Tom Jones Book 6, Chapter 12

Containing Love-Letters, &c.

• Squire Allworthy tells Tom to leave the house immediately—Squire Allworthy will send Tom's stuff after him.
• Tom walks off without really knowing where he is going.
• He gets far enough away from the house that he can go into hysterics in peace.
• He starts tearing at his hair and throwing his stuff around.
• Finally, he collects himself, gets up, and starts thinking seriously.
• Tom decides that it wouldn't be fair to pull Sophia into this awful situation.
• But he wants to send her a farewell letter.
• In it, he explains that it will be better for her if she forgets that he ever existed.
• Tom suddenly realizes that, among those things that he tore out of his pockets in his grief was a pocket-book with the 500 pounds that Squire Allworthy gave him before kicking him out.
• He goes back to the brook where he was weeping to try and find it.
• He meets Black George, who helps him look for it.
• That is, he pretends to help Tom look—Black George actually keeps Tom's pocket-book of money as soon as he finds it.
• But Black George does agree to pass on Tom's letter to Sophia's maid, Mrs. Honour.
• When Black George meets Mrs. Honour, he finds that she is also carrying a letter from Sophia to Tom.
• Sophia tells Tom to avoid her father, since she would hate to see Tom getting injured on her behalf.
• Tom reads the letter over and over again.
• Then, Tom heads off to a town about 5 miles away, where Squire Allworthy can send his stuff.