The story
“The daughter of a wealthy man imagined she was deeply in love with her father’s chauffeur, and demanded that she be allowed to marry him. When her father very properly and angrily refused, the young woman was urged by her suitor to elope with him and very foolishly consented. In a short time her romance was utterly dispelled. The chauffeur threw off the mask and bluntly told his wife that he had no intention of supporting her. Then he deserted her, and the last that was heard of him was that he was beating his way out West on a freight train. The wife soon fell into financial straits. The few valuables she had were sold or pawned. She sought her father. The interview was an unsatisfactory one. The man showed no signs of relenting, but with his arms about his niece, told his daughter that the little one had sole possession of his affections. He ordered her away. She was hardly out of sight before the little girl pleaded with the old man to forget and forgive, and finally won him over. Joyously she raced after the woman and overtook her. The woman, however, was not grateful. She spurned the child and proceeded on her way. Then the accident occurred. The child leaned too hard on a frail railing and she fell into the water. The woman at first refused to extend any assistance. However, her better nature asserted itself. She leaped from the bridge, rescued the child, and brought her safely to shore. The woman’s father had witnessed the accident, but feebleness prevented him from arriving in time to extend any aid. He realized the temptation to which his daughter had been subjected, and how bravely she had overcome it. The father’s arms were outstretched and he embraced his erring daughter.”
Summary from The Moving Picture World · 24 August 1912
