A Militant Suffragette (1913)

The indifferent reception by her mother who is a zealous worker in the suffragette cause, drives Nellie, just returned from a long absence at boarding school, and her father to her sister's home. While enjoying the pleasures of life in the country, the young girl is attracted by a passing horseman, who later proves to be Lord Ascue, a member of Parliament. All efforts to meet him are thwarted by her companions to whom the stranger is known. She even goes so far as to invent ways of meeting him which fail until the news is brought her of a chance to be introduced at a forthcoming garden party. In the meantime one of the girl's companions, having gained her father's permission to lay siege to her heart, takes advantage of Ascue's inability to attend the party, to plead his cause, but without success. The downcast lover confides his failure to the girl's father, whose interference in the case provokes her to return to her mother. The discontent of her daughter offers the mother the opportunity to attract her to the suffragette movement and the girl immediately becomes a zealous worker. Her arrest follows shortly after her activities in a crusade, but a hunger strike wins her freedom. In the meantime. Lord Ascue, having neglected his fiancée, is threatened by her with breach of promise suit with his love letters as evidence. The suffragettes hear he is preparing an anti-suffragette bill which he intends to bring before Parliament and plan a sweeping campaign. The Lord's fiancée gives the women valuable ammunition against him in the form of the love letters and Nellie grasps the opportunity, not knowing the man she plans to strike down is the stranger she loves. The young suffragette goes forth to subdue the enemy of the women's cause, armed with the love letters and a bomb, which she places in the statesman's study, set to explode at midnight, but her mission fails. The identity of the man now known to her, Nellie immediately plans to undo her rash act and save her lover. A note is addressed to Lord Ascue. warning him of his danger, but his answer relieves the girl by leading her to believe he will be out of danger through his absence from home when the bomb goes off. She learns later from a newspaper that the meeting he is to attend is to be in his own home, and vainly tries to warn him of impending danger. Through the help of one of his colleagues, Nellie finally succeeds in having Lord Ascue leave his study to see her, just as the bomb explodes. To allay suspicion of his friends, the girl is announced as the Lord's fiancée and a little later their mutual love for each other is proclaimed. The statesman has the support of Parliament in his fight against votes for women, but the girl has sacrificed her cause for a victory by the heart.