Still Waters (1915)

When an infant, Nesta is placed inside a circus trunk while her mother, Drasa La Rue, performs in the ring, but when the tents are struck for the move to the next town, the trunk is mistaken for baggage and strapped to a wagon. As the wagon passes along the canal, the trunk is knocked into the water but retrieved by a boatman, who by chance is the baby's grandfather, Joe Martin. Hurt and angered when his daughter ran away with a circus performer, the irascible old Joe watches Nesta closely, rarely allowing her off the canal boat, and consequently, she grows into an extremely naïve young woman. When the circus comes to town, Joe stoutly refuses to let Nesta attend, whereupon she dons her mother's old costume and mounts their recently purchased horse, a former circus animal. Hearing the calliope, the horse charges for the tent, throwing Nesta to the ground. When she awakens, she immediately falls in love with Dr. John Ramsey, the handsome physician who is treating her, and he soon returns her affections. Joe stubbornly opposes the romance, but following an emotional reconciliation with his daughter, he happily blesses the union.