200
Divinmg Cups.
[Book II,
in the city of Ellis—the glass tomb of Belus which was full of oil, andwhich when once emptied by Xerxes could not again be filled—the weep-ing statues, and the perpetual lamps-all the obvious effects of the equi-librium and pressure of fluids.”
The cup of Tantalus will be ound described in the Chapter on Si-phons in Book V. Divining cups may be noticed here, as there is reasonto believe that water was suspended in sorae of them by atmosphericpressure; while in others, sounds were produced by the expulsion ofair through secret cavities formed within them. Divination by water hasprevailed from immemorial time, and in the eastern world, has been prac-tised in a great yariety of ways. Sometimes the inquirers into futurityperformed the requisite ceremonies themselves, and with ordinary instru-menta, as when a mirror or looking-glass was used; (see page 34) atother times professional sorcerers were employed. These men, as a mat-ter of course, provided their own apparatus, and hence had every oppor-tunity in its construction of concealing within some part, the deviee uponwhich their deceptions turned.
Of all the implements connected with Hydromancy, CUPS are the mostinteresting. They are among the earliest that history has mentioned,(Genesis, xliv, 5,) and they have longer retained a place in the conjurer’sbudget than any other. They were used by astrologers of Europe duringthe middle ages, and are not yet wholly abandoned in that pärt of theworld. Like all devices of the old magicians, ingenuity seems to havebeen exhausted in their formation and in adapting them to different spe-cies of jugglery. They were of various materials; while some were ofsilver like Joseph’s, others were of wood, glass, stone, &c. according tothe nature of the trick to be performed by them. Sometimes presageswere drawn from obserying the liquid through the sides of the cup; forthis purpose it was made of a translucent material; but then one side wasleft thick while the others were thin, so that the contents were in visiblethrough the former, but quite plain through the latter. The indicationswere considered favorable when the liquid was clear and distinctly seen,and unfavorable if the inquirer could not perceive it—thus either sidewas presented by the conjurer as best suited his views. The same trickis still performed in some of the churches in Italy ; one side of the gobletor glass is made opaque, while the other is transparent. With other cupsit was the motion or agitation of the liquid that was looked for: if it re-mained at rest, the omen was bad—if violently moved, good. This kindof divination most likely depended on legerdemain or ‘ sleight of hand,’in dropping unperceived some substance into the vessel that produced ef-fervescence—or by opening a secret communication with a cavity in thestem or base of the vessel, containing a liquid that had a similar effect. InJapan it is common to place a pot of water on the head; if the liquidboil over, the presage is good, “but if it stirs not, bad luck.’ ,a Amongthe prodigies mentioned by Herodotus , is one of this kind: the flesh ofa victim sacrificed during the Olympic games, was placed in brazen caubdrons, and “the water boiled up and overflowed without the interventionof fire,” (B. i, 59.) The emerald cup, by which the priests of Mentzdeluded people in the dark ages, belongs to the same dass. On certamdays, two or three extremely minute fishes were secretly put in, and bytheir motions in the water produced such an effect that the people werepersuaded “the cup was alive.” b