The Adventures of Roderick Random

The Secretary’s Contempt

After leaving the Navy Office, the narrator learns that his companions had been recommended to various commissioners and promised first consideration for vacancies. However, they explain that none rely solely on such interest—they have prepared bribes for the secretary, as some commissioners share in these payments. When asked what he intends to give, the narrator faces an uncomfortable situation: he lacks the means to offer anything, having barely enough to survive. He slips away toward his lodging, cursing his grandfather’s harshness and his relatives’ stinginess that have left him vulnerable to contempt and poverty.

Strap’s Search for the Narrator

Upon returning to his lodging, the narrator finds his landlord relieved—he had feared some terrible accident. Strap, who visited that morning and learned the narrator had been out all night, was nearly frantic with worry. After obtaining permission from his master, Strap set out to find his friend despite knowing almost nothing about London. The narrator fabricates a story about meeting an acquaintance at Surgeons’ Hall to explain his absence. Later that afternoon, Strap arrives at the chamber, having searched Surgeons’ Hall, the Navy Office, and ’Change without success before resorting to stopping people on the street to inquire about the narrator.

The Blacksmith’s Taunt

While Strap desperately asks every passerby about the narrator, he endures mockery and curses. An apprentice blacksmith overhears Strap questioning a porter and asks if the person he seeks is Scottish. Strap eagerly confirms and describes the narrator’s brown coat with long skirts. The blacksmith cruelly jokes that he saw this man heading toward Tyburn in a cart, implying he might be hanged. The taunt enrages Strap, who calls the blacksmith a scoundrel and declares he will fight him over a half-farthing wager.