The Adventures of Roderick Random

Meeting Mr. Crab

The narrator repaired immediately to the public-house where he was introduced to Mr. Launcelot Crab, a surgeon in town. Crab was drinking “pop-in,” a concoction of brandy and small beer, with two other companions. Before explaining the reason for the summons, the narrator provides a description of this gentleman to illustrate what follows and account for his behavior.

A Description of the Surgeon

Mr. Crab was fifty years old, about five feet tall, with a substantial belly. His face resembled a full moon in complexion like a mulberry, and his nose—swollen to an enormous size and covered with carbuncles—resembled a powder-horn. His small gray eyes reflected light so obliquely that when looking directly at someone, one would think he was admiring their shoe buckle. He harbored an implacable grudge against fellow surgeon Potion, who, despite being younger, was better employed and had once performed a cure that disproved Crab’s prognosis. Their rivalry had been inflamed beyond reconciliation when their wives quarreled at a christening over precedence, progressing from insults to blows.

An Offer of Employment

After hearing the narrator’s account of leaving Potion’s service, Crab expressed his malice toward his rival, calling him a “sneaking dog” and “canting scoundrel.” The other companions confirmed their low opinion of Potion, who was never known to be drunk except once at a godly meeting where he delivered an hour-long extempore prayer. Crab then offered the narrator employment, claiming to have heard a good character of him. When the narrator inquired about terms, Crab became indignant at the suggestion of maintaining him as a gentleman, but the narrator offered to work in Crab’s shop to offset the cost of a journeyman or porter, as he had some knowledge of pharmacy and surgery from his time with Potion. Despite questioning the narrator’s learning and declaring he expected little good of him, Crab agreed to take him in “for the sake of charity.”