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222 COXTIXUITY dent of his embarkation. Perhaps you merely forget to put it in its proper place, so after his arrival he tells all about the start. The mind must leave the plot for a moment to place this fact of embarkation in its proper place before the arrival, again recall the arrival and then go on with the story. The continuity is interrupted. This is not an ar- gument against all visions. It assuredly is a plea for a temperate and modest use of visions only where visioning will be of such material benefit to a story that the advantage of the presentation of fact at this point overcomes the disadvantage of the interruption caused. 8. In the second aspect of continuity scenes must be placed in their proper order. In this connection we refer to the scene as such and not to the fact the scene may convey. The action that occurs at ten min- utes past one must be shown before the occurrence of a quarter be- fore two, though from a plot viewpoint it may not matter which of these two facts is first presented. When the action jumps forward an appreciable period, the audience must be acquainted with the fact either by inference or statement. By inference a break leader may suggest the passage of an indeterminate but readily approximated period. We see a certain sequence of action. It seems to terminate. Perhaps the heroine seeks engagement with a theatrical company, the run of action terminating with her success in obtaining employment. It is not necessary to say that after rehearsals lasting six weeks and three days Janet makes her debut. Instead "The night of her debut"' will suggest some undetermined interval for rehearsal and preparation. The exact length of time is not essential. It is merely suggested that a certain period has elapsed. On the other hand, if it is desired to suggest the passage of a considerable time it is better to say "Five years later. Janet is a star," than to use only the latter half, which may suggest that as a result of this very recent engagement our heroine has at once leaped into the stellar position on the mimic stage. 9. Time leaders may be required for very brief periods. We see Tom and Nancy in the library. They are much interested in each other. Suddenly they are whisked out of the scene as though by magic, Nan- cy's father is as miraculously placed at the desk and Silas Sprague is ushered in to tell tliat unless Nancy marries him he will foreclose the mortgage on the mill. This is not understandable unless we are ad- vised that it is "That afternoon," "The next day," or whatever it may be. Then we can understand why Tom and Nancy are no longer sit- ting there and the leader serves also as an act drop. It brings one action to a definite close before opening the next. This is particu- larly desirable when both actions are placed in the same setting, for the room will present the same appearance and the change of charac- ters will present a transformation effect that is disturbing, to say the least. 10. If the lapse of time is comparatively unimportant, then the two scenes in the same set may be divided by showing some other action. Perhaps we see Tom and Nancy leave the scene. Now we see Silas