The Adventures of Roderick Random

A Scheme to Pawn the Shirts

Jackson tells the narrator the only obstacle to the wedding is a lack of ready cash: his lender has left town, he missed his pay in Broad Street because he was detained with his fiancée, and his next pay is coming in Chatham the following week, to be collected by a friend he commissioned there. He says he has many rivals who would take advantage of any delay, so he cannot wait even a few days for the money. He asks the narrator if he knows anyone who would lend him a small sum, and when the narrator says he does not, Jackson notices the narrator’s fine linen shirt and asks how many of similar quality he owns. The narrator says he has six ruffled and six plain shirts of that quality, and Jackson claims no gentleman needs more than four, then proposes pawning half of the narrator’s shirts to raise the cash he needs, calculating the pawn value would come to £3 4s, which would be enough. The narrator refuses, demanding Jackson first pay back the crown he owes him before discussing pawning his shirts.

Pawning Jackson’s Hanger

Jackson swears he only has one shilling in his pocket, but will pay the narrator back from the money raised by pawning the shirts. The narrator refuses to pawn any of his shirts, and suggests Jackson pawn his own hanger (sword) instead to raise the money. Jackson initially refuses, saying he cannot appear in public without his hanger, but when the narrator remains inflexible about the shirts, he unbuckles his hanger, shows the pawnbroker’s three blue ball mark, and asks the narrator to pawn it for two guineas. The narrator goes to the pawnbroker, who recognizes the hanger as one he has held before for 30 shillings, but agrees to lend two guineas since he believes the owner will redeem it. The narrator brings the money back to Jackson, and gives him 37 shillings, keeping the remaining five shillings for himself as repayment of the crown Jackson owed him.