esson that ought to prove of great benefit to humanity."

Beth was looking at him curiously now. Patsy was serious and very
attentive. As Uncle John asked his visitor to be seated his voice
betrayed the interest he felt in the conversation.

"Of course we saw only a bit of the picture," said Patsy Doyle. "What was
it all about, Mr. Werner?"

"We try," said he, slowly and impressively, as if in love with his
theme, "to give to our pictures an educational value, as well as to
render them entertaining. Some of them contain a high moral lesson;
others, a warning; many, an incentive to live purer and nobler lives.
All of our plots are conceived with far more thought than you may
suppose. Underlying many of our romances and tragedies are moral
injunctions which are involuntarily absorbed by the observers, yet of so
subtle a nature that they are not suspected. We cannot preach except by
suggestion, for people go to our picture shows to be amused. If we
hurled righteousness at them they would soon desert us, and we would be
obliged to close up shop."

"I must confess that this is, to me, a most novel presentation of the
subject," said Beth, more graciously. "Personally, I care little for your
pictures; but I can understand how travel scenes and scientific or
educational subjects might be of real benefit to the people."

"I can't understand anyone's being indifferent to the charm of motion
pictures," he responded, somewhat reproachfully.

"Why, at first they struck me as wonderful," said the girl. "They were
such a novel invention that I went to see them from pure curiosity. But,
afterward, the subjects presented in the pictures bored me. The drama
pictures were cheap and common, the comedy scenes worse; so I kept away
from the picture theatres."

"Educational pictures," said Mr. Werner, musingly, "have proved a
failure, as I hinted, except when liberally interspersed with scenes of
action and human interest. The only financial failures among the host of
motion picture theatres, so far as I have observed, are those that have
attempted to run travel scenes and educational films exclusively. There
are so few people with your--eh--culture and--and--elevated tastes, you
see, when compared with the masses."

"But tell us about _our_ picture," pleaded Patsy. "What lesson can that
falling wall possibly convey?"

"I'll be glad to explain that," he eagerly replied, "for I am quite proud
of it, I assure you. There are many build