The Adventures of Roderick Random

Uncle departs for England

They visit the priest at his convent where he treats them with wine and sweetmeats and shows them everything remarkable in the monastery. After being entertained, the narrator promises to see the priest again the next day. When the time fixed for his uncle’s embarking arrives, the narrator accompanies him to the harbour and sees him aboard. They part with tears, embracing and wishing one another prosperity. Mr. Bowling requests the narrator write to him often, directing to Lieutenant Bowling at the sign of the Union Flag near the Hermitage, London. The narrator returns to pass a solitary night reflecting on his severe fate and projecting schemes for his future, seeing nothing but insurmountable difficulties and ready to despair.

Priest introduces narrator to Paris-bound Capuchin

The narrator visits the priest the next morning, imploring his advice and assistance. The priest receives him kindly and suggests a way of life in which a person of his talents could not fail to make a great figure. The narrator guesses his meaning and firmly declares he is fully determined against any alteration in point of religion, understanding the proposal must concern the church. The priest sighs at this stubborn prejudice and offers instead to procure letters of recommendation to people of rank at Versailles where the narrator might be entertained as a maitre d’hotel. The narrator embraces this offer eagerly, and the priest appoints him to return in the afternoon when he would give him letters and introduce him to a capuchin acquaintance setting out for Paris next morning whose company would save him the expense of one livre during the whole journey.