must pass in which the spirit control
assumes charge of the body of the medium, and this takes some time and
is usually accomplished in steps. First, the medium gives evidence of
inspirational speaking by uttering guttural sounds, and very often his
mouth merely moves without giving forth any sound whatever. Little by
little the control gains access to the inner atmosphere of the medium,
and when he has broken the final barriers, he can speak and act and
deliver what he has to say. But it must be remembered that the mind of
the medium is not to be left out of the question entirely. He is often
called upon to aid in the interpretation of the speeches the spirit
delivers, and these he may misinterpret and lend to them color of his
own mentality, without his conscious intention to do so, however."

Value of Identification.

In impersonation mediumship, however, no matter how interesting the
manifestation may be, it is of prime importance that the identity of the
spirit should be clearly established, providing that the spirit himself
claims positively to be some particular individual; this, of course,
does not apply to instances in which the spirit does not claim identity
with any particular departed person, and where the communications are
given anonymously. It is this feature of identification that renders
this phase of mediumship so valuable and important. A well-known
medium, in a trance state, once delivered the following message from a
spirit: "Impersonation mediumship is the most valuable that the world
can possibly have today. When by the aid of the impersonating medium,
the inquirer is enabled to converse with his beloved deceased friends,
and they make themselves actually visible in the personality of the
medium, plain to consciousness and understanding, and tell him
specifically points and facts of identity and experience that are
utterly beyond the power of any other intelligence to tell, then he has
something borne in upon him through the senses of sight, of hearing and
understanding that appeals to him. Therefore, the impersonating medium
is the most valuable medium you can present to inquirers." Another
mediumistic writer has said: "This kind of mediumship carries conviction
of the real presence of the so-called dead, and your aim should be to
get into communication with the intelligent operator at the other end of
the line, and elicit from him evidences of his identity and purpose.
Table movements, raps,