The Adventures of Roderick Random

Receiving Narcissa’s Letter

During Strap’s absence, Banter delivers a letter from Narcissa that Freeman had forwarded. Roderick kisses the superscription and reads her message with transport. Narcissa explains she was carried away by her brother after Lord Quiverwit revealed their correspondence. She warns against further desperate measures on her account, assures him of her constancy, and notes that both she and Miss Williams are well but anxious. The postscript explains that any attempt to communicate would only extend their captivity and implores him to desist from efforts to reach her. The letter provides great consolation, and Banter, upon viewing her portrait, acknowledges her beauty and understanding.

Selling Rich Clothes for Money

With hope restored regarding his uncle’s possible return, Roderick consults Banter about immediate subsistence. Banter advises liquidating several rich suits of clothes by selling them at half-price to a salesman on Monmouth Street, promising that in a few months Roderick can satisfy all debts. Though Roderick initially hesitates, fearing fraud, he is persuaded by the honesty of his intention and the urgency of his need. He learns that his uncle’s ship has not yet arrived, puts Banter’s scheme into practice, and raises twenty-five guineas, repaying the old debt of five guineas for Banter’s advice.

第六十一章

The chapter relates the narrator’s imprisonment in the Marshalsea following his arrest for a tailor’s debt, his reunion with the old acquaintance Jackson who shares his own misadventures, the introduction to the imprisoned poet Melopoyn whose elegy deepens the narrator’s melancholy, and Strap’s practical resolution to hire himself as a barber to support his master during confinement.