The Adventures of Roderick Random

Obtaining the Discharge

After breakfast d’Estrapes pays his respects to the Marquis and pleads Random’s case so successfully that within a few days Random receives his discharge from the army.

Arrival in Paris

With his discharge in hand, Random and d’Estrapes set out for Paris, where Random has leisure to reflect on the sudden transition of his fate. Rising in an instant from the most abject misery and contempt to the quiet possession of considerable means, he recognises that bearing such good fortune with moderation requires some degree of philosophy and self-denial.

Inventory of a Gentleman’s Wardrobe

Random details the gentleman’s wardrobe he now commands: five fashionable coats (two plain, one of cut velvet, one trimmed with gold, another with silver lace), two frocks (white drab with plate buttons, and blue with gold binding), waistcoats of gold brocade, blue satin embroidered with silver, green silk with figured broad gold lace, black silk with fringes, white satin, black cloth, and scarlet, six pairs of cloth breeches, one each of crimson and black velvet, twelve pairs each of white and black silk stockings, the same number of white cotton, four hats (gold point d’Espagne, silver lace scolloped, gold binding, and plain), three dozen ruffled shirts, as many neckcloths, and a dozen each of cambric and silk handkerchiefs.

Possessions and Ready Money

Beyond the wardrobe, Strap’s generosity and friendship furnish Random with a gold watch in a chased case, two valuable diamond rings, three mourning swords (one with a silver handle and a fourth of cut steel inlaid with gold), a diamond stock buckle, stone buckles for the knees and shoes, a pair of silver-mounted pistols with rich housings, a gold-headed cane, and a tortoiseshell snuff-box mounted with gold bearing the picture of a lady. Other items the gentleman had carried had already been turned into cash, and the pair’s ready money amounts to somewhat more than two hundred pounds.