Dead Authors
The frolicsome moods of the Lodge table must have been disconcerting even to such a receptive and sympathetic circle. It performed little tricks like lying down, or holding two feet in the air, apparently for its own innocent delight. It emulated Æsop's affectionate ass, and "seemed to wish to get into Lady Lodge's lap, and made caressing movements to and fro, as if it could not get close enough to her." It jocularly thumped piano-players on the back; and when a cushion was held up to protect them, it banged a hole in the cover. What wonder that several tables were broken "during the more exuberant period of these domestic sittings, before the power was under control"; and that the family was compelled to provide a strong and heavy article which could stand the "skylarking" (Sir Oliver's word) of supernatural visitors.
The ouija board, though an improvement on the table, is mechanical and
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