ust be employed.
The spirit made its requirements known, and by promising the sacrifices
ordained, the family passed under a bondage from which none dared to
emancipate himself by omitting the prescribed rites. Night after night,
at the medium's command a table was spread at the cross-roads, on which
were laid the fantastic foods suitable to the requirements of the
departed spirit. Gold and silver paper money was plentifully burned,
crackers were fired, and following the medium, a party of men left to
place earthen bowls containing grains at various corners of the roads.

Nothing but the deliverance of Christianity, or a daring known to few,
can set free those who have been entangled in such practices.

I saw this medium whilst under spirit control. Before a table
elaborately decorated on which incense burned, she threw herself into
extraordinary contortions, quivering and shaking, her finger and thumb
forming a circle, whilst the little finger vibrated continuously. She
sustained a perpetual chant in the peculiar spirit voice, the minor
strains of which I find it impossible to describe. A relative of the
deceased acted as questioner, and she dictated the terms by the
fulfilment of which the spirit consented to a reconciliation.

Another manifestation of mediumship may be found in the more or less
conscious yielding of the personality to a controlling spiritualistic
influence, known as _demon possession_. Remarkable cases have come under
my own personal observation, and all incidents which I quote have been
witnessed by foreign missionaries who are prepared to vouch for their
accuracy. Those brought to my notice by reliable Chinese are too
numerous to include in this book, but the fact that men and women who
lay themselves open to demoniacal influences become possessed, is
beyond dispute. In many cases the possession follows upon a fit of
uncontrolled temper, such as is not uncommon amongst the Chinese; in
others it is connected with the taking of a vow on the occasion of
illness in the home, when service was promised to some particular god;
or again, it has been undoubtedly connected with the neglect to
completely remove idols from the home of a Christian.

In yet other cases, a spirit may take temporary possession of a human
body in order to find a means of expression for some important
communication, and after delivering its message leave the person
unconscious of that which has taken place. An instance of this oc