The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling

At midnight, an Irishman arrives at the inn and urgently inquires after a woman. Thinking that he means Mrs. Waters, Susan the maid shows him to that room. The man bursts inside, waking Tom, who confronts him. The intruder’s name is Fitzpatrick, and he is searching for his wife, Harriet Fitzpatrick. Another Irish gentleman who knows Fitzpatrick rushes in and points out that Mrs. Waters is not Fitzpatrick’s wife. When the landlady arrives, Mrs. Waters accuses all three men of invading her room with evil intentions. The landlady wails that the reputation of her house is destroyed, and Tom lies, asserting that he only ran into Mrs. Waters’s room to assist her when he heard her cry out.

The landlady warns Susan to keep to herself the fact that she saw Tom jump out of Mrs. Waters’s bed. Fitzpatrick is an Irish gentleman whose wife, Harriet, ran away from him because he treated her cruelly. Two more ladies arrive at the inn, one of whom is very beautiful. The beautiful lady takes a room for a short rest. (Later chapters will reveal that she is Sophia, and is accompanied by Mrs. Honour.)

The lady’s maid, who is very self-important, comes down to the kitchen. She is surprised to learn from Mr. Partridge that Tom is staying at the inn.

Mrs. Honour, the lady’s maid from the previous chapter, wakes Sophia and tells her that Tom is at the inn. When Sophia asks to see him, Partridge reveals that he is in bed with another woman. When Sophia asks Susan if this is true, Susan suggests that she peek into his room to see if he is there. Susan claims that Tom told a tale that Sophia is dying of love for him and that he is going to the wars to be away from her. Sophia, hurt and outraged that Tom has been ruining her reputation by telling tales of her love, leaves her muff and note in Tom’s empty bed and then leaves the inn, deciding that she wants nothing to do with him.

In the morning, Partridge tries once more to persuade Tom to return home, suggesting he steal the landlord’s horses so they might ride. Tom goes into a frenzy when he finds Sophia’s muff in his bed. Fitzpatrick, who believes his wife is at the inn, continues to search for her. Another gentleman arrives: Squire Western.

Squire Western has pursued his daughter to the inn in Upton. It also happens that Mrs. Fitzpatrick is his niece. Having heard the commotion when Mr. Fitzpatrick burst into Mrs. Waters’s room, Mrs. Fitzpatrick borrowed a horse and rode away in the night. The Squire has never acknowledged the marriage and does not recognize Fitzpatrick.

Tom enters with Sophia’s muff, and the Squire demands to know Sophia’s location. Tom denies knowing. Another guest, an Irishman, says he will take the Squire to his daughter and conducts him to Mrs. Waters’s room. A trial is held before the local magistrate. Tom is accused of stealing Sophia, but Partridge attests to how he discovered the muff, clearing Tom’s name. The squire leaves in pursuit of his daughter. Tom also sets out after Sophia. Mrs. Waters takes the coach to Bath with Fitzpatrick and the other Irish gentleman. She consoles Mr. Fitzpatrick for the loss of his wife.

The narrator explains how Sophia came to be at the inn. After the Squire ruled that she would marry the next morning, Blifil arrived at the house, and it was discovered that Sophia was gone. Aunt Western scolded the Squire for bringing this on himself, saying that she, the aunt, would have corrected Sophia’s headstrong ways.

The narrator describes how Sophia escaped the house. After Mrs. Honour was turned away, Sophia rode out that night and met up with her. Intending to follow Tom to Bristol, she hired the same guide who led Tom astray. He took her to the first inn where Tom stayed. The landlady there recalled how Tom toasted Sophia. Sophia then proceeded to Gloucester and met the hack-attorney (the petty-fogger). Worried that he would reveal her to her father, she traveled on to Upton. In pursuit of his daughter, the Squire asks around at inns and tracks her there.

The narrator once again lambasts all critics, accusing some of being no more than slanderers. He laments the fact that that books that authors have labored to produce can be dismissed simply because a critic objects to a single scene or chapter.

Sophia is overtaken on the road by Mrs. Harriet Fitzpatrick and recognizes her as her cousin. Harriet joins her in her travels. Sophia’s horse stumbles, and as Sophia tumbles off the horse, her pocketbook falls to the ground. She doesn’t realize this and rides on. They reach an inn, and as the landlord helps Sophia from her horse, he loses his balance and falls with her on top of him. Her skirt flies up, to the leers of the onlookers. The landlord believes his guests must be very grand ladies. He has Jacobite sympathies and decides that Sophia is Jenny Cameron, a woman said to be the mistress of Prince Charles the Pretender.

Mrs. Fitzpatrick decides to accompany Sophia to London. Sophia pauses before setting out, and the narrator suspects she is hoping that Tom will overtake her.

Harriet Fitzpatrick tells Sophia the story of how she met Mr. Fitzpatrick. She was staying in Bath with Aunt Western. While Mrs. Western thought that Fitzpatrick was wooing her, he was actually courting Harriet. Sophia agrees that men can be charming deceivers when it comes to love. When Harriet married, Aunt Western was furious with her and cut off ties. Harriet regrets that she let herself be fooled into thinking that Fitzpatrick was a good catch.

Harriet relates to Sophia how she learned that Fitzpatrick had only married her for her dowry, because he had debts to pay. While he maintains a pleasant demeanor in company, her husband is rude to her at home, and Harriet’s affection has turned to contempt.

Mrs. Honour hears rumors that the French have invaded England, and she is frantic. The landlord brings news that the rebels have evaded the King’s army and are marching toward London, expecting the French to reinforce them.

Harriet tells Sophia to take a lesson from her story and make sure she knows the character of the man she marries. She relates how Fitzpatrick forced Harriet to move to Ireland, then tried to bully her into selling one of her estates. He locked her in her room, but a friend helped her escape. Harriet says her husband spread slanderous rumors that she was having an affair.

Mrs. Honour is irate when she discovers that the landlord thinks Sophia is any man’s mistress. An Irish lord arrives, a friend of Mrs. Fitzpatrick’s, who offers to take the ladies to London in his coach.

Sophia is dismayed to discover that her pocketbook is missing. The coach sets out for London.

They arrive in London. Mrs. Fitzpatrick finds her own lodgings, which she does not wish to share, as she does not want Sophia to know she has a liaison with the Irish peer. Sophia applies to her friend, Lady Bellaston, who takes her in.

The narrator acknowledges that, up until now, he has been quoting freely from classical sources. He will now commence to credit all the authors from whom he borrows.

Pursuing his daughter, Squire Western comes across a hunt. He joins them and has a splendid day. The next morning, having no idea where Sophia has gone, the Squire returns home.

Tom leaves the inn at Upton shortly after Squire Western, but does so on foot. He and Partridge philosophize and quarrel about Partridge’s frequent and inept quotations of Latin passages and proverbs.

At the crossroads, Tom meets a beggar who offers to sell him a pocketbook. Tom is astonished to see that it belongs to Sophia and contains a hundred-dollar bank bill. Tom buys the pocketbook for a guinea (a little over one pound) and asks the man to show him where he found the item.

As they travel, Tom and Partridge are overtaken by a caravan advertising a puppet show. Tom stays to watch.

As the puppet master harangues Tom about the high morals of his puppet show, he is interrupted by the landlady, who found her maid with one of the performers, engaged in some sexual act. Tom takes a room for the night at the inn.

The travelers sit in the kitchen discussing the fortunes of Tom and the distinction between law and right. The landlord reports that the rebels are almost to London.

Tom and Partridge proceed toward London, asking about Sophia at various inns. Tom attempts to be discreet about this. The narrator observes that Sophia is angry with Tom because she believes he has been talking about her far and wide; she is more upset about this than she is about his sleeping with Mrs. Waters. Part of this notoriety, the narrator goes on to observe, occurs because Partridge talks about Sophia at every establishment they visit.

Tom hires horses to follow Sophia. They run into Mr. Dowling, the lawyer.

Mr. Dowling and Tom converse. Tom shares that he is angry with Blifil. He says he would forego all luxuries to have the content of a good conscience, knowing he has behaved rightly, whereas Blifil has behaved as a scoundrel and villain.

Tom and Partridge travel at night through unpleasant weather, and Partridge expresses his superstitious fears.

They see a light and follow it to find a family of Romani people celebrating a wedding. Tom speaks with the king of the Romani people, who observes that shame does not seem to be a punishment in the English system. There is a disruption when an outraged husband finds his wife in the arms of Partridge. Tom offers to pay the husband, but the king says that the husband should not be given money but should instead be punished by wearing the cuckold’s horns, while his wife should be publicly mocked. Tom commends his judgment. The narrator contemplates forms of government and the limited circumstances in which an absolute monarchy might succeed.

Tom and Partridge continue their journey. Partridge thinks Tom should spend some of Sophia’s money, and Tom is outraged. He intends to return the pocketbook with its contents intact.

A stranger joins them on the road, pulls out a pistol, and demands money. Tom refuses and wrests away the unloaded pistol. The man confesses that he has never robbed anyone before, but his family is starving; Tom gives the robber some money.