The Adventures of Roderick Random

Arrested by Strap Post-Duel

While the narrator and Oregan walk after their truce, they are surrounded by a file of musketeers led by Strap; Oregan flees the scene and is marked for arrest, while Strap explains he suspected the challenge letter posed a danger and fetched the guard to intervene on the narrator’s behalf.

Immediate Release and Meeting Oregan’s Friends

The narrator is immediately released after explaining the duel is already fully resolved; moments later, Oregan returns with two disheveled companions, introduced as Counsellor Fitzclabber (a historian compiling a history of the kings of Minster) and Mr. Gahagan (a self-proclaimed philosopher and political schemer), who had come to rescue Oregan from arrest.

Supplying Oregan with New Clothes

The narrator invites Oregan and his friends to his lodgings, where he outfits Oregan in decent clothing from his own wardrobe; Grateful, Oregan swears eternal loyalty to the narrator and agrees to recount his full life story at the narrator’s request.

Visiting Melinda and Recounting the Duel

The narrator visits Melinda in the afternoon, and she greets him warmly, laughing excessively at his account of the duel with Oregan; she shares the dozen love letters Oregan had written to her for the narrator’s amusement.

Proposing Marriage to Melinda

Taking advantage of a moment when Melinda’s mother leaves the room, the narrator declares his love to Melinda and proposes marriage, but she gives no direct answer to his proposal before other company arrives to join them.

Requesting Melinda’s Mother’s Consent

Melinda tells the narrator she has no personal objection to him, but will only consider marriage if her mother consents; the narrator formally visits Melinda’s mother to make a solemn request for her daughter’s hand in marriage.