The Adventures of Roderick Random

Obtaining the Letter to Surgeons’ Hall

Thompson shares that he passed for third mate of a third-rate warship four months prior, and has attended the Navy Office daily since in hopes of a warrant, after being promised the first available vacancy by a Scottish MP and a Navy Board commissioner, though he has seen six or seven other men appointed to the same role nearly every week. He is now impoverished, and his only hope is a friend’s promised loan to bribe the secretary, as he believes he would otherwise wait a thousand years for a warrant. The narrator feels a strong connection to Thompson due to their similar misfortunes, and they spend the full day together; the narrator invites Thompson, who lives in Wapping, to share his bed that night. The next day, they return to the Navy Office, where the narrator is questioned by the Board about his place of birth and education, then receives an official letter to Surgeons’ Hall after paying a half-crown clerk fee. He delivers the letter to the Surgeons’ Hall clerk, along with a one-shilling registration fee, leaving him with only two shillings total to his name, with no clear way to cover the upcoming examination fees or basic living costs.

Contemplating a Soldier’s Life

With no clear path to cover his costs, the narrator consults Strap, who offers to pawn every item he owns, even his razors, to support the narrator. The narrator rejects this offer, stating he would rather enlist as a soldier than continue being a burden to Strap.

Strap’s Philosophical Objections

Strap grows pale with fear at the mention of the narrator enlisting as a soldier, and begs on his knees for him to abandon the idea. He delivers an emotional speech arguing that soldiering would risk the narrator being shot by Spanish forces, that a modest, honest life as a barber is far preferable to risking a violent early death for riches and fame, and that if the narrator dies as a soldier, Strap will have both his own blood and the narrator’s to answer for, plus the blood of anyone the narrator kills in battle. He begs the narrator to choose modest peace over despair that would risk both their souls. The narrator laughs at the earnest speech, delivered with tears in Strap’s eyes, and promises he will not enlist as a soldier without Strap’s consent. Strap is comforted, says he will give the narrator his week’s wages when he receives them in a few days, and advises the narrator to search for Jackson to try to recover the five shillings he lent him in the meantime.