The Adventures of Roderick Random

An Altercation on the Street

Exiting the gaming house, the narrator accidentally steps on the foot of a rough, fierce-looking man, who hurls insults and demands gentlemanly satisfaction. The narrator challenges him to a duel in the piazzas, but the man refuses, saying he will choose his own time for the confrontation. The narrator retrieves his sword from the doorkeeper, pays the customary guinea tip, and goes home in a state of joy.

Strap’s Ecstasy over the Treasure

Strap, who stayed up all night worrying about the narrator, is overwhelmed with joy when he sees the 150 guineas, dancing ecstatically and repeating the phrase “God be praised!—a white stone!” so wildly that the narrator fears he has gone mad, until Strap explains he is referencing the Roman fasti days marked with a white stone.

The Penitent Arrival of Mrs. Gawky

Shortly after the narrator returns, a shabbily dressed young woman arrives at his rooms, revealed to be Mrs. Gawky (formerly Miss Lavement, the woman who originally framed the narrator). She falls to her knees begging forgiveness for her role in the conspiracy, explaining she was coerced by her husband, who abandoned her after being disowned by his father and cashiered for misconduct at the Battle of Dettingen. She reveals she was turned out of her parents’ home after bearing a child four months into her marriage, and has subsisted on charity until her friends refused to help her any longer.

Clearing My Name by Oath

Seeing an opportunity to vindicate his reputation, the narrator agrees to help Mrs. Gawky only if she will swear an oath before a magistrate detailing the full conspiracy against him. Once she signs a written declaration to that effect, he gives her 5 guineas, a sum far larger than she expected.