Indeed he had committed a great error, and that Square
discovered much sooner than himself. Mrs Blifil
(as, perhaps, the reader may have formerly guessed)
was not over and above pleased with the behaviour of
her husband; nay, to be honest, she absolutely hated
him, till his death at last a little reconciled him
to her affections. It will not be therefore greatly
wondered at, if she had not the most violent regard
to the offspring she had by him. And, in fact,
she had so little of this regard, that in his infancy
she seldom saw her son, or took any notice of him;
and hence she acquiesced, after a little reluctance,
in all the favours which Mr Allworthy showered on the
foundling; whom the good man called his own boy, and
in all things put on an entire equality with Master
Blifil. This acquiescence in Mrs Blifil was considered
by the neighbours, and by the family, as a mark of
her condescension to her brother’s humour, and
she was imagined by all others, as well as Thwackum
and Square, to hate the foundling in her heart; nay,
the more civility she showed him, the more they conceived
she detested him, and the surer schemes she was laying
for his ruin: for as they thought it her interest
to hate him, it was very difficult for her to persuade
them she did not.
Thwackum was the more confirmed in his opinion, as
she had more than once slily caused him to whip Tom
Jones, when Mr Allworthy, who was an enemy to this
exercise, was abroad; whereas she had never given any
such orders concerning young Blifil. And this
had likewise imposed upon Square. In reality,
though she certainly hated her own son—of
which, however monstrous it appears, I am assured she
is not a singular instance—she appeared,
notwithstanding all her outward compliance, to be
in her heart sufficiently displeased with all the
favour shown by Mr Allworthy to the foundling.
She frequently complained of this behind her brother’s
back, and very sharply censured him for it, both to
Thwackum and Square; nay, she would throw it in the
teeth of Allworthy himself, when a little quarrel,
or miff, as it is vulgarly called, arose between them.
However, when Tom grew up, and gave tokens of that
gallantry of temper which greatly recommends men to
women, this disinclination which she had discovered
to him when a child, by degrees abated, and at last
she so evidently demonstrated her affection to him
to be much stronger than what she bore her own son,
that it was impossible to mistake her any longer.
She was so desirous of often seeing him, and discovered
such satisfaction and delight in his company, that
before he was eighteen years old he was become a rival
to both Square and Thwackum; and what is worse, the
whole country began to talk as loudly of her inclination
to Tom, as they had before done of that which she had
shown to Square: on which account the philosopher
conceived the most implacable hatred for our poor
heroe.
