Isaac’s Mirth at the Captain’s Expense
The captain attempts to save face by claiming he knew the stranger and merely lacked time to inquire after his lord and lady. Joey exposes this lie by noting the man was christened John Trotter, not Tom Rinser as the captain claimed, and had merely filled wine for him at Lord Trippett’s table. The embarrassed captain attempts another excuse about rarely conversing with people of the stranger’s station. Isaac then savagely mocks the captain’s performance, noting he behaved like a good Christian, arming himself with patience and resignation rather than weapons and working out his salvation with fear and trembling. This satire produces general mirth at Weazel’s expense. When the captain threatens to cut Isaac’s throat, the usurer calls upon the company to witness that his life is in danger from the bloody-minded officer and demands he be bound over to the peace. Another round of laughter follows, and the captain remains crestfallen for the remainder of the journey.
第十三章
The chapter follows Roderick Random and his servant Strap through a series of misadventures upon their arrival in London, ranging from supernatural terrors to encounters with tricksters and the indignities of city life.
The Midnight Apparition
Returning to their inn after a long journey, Strap falls ill and must rise in the night to use the privy. Carrying a candle, he returns in horror with his hair standing on end, claiming he has seen the devil. The travelers hear bells approaching their chamber, and a monstrous raven with bells at its feet enters and hops upon their bed, striking them through the blankets with its beak before vanishing. Terrified, they commend themselves to heaven’s protection. Soon another apparition appears: an old man with a long white beard and wild eyes, dressed in a brown stuff coat and cap, who wrings his hands and asks in a ghastly voice, “Where is Ralph?” After hearing bells in the distance, the figure departs. Strap falls into a fit while Roderick remains paralyzed with fear. Strap interprets the raven as a damned soul and the old man as the ghost of a murder victim who haunts the inn to torment the killer named Ralpho.
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