional deception, is now the opinion of most natural philosophers and physiologists. Still it has some champions. From the most remote periods, indications are found of the art of discovering veins of ore and water concealed in the bowels of the earth, by a direct perception of their existence. The divining rod is held in the hand so that the curvature is inclined outward. If the person who holds the rod possesses the powers of rhabdomancy, and touches the metallic or any other magnetic substance, or comes near them, a slow, rotatory motion of the rod ensues in different directions, according to particular circumstances; and, as in the other cases, no motion takes place without a direct or indirect contact with a living person. In the South of France and Switzerland this art is frequently made use of under the name of METALLOSCOPE (when discovering or feeling for metals,) and of HYDROSCOPE (when discovering or feeling for water). * * * * * [_From Chamber's Cyclopedia._] THE DIVINING ROD--often called the Virgula Divina, the Baculus Divinatorius, the Caduceus, or Wand of Mercury, the Rod of Aaron, etc.--is a forked branch, usually of hazel, sometimes of iron, or even brass or copper, by which it has been pretended that minerals and water have been discovered beneath the surface of the earth. The rod when suspended by the two prongs, sometimes between the balls of the thumbs, will distinctly indicate by a decided inclination, it is alleged, the spot over which the concealed mine or spring is situated. Many men, even of some pretensions to scientific knowledge, have been believers in the occult power ascribed to the magic wand. Agricola, Sperlingius, and Kirchmayer, all believed in its supernatural influence. So did Richelet, the author of the Dictionary. The learned Morhoff remained in suspense, while Thouvenot and Pryce, in the latter part of the eighteenth century, gave ample records of its power. In a work published by Dr. Herbert Mayo, in 1847 and 1851, entitled, "On the Truth Contained in Popular Superstitions," he gave some curious illustrations of the art, supposed to be possessed by one in forty of the Cornish miners. At Weilbach, in Nassau, he likewise met with one Leebold, who, he says, possessed the power, but afterwards lost it.