_Key Experiments._--Can some one of your correspondents afford me an
explanation of the principles controlling the following experiment: Two
persons, taking a large key, hold it balanced by the handle upon the
forefinger of their opposite hands; the key should be tied in a thin
book, with the handle projecting so far that the finger may easily pass
between the book and the handle; the book serves to balance the key by
its weight, and exhibits more plainly any movement of the key; both
persons then wish the key to turn to the right or left, and, after a few
moments, the key will take the desired direction. The earnest and united
wish of the operators appears to be the motive power. The divination by
"the Bible and key," given in your Vol. i., p. 413., and Vol. ii., p.
5., is evidently based on the same principles; and the mention of that
superstition will be an apology for my making your pages the medium of
the present inquiry, which is perhaps scarcely fitted for a publication
designed for literary purposes.
J. P. Jun.
_Shield of Hercules._--In which of the English periodicals can I have
met with a drawing of the Shield of Hercules, as described by Hesiod?