History of Tom Jones, a Foundling

by Henry Fielding

  Chapter v.

  A very long chapter, containing a very great incident.

  But though this victorious deity easily expelled his avowed enemiesfrom the heart of Jones, he found it more difficult to supplant thegarrison which he himself had placed there. To lay aside all allegory,the concern for what must become of poor Molly greatly disturbed andperplexed the mind of the worthy youth. The superior merit of Sophiatotally eclipsed, or rather extinguished, all the beauties of the poorgirl; but compassion instead of contempt succeeded to love. He wasconvinced the girl had placed all her affections, and all her prospectof future happiness, in him only. For this he had, he knew, givensufficient occasion, by the utmost profusion of tenderness towardsher: a tenderness which he had taken every means to persuade her hewould always maintain. She, on her side, had assured him of her firmbelief in his promise, and had with the most solemn vows declared,that on his fulfilling or breaking these promises, it depended,whether she should be the happiest or most miserable of womankind. Andto be the author of this highest degree of misery to a human being,was a thought on which he could not bear to ruminate a single moment.He considered this poor girl as having sacrificed to him everything inher little power; as having been at her own expense the object of hispleasure; as sighing and languishing for him even at that veryinstant. Shall then, says he, my recovery, for which she hath soardently wished; shall my presence, which she hath so eagerlyexpected, instead of giving her that joy with which she hath flatteredherself, cast her at once down into misery and despair? Can I be sucha villain? Here, when the genius of poor Molly seemed triumphant, thelove of Sophia towards him, which now appeared no longer dubious,rushed upon his mind, and bore away every obstacle before it.

  At length it occurred to him, that he might possibly be able to makeMolly amends another way; namely, by giving her a sum of money. This,nevertheless, he almost despaired of her accepting, when herecollected the frequent and vehement assurances he had received fromher, that the world put in balance with him would make her no amendsfor his loss. However, her extreme poverty, and chiefly her egregiousvanity (somewhat of which hath been already hinted to the reader),gave him some little hope, that, notwithstanding all her avowedtenderness, she might in time be brought to content herself with afortune superior to her expectation, and which might indulge hervanity, by setting her above all her equals. He resolved therefore totake the first opportunity of making a proposal of this kind.

  One day, accordingly, when his arm was so well recovered that he couldwalk easily with it slung in a sash, he stole forth, at a season whenthe squire was engaged in his field exercises, and visited his fairone. Her mother and sisters, whom he found taking their tea, informedhim first that Molly was not at home; but afterwards the eldest sisteracquainted him, with a malicious smile, that she was above stairsa-bed. Tom had no objection to this situation of his mistress, andimmediately ascended the ladder which led towards her bed-chamber; butwhen he came to the top, he, to his great surprize, found the doorfast; nor could he for some time obtain any answer from within; forMolly, as she herself afterwards informed him, was fast asleep.

  The extremes of grief and joy have been remarked to produce verysimilar effects; and when either of these rushes on us by surprize, itis apt to create such a total perturbation and confusion, that we areoften thereby deprived of the use of all our faculties. It cannottherefore be wondered at, that the unexpected sight of Mr Jones shouldso strongly operate on the mind of Molly, and should overwhelm herwith such confusion, that for some minutes she was unable to expressthe great raptures, with which the reader will suppose she wasaffected on this occasion. As for Jones, he was so entirely possessed,and as it were enchanted, by the presence of his beloved object, thathe for a while forgot Sophia, and consequently the principal purposeof his visit.

  This, however, soon recurred to his memory; and after the firsttransports of their meeting were over, he found means by degrees tointroduce a discourse on the fatal consequences which must attendtheir amour, if Mr Allworthy, who had strictly forbidden him everseeing her more, should discover that he still carried on thiscommerce. Such a discovery, which his enemies gave him reason to thinkwould be unavoidable, must, he said, end in his ruin, and consequentlyin hers. Since therefore their hard fates had determined that theymust separate, he advised her to bear it with resolution, and swore hewould never omit any opportunity, through the course of his life, ofshowing her the sincerity of his affection, by providing for her in amanner beyond her utmost expectation, or even beyond her wishes, ifever that should be in his power; concluding at last, that she mightsoon find some man who would marry her, and who would make her muchhappier than she could be by leading a disreputable life with him.

  Molly remained a few moments in silence, and then bursting into aflood of tears, she began to upbraid him in the following words: "Andthis is your love for me, to forsake me in this manner, now you haveruined me! How often, when I have told you that all men are false andperjury alike, and grow tired of us as soon as ever they have hadtheir wicked wills of us, how often have you sworn you would neverforsake me! And can you be such a perjury man after all? Whatsignifies all the riches in the world to me without you, now you havegained my heart, so you have--you have--? Why do you mention anotherman to me? I can never love any other man as long as I live. All othermen are nothing to me. If the greatest squire in all the country wouldcome a suiting to me to-morrow, I would not give my company to him.No, I shall always hate and despise the whole sex for your sake."--

  She was proceeding thus, when an accident put a stop to her tongue,before it had run out half its career. The room, or rather garret, inwhich Molly lay, being up one pair of stairs, that is to say, at thetop of the house, was of a sloping figure, resembling the great Deltaof the Greeks. The English reader may perhaps form a better idea ofit, by being told that it was impossible to stand upright anywhere butin the middle. Now, as this room wanted the conveniency of a closet,Molly had, to supply that defect, nailed up an old rug against therafters of the house, which enclosed a little hole where her bestapparel, such as the remains of that sack which we have formerlymentioned, some caps, and other things with which she had latelyprovided herself, were hung up and secured from the dust.

  This enclosed place exactly fronted the foot of the bed, to which,indeed, the rug hung so near, that it served in a manner to supply thewant of curtains. Now, whether Molly, in the agonies of her rage,pushed this rug with her feet; or Jones might touch it; or whether thepin or nail gave way of its own accord, I am not certain; but as Mollypronounced those last words, which are recorded above, the wicked ruggot loose from its fastening, and discovered everything hid behind it;where among other female utensils appeared--(with shame I write it,and with sorrow will it be read)--the philosopher Square, in a posture(for the place would not near admit his standing upright) asridiculous as can possibly be conceived.

  The posture, indeed, in which he stood, was not greatly unlike that ofa soldier who is tied neck and heels; or rather resembling theattitude in which we often see fellows in the public streets ofLondon, who are not suffering but deserving punishment by so standing.He had a nightcap belonging to Molly on his head, and his two largeeyes, the moment the rug fell, stared directly at Jones; so that whenthe idea of philosophy was added to the figure now discovered, itwould have been very difficult for any spectator to have refrainedfrom immoderate laughter.

  I question not but the surprize of the reader will be here equal tothat of Jones; as the suspicions which must arise from the appearanceof this wise and grave man in such a place, may seem so inconsistentwith that character which he hath, doubtless, maintained hitherto, inthe opinion of every one.

  But to confess the truth, this inconsistency is rather imaginary thanreal. Philosophers are composed of flesh and blood as well as otherhuman creatures; and however sublimated and refined the theory ofthese may be, a little practical frailty is as incident to them as toother mortals. It is, indeed, in theory only, and not in practice, as
we have before hinted, that consists the difference: for though suchgreat beings think much better and more wisely, they always actexactly like other men. They know very well how to subdue allappetites and passions, and to despise both pain and pleasure; andthis knowledge affords much delightful contemplation, and is easilyacquired; but the practice would be vexatious and troublesome; and,therefore, the same wisdom which teaches them to know this, teachesthem to avoid carrying it into execution.

  Mr Square happened to be at church on that Sunday, when, as the readermay be pleased to remember, the appearance of Molly in her sack hadcaused all that disturbance. Here he first observed her, and was sopleased with her beauty, that he prevailed with the young gentlemen tochange their intended ride that evening, that he might pass by thehabitation of Molly, and by that means might obtain a second chance ofseeing her. This reason, however, as he did not at that time mentionto any, so neither did we think proper to communicate it then to thereader.

  Among other particulars which constituted the unfitness of things inMr Square's opinion, danger and difficulty were two. The difficultytherefore which he apprehended there might be in corrupting this youngwench, and the danger which would accrue to his character on thediscovery, were such strong dissuasives, that it is probable he atfirst intended to have contented himself with the pleasing ideas whichthe sight of beauty furnishes us with. These the gravest men, after afull meal of serious meditation, often allow themselves by way ofdessert: for which purpose, certain books and pictures find their wayinto the most private recesses of their study, and a certain liquorishpart of natural philosophy is often the principal subject of theirconversation.

  But when the philosopher heard, a day or two afterwards, that thefortress of virtue had already been subdued, he began to give a largerscope to his desires. His appetite was not of that squeamish kindwhich cannot feed on a dainty because another hath tasted it. Inshort, he liked the girl the better for the want of that chastity,which, if she had possessed it, must have been a bar to his pleasures;he pursued and obtained her.

  The reader will be mistaken, if he thinks Molly gave Square thepreference to her younger lover: on the contrary, had she beenconfined to the choice of one only, Tom Jones would undoubtedly havebeen, of the two, the victorious person. Nor was it solely theconsideration that two are better than one (though this had its properweight) to which Mr Square owed his success: the absence of Jonesduring his confinement was an unlucky circumstance; and in thatinterval some well-chosen presents from the philosopher so softenedand unguarded the girl's heart, that a favourable opportunity becameirresistible, and Square triumphed over the poor remains of virtuewhich subsisted in the bosom of Molly.

  It was now about a fortnight since this conquest, when Jones paid theabove-mentioned visit to his mistress, at a time when she and Squarewere in bed together. This was the true reason why the mother deniedher as we have seen; for as the old woman shared in the profitsarising from the iniquity of her daughter, she encouraged andprotected her in it to the utmost of her power; but such was the envyand hatred which the elder sister bore towards Molly, that,notwithstanding she had some part of the booty, she would willinglyhave parted with this to ruin her sister and spoil her trade. Henceshe had acquainted Jones with her being above-stairs in bed, in hopesthat he might have caught her in Square's arms. This, however, Mollyfound means to prevent, as the door was fastened; which gave her anopportunity of conveying her lover behind that rug or blanket where henow was unhappily discovered.

  Square no sooner made his appearance than Molly flung herself back inher bed, cried out she was undone, and abandoned herself to despair.This poor girl, who was yet but a novice in her business, had notarrived to that perfection of assurance which helps off a town lady inany extremity; and either prompts her with an excuse, or else inspiresher to brazen out the matter with her husband, who, from love ofquiet, or out of fear of his reputation--and sometimes, perhaps, fromfear of the gallant, who, like Mr Constant in the play, wears asword--is glad to shut his eyes, and content to put his horns in hispocket. Molly, on the contrary, was silenced by this evidence, andvery fairly gave up a cause which she had hitherto maintained with somany tears, and with such solemn and vehement protestations of thepurest love and constancy.

  As to the gentleman behind the arras, he was not in much lessconsternation. He stood for a while motionless, and seemed equally ata loss what to say, or whither to direct his eyes. Jones, thoughperhaps the most astonished of the three, first found his tongue; andbeing immediately recovered from those uneasy sensations which Mollyby her upbraidings had occasioned, he burst into a loud laughter, andthen saluting Mr Square, advanced to take him by the hand, and torelieve him from his place of confinement.

  Square being now arrived in the middle of the room, in which part onlyhe could stand upright, looked at Jones with a very grave countenance,and said to him, "Well, sir, I see you enjoy this mighty discovery,and, I dare swear, take great delight in the thoughts of exposing me;but if you will consider the matter fairly, you will find you areyourself only to blame. I am not guilty of corrupting innocence. Ihave done nothing for which that part of the world which judges ofmatters by the rule of right, will condemn me. Fitness is governed bythe nature of things, and not by customs, forms, or municipal laws.Nothing is indeed unfit which is not unnatural."--"Well reasoned, oldboy," answered Jones; "but why dost thou think that I should desire toexpose thee? I promise thee, I was never better pleased with thee inmy life; and unless thou hast a mind to discover it thyself, thisaffair may remain a profound secret for me."--"Nay, Mr Jones," repliedSquare, "I would not be thought to undervalue reputation. Good fame isa species of the Kalon, and it is by no means fitting to neglect it.Besides, to murder one's own reputation is a kind of suicide, adetestable and odious vice. If you think proper, therefore, to concealany infirmity of mine (for such I may have, since no man is perfectlyperfect), I promise you I will not betray myself. Things may befitting to be done, which are not fitting to be boasted of; forby the perverse judgment of the world, that often becomes thesubject of censure, which is, in truth, not only innocent butlaudable."--"Right!" cries Jones: "what can be more innocent than theindulgence of a natural appetite? or what more laudable than thepropagation of our species?"--"To be serious with you," answeredSquare, "I profess they always appeared so to me."--"And yet," saidJones, "you was of a different opinion when my affair with this girlwas first discovered."--"Why, I must confess," says Square, "as thematter was misrepresented to me, by that parson Thwackum, I mightcondemn the corruption of innocence: it was that, sir, it wasthat--and that--: for you must know, Mr Jones, in the consideration offitness, very minute circumstances, sir, very minute circumstancescause great alteration."--"Well," cries Jones, "be that as it will, itshall be your own fault, as I have promised you, if you ever hear anymore of this adventure. Behave kindly to the girl, and I will neveropen my lips concerning the matter to any one. And, Molly, do you befaithful to your friend, and I will not only forgive your infidelityto me, but will do you all the service I can." So saying, he took ahasty leave, and, slipping down the ladder, retired with muchexpedition.

  Square was rejoiced to find this adventure was likely to have no worseconclusion; and as for Molly, being recovered from her confusion, shebegan at first to upbraid Square with having been the occasion of herloss of Jones; but that gentleman soon found the means of mitigatingher anger, partly by caresses, and partly by a small nostrum from hispurse, of wonderful and approved efficacy in purging off the illhumours of the mind, and in restoring it to a good temper.

  She then poured forth a vast profusion of tenderness towards her newlover; turned all she had said to Jones, and Jones himself, intoridicule; and vowed, though he once had the possession of her person,that none but Square had ever been master of her heart.