r example, and at such times will tear round the table like
a living thing, pointing first to one letter and then to another, and
accentuating its meaning or calling attention to certain letters that
are important, or that have been omitted in the rapid spelling, by
rapping impatiently on the latter with the point--the point being lifted
off the board at such times half an inch or so, and the board remaining
planted on its two hind legs. I have seen the front leg of the board rap
a dozen or so times on a letter that had been omitted; and sometimes the
board would get so violent that it had to be quieted--just as the hand
in automatic writing has to be quieted. Then, again, the board gets a
certain "technique" of its own, acting in certain ways on certain
occasions, and in other ways on other occasions; and frequently assuming
a perfectly definite _form_ of movement with certain persons--a certain
sweep or an erratic manner of pointing to letters which it maintains
uniformly so long as that person has his or her hands on the board.
Occasionally the ouija will assume a different personality, according to
the communicating intelligence, and not according to the person having
his hands on the board. Just as raps or tables assume distinct
personalities (see Dr. Maxwell's book for examples of this), so the
ouija board assumes a perfectly definite personality, on occasion, and
moves and writes according to that personality's idiosyncrasies. And
this becomes all the more marked when we take into account certain
peculiarities of the board--for example, its unwillingness to give names
and dates, or to furnish any definite information about itself. I have
observed over and over again that, whenever the intelligence doing the
writing is closely questioned about itself, it will become angry, and
refuse to give this information--either sulking or swearing at the
writers. On the other hand, the board has some good points. It refused
to disclose secrets about other persons, and got angry in the same way
when pressed. Another exceedingly interesting and suggestive thing is
that the intelligence operating the board occasionally gets tired. "Give
me a rest now" is an expression frequently observed, and would seem to
indicate that the "intelligence" gets confused and fatigued by the very
process of communicating its thoughts--just as the "controls" do in the
Piper case.

The very movements of the board frequently showed great skill and
int