The Call of the Child (1914)

Ernest Schiller, a wealthy merchant, has the cherished ambition to secure as his son-in-law the Count De Grechy, a member of the nobility. His ambition is about to be realized, for the Count has accepted an urgent invitation to be Schiller's guest. His arrival is hailed with delight by the merchant, who offers the freedom of his home. Bertha, Schiller's daughter, does not experience the same enthusiasm which is manifested by her father. The reason for this is that she has pledged her heart and hand to Franz Rambauld, her sweetheart. The Count's attentions, therefore, are greatly distressing to Bertha. Nevertheless, through her father's insistence, the unfortunate girl is compelled to engage herself to the Count. To celebrate her engagement, her father gives an elaborate reception. During the festivities Bertha joins Franz, and they run away to be married. Three happy years follow, and a little child makes glad the heart of the parents. Franz, through unfortunate speculation, becomes indebted to the Count, who insists upon being paid. To add to his distress, his child is stricken seriously ill, and only the attention of a celebrated specialist can save it. In her distress, Bertha is forced to humbly seek assistance from her mother. Successful in her quest, Bertha returns home. She arrives as her husband is pleading for more time to pay his debts. Realizing her husband's position, she pays the Count's agent with the money she has just received from her mother, forgetting her child's condition for the moment. The neglect proves fatal, and death claims their child. Overwrought by her grief, the mother's mind becomes unbalanced. Even after the child has been laid to rest, the little one still lives in the mother's imagination. Her sad condition breaks down the barrier between her father and herself. Thinking to ease her mind, Franz takes her to the plot where the child is buried. Returning home, she broods over the fact that her child lies in the cold ground, and in spite of the fact that it is mid-winter, she rises in the dead of night and starts for the child's grave. But the grim hand of death claims her ere she reaches her destination.