History of Tom Jones, a Foundling

  Chapter xi.

  The narrow escape of Molly Seagrim, with some observations for whichwe have been forced to dive pretty deep into nature.

  Tom Jones had ridden one of Mr Western's horses that morning in thechase; so that having no horse of his own in the squire's stable, hewas obliged to go home on foot: this he did so expeditiously that heran upwards of three miles within the half-hour.

  Just as he arrived at Mr Allworthy's outward gate, he met theconstable and company with Molly in their possession, whom they wereconducting to that house where the inferior sort of people may learnone good lesson, viz., respect and deference to their superiors; sinceit must show them the wide distinction Fortune intends between thosepersons who are to be corrected for their faults, and those who arenot; which lesson if they do not learn, I am afraid they very rarelylearn any other good lesson, or improve their morals, at the house ofcorrection.

  A lawyer may perhaps think Mr Allworthy exceeded his authority alittle in this instance. And, to say the truth, I question, as herewas no regular information before him, whether his conduct wasstrictly regular. However, as his intention was truly upright, heought to be excused in _foro conscientiae_; since so many arbitraryacts are daily committed by magistrates who have not this excuse toplead for themselves.

  Tom was no sooner informed by the constable whither they wereproceeding (indeed he pretty well guessed it of himself), than hecaught Molly in his arms, and embracing her tenderly before them all,swore he would murder the first man who offered to lay hold of her. Hebid her dry her eyes and be comforted; for, wherever she went, hewould accompany her. Then turning to the constable, who stoodtrembling with his hat off, he desired him, in a very mild voice, toreturn with him for a moment only to his father (for so he now calledAllworthy); for he durst, he said, be assured, that, when he hadalledged what he had to say in her favour, the girl would bedischarged.

  The constable, who, I make no doubt, would have surrendered hisprisoner had Tom demanded her, very readily consented to this request.So back they all went into Mr Allworthy's hall; where Tom desired themto stay till his return, and then went himself in pursuit of the goodman. As soon as he was found, Tom threw himself at his feet, andhaving begged a patient hearing, confessed himself to be the father ofthe child of which Molly was then big. He entreated him to havecompassion on the poor girl, and to consider, if there was any guiltin the case, it lay principally at his door.

  "If there is any guilt in the case!" answered Allworthy warmly: "Areyou then so profligate and abandoned a libertine to doubt whether thebreaking the laws of God and man, the corrupting and ruining a poorgirl be guilt? I own, indeed, it doth lie principally upon you; and soheavy it is, that you ought to expect it should crush you."

  "Whatever may be my fate," says Tom, "let me succeed in myintercessions for the poor girl. I confess I have corrupted her! butwhether she shall be ruined, depends on you. For Heaven's sake, sir,revoke your warrant, and do not send her to a place which mustunavoidably prove her destruction."

  Allworthy bid him immediately call a servant. Tom answered there wasno occasion; for he had luckily met them at the gate, and relying uponhis goodness, had brought them all back into his hall, where they nowwaited his final resolution, which upon his knees he besought himmight be in favour of the girl; that she might be permitted to go hometo her parents, and not be exposed to a greater degree of shame andscorn than must necessarily fall upon her. "I know," said he, "that istoo much. I know I am the wicked occasion of it. I will endeavour tomake amends, if possible; and if you shall have hereafter the goodnessto forgive me, I hope I shall deserve it."

  Allworthy hesitated some time, and at last said, "Well, I willdischarge my mittimus.--You may send the constable to me." He wasinstantly called, discharged, and so was the girl.

  It will be believed that Mr Allworthy failed not to read Tom a verysevere lecture on this occasion; but it is unnecessary to insert ithere, as we have faithfully transcribed what he said to Jenny Jones inthe first book, most of which may be applied to the men, equally withthe women. So sensible an effect had these reproofs on the young man,who was no hardened sinner, that he retired to his own room, where hepassed the evening alone, in much melancholy contemplation.

  Allworthy was sufficiently offended by this transgression of Jones;for notwithstanding the assertions of Mr Western, it is certain thisworthy man had never indulged himself in any loose pleasures withwomen, and greatly condemned the vice of incontinence in others.Indeed, there is much reason to imagine that there was not the leasttruth in what Mr Western affirmed, especially as he laid the scene ofthose impurities at the university, where Mr Allworthy had never been.In fact, the good squire was a little too apt to indulge that kind ofpleasantry which is generally called rhodomontade: but which may, withas much propriety, be expressed by a much shorter word; and perhaps wetoo often supply the use of this little monosyllable by others; sincevery much of what frequently passes in the world for wit and humour,should, in the strictest purity of language, receive that shortappellation, which, in conformity to the well-bred laws of custom, Ihere suppress.

  But whatever detestation Mr Allworthy had to this or to any othervice, he was not so blinded by it but that he could discern any virtuein the guilty person, as clearly indeed as if there had been nomixture of vice in the same character. While he was angry thereforewith the incontinence of Jones, he was no less pleased with the honourand honesty of his self-accusation. He began now to form in his mindthe same opinion of this young fellow, which, we hope, our reader mayhave conceived. And in balancing his faults with his perfections, thelatter seemed rather to preponderate.

  It was to no purpose, therefore, that Thwackum, who was immediatelycharged by Mr Blifil with the story, unbended all his rancour againstpoor Tom. Allworthy gave a patient hearing to their invectives, andthen answered coldly: "That young men of Tom's complexion were toogenerally addicted to this vice; but he believed that youth wassincerely affected with what he had said to him on the occasion, andhe hoped he would not transgress again." So that, as the days ofwhipping were at an end, the tutor had no other vent but his own mouthfor his gall, the usual poor resource of impotent revenge.

  But Square, who was a less violent, was a much more artful man; and ashe hated Jones more perhaps than Thwackum himself did, so he contrivedto do him more mischief in the mind of Mr Allworthy.

  The reader must remember the several little incidents of thepartridge, the horse, and the Bible, which were recounted in thesecond book. By all which Jones had rather improved than injured theaffection which Mr Allworthy was inclined to entertain for him. Thesame, I believe, must have happened to him with every other person whohath any idea of friendship, generosity, and greatness of spirit, thatis to say, who hath any traces of goodness in his mind.

  Square himself was not unacquainted with the true impression whichthose several instances of goodness had made on the excellent heart ofAllworthy; for the philosopher very well knew what virtue was, thoughhe was not always perhaps steady in its pursuit; but as for Thwackum,from what reason I will not determine, no such thoughts ever enteredinto his head: he saw Jones in a bad light, and he imagined Allworthysaw him in the same, but that he was resolved, from pride andstubbornness of spirit, not to give up the boy whom he had oncecherished; since by so doing, he must tacitly acknowledge that hisformer opinion of him had been wrong.

  Square therefore embraced this opportunity of injuring Jonesin the tenderest part, by giving a very bad turn to all thesebefore-mentioned occurrences. "I am sorry, sir," said he, "to own Ihave been deceived as well as yourself. I could not, I confess, helpbeing pleased with what I ascribed to the motive of friendship, thoughit was carried to an excess, and all excess is faulty and vicious: butin this I made allowance for youth. Little did I suspect that thesacrifice of truth, which we both imagined to have been made tofriendship, was in reality a prostitution of it to a depraved anddebauched appetite. You now plainly see whence all the seeminggenerosity of this young man to th
e family of the gamekeeperproceeded. He supported the father in order to corrupt the daughter,and preserved the family from starving, to bring one of them to shameand ruin. This is friendship! this is generosity! As Sir RichardSteele says, `Gluttons who give high prices for delicacies, are veryworthy to be called generous.' In short I am resolved, from thisinstance, never to give way to the weakness of human nature more, norto think anything virtue which doth not exactly quadrate with theunerring rule of right."

  The goodness of Allworthy had prevented those considerations fromoccurring to himself; yet were they too plausible to be absolutely andhastily rejected, when laid before his eyes by another. Indeed whatSquare had said sunk very deeply into his mind, and the uneasinesswhich it there created was very visible to the other; though the goodman would not acknowledge this, but made a very slight answer, andforcibly drove off the discourse to some other subject. It was wellperhaps for poor Tom, that no such suggestions had been made before hewas pardoned; for they certainly stamped in the mind of Allworthy thefirst bad impression concerning Jones.