and in that case I should undoubtedly have lost it. This is about as near as I ever came with the gods to successful prophecy. And yet to divine would seem to be of the very essence of divinity.
Altogether the most interesting feature of the case, psychologically, was the great ease of possession, due, as I am convinced, to the sex of the subject. In possessions by the Nichiren sect the god prefers women for embodiment; the only exception being the occasional employment of children as divine subjects. For in this sect men are never possessed.
At another séance by the same sect, four priests and a woman took part. There were no finger-twistings, and the service generally was short and simple. A hanging scroll of Kishibojin was suspended in the recess of honor; while below it a small altar, overlaid with rich brocade, stood flanked by two gohei-wands. The principal priest put on white silk robes, and the woman a white cotton surplice. At first she sat disinterestedly to one side.
At the close of the preliminary service the chief officiator beckoned to her to take
