Edna Purviance was pregnant and poor; her lover, Carl Miller, was a penniless artist, and could not pay for their child to be born in a hospital. In an almshouse in northern Los Angeles, the nuns helped Edna give birth to a baby boy. His mother gave him no name. Carl, the father, had not a cent in his pocket to care for the child. He left Edna and decided to forget her, casting her picture into the fire. Edna found herself alone and with nothing – nothing but her poor, luckless child. Beverly Hills was one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in Los Angeles, and fine automobiles were parked on every street. The young mother searched desperately for a way to help her son. Should she abandon him on a doorstep? That would be too risky. She decided to leave him swaddled on the backseat of a handsome limousine, feeling certain its owner would be moved to adopt him. She left a note that read: Please love and care for this orphan child.
Yet again, the kid was out of luck: the car was stolen by two wanton criminals. The rogues were not about to be slowed down by such a burden, and dumped the baby a few streets away. The child cried and squirmed, and could be heard throughout the street. A man turned and saw the child, approaching it gingerly. This man, of course, was none other than the lowest of the low – it was the Tramp himself! He scooped up the baby and shielded it with his hat. How cute he was! Still, the man knew he could not keep the child. He tried to give it away to passers-by, certain he would chance upon a generous soul. He attempted to foist the babe onto an old lady, a businessman, and then an elegant young woman. All refused. What did this tramp want, and where did he get the nerve? But how was he, the big-hearted hobo, to care for a child? As he read the mother’s note, tears welled in his eyes. He could not abandon this poor orphan in his turn. The Tramp looked at the child for a moment, and named him John.
Five years had gone by. John and the Tramp lived a meagre yet happy life in the slums. John assisted the Tramp in his minor schemes; he threw rocks through windows, and was skilled at hiding on street corners and scampering off as soon as he got the chance. The Tramp was a glazier by trade, and every broken window was a blessing. In the meantime, the mother became a rich and famous actress. Times had changed for Edna, but her sadness never dimmed. To try and fill the void left by having abandoned her child, she devoted herself to charity, distributing gifts to the poor children of the city. John was one such child, and as chance would have it he unknowingly received a gift from his mother one day. The child’s father, meanwhile, had also become a successful artist. The painter swaggered around in three-piece suits, smoking a cigar and never sparing a thought for his lost son. The past was in the past; his only regret in life was not having found success sooner. One night, Edna Purviance even ran into him at a high-society party.
At that same moment, in the slums of northern LA, the poor boy had fallen ill. The Tramp wept by his bedside; the only light of his life was about to go out. He wished he could give the boy something, and promise him the best hospitals and the finest care. But he had only his anguish and love to offer. Little John slipped his cold hand into the Tramp’s. His pallid complexion and sunken eyes seemed to suggest death would not be long in coming. Fortunately, Edna Purviance took the poor orphan’s fate into her hands. She called a doctor, who quickly began to treat the child. The kid’s fate was not sealed; John would recover. The Tramp could not hide his joy. The doctor smiled, touched by the father’s love. Yet he could not leave the child in such squalid conditions. Where had the boy come from? The Tramp told his story, and showed him the note left by the child’s mother. The doctor called social services, saying that John must go to an orphanage. But the Tramp refused to abandon his own child. Though they almost came to blows, the Tramp convinced the doctor to leave John with him.
As she returned to the Tramp’s home to enquire after the boy’s condition, the actress ran into the doctor, who told her the full story and showed her the note she could never forget having written.
Alan Alfredo Geday
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