Tobias George Smollett was born at Dalquhurn, Dumbartonshire,
Scotland, in 1721. He was apprenticed to a Glasgow apothecary,
came to London in 1739, much in the way described in "Roderick
Random," with a tragedy in his pocket, and very little else.
The play, "Regicide," he submitted in vain to various
theatrical managers, and, reduced almost to starvation, during
the same year accepted the post of surgeon's mate on board a
King's ship. In 1746 he returned to England, bent upon another
desperate effort to make a living by his pen. A period of
adverse fortune followed, broken, however, in 1748 by the
publication of "The Adventures of Roderick Random." Two years
later Smollett obtained his M.D. degree, and for a number of
years combined medical work with literature. In 1756 he was
made editor of the "Critical Review," a post which resulted in
a fine of £100 and three months' imprisonment for a libel on
Admiral Knowles. He died on October 21, 1771. Smollett wrote
altogether five novels and a number of historical works and
records of travel. It is impossible to overestimate his
influence on novel-writing. Most of the great Victorian
writers, especially Charles Dickens, owe much to his art.
_I.--My Birth, Parentage, and Childhood_
I was born in the northern part of this United Kingdom, in the house of
my grandfather, a gentleman of considerable fortune and influence, who
was remarkable for his abilities in the law, which he exercised with
great success in the station of a judge.
My father, his youngest son, falling in love with a poor relation, who
lived with the old gentleman in the quality of housekeeper, espoused her
privately; and I was the first fruit of that marriage. On my grandfather
telling my father one day, that he had provided a match for him, the
latter frankly owned what he had done. He added, that no exception could
be taken to his wife's virtue, birth, beauty, and good sense; and as for
fortune, it was beneath his care; he could be in no danger of wanting
while his father's tenderness remained, which he and his wife should
always cultivate with the utmost veneration. "Your brothers and
sisters," said my grandfather, "did not think it beneath them to consult
me in an affair of such importance as matrimony; neither, I suppose,
would you have omitted that piece of duty, had not you some secret fund
in reserve, to the comforts of which I leave you, with a desire that you
will this night seek out another habitation for yourself and wife. Sir,
you are a polite gentleman, I will send you an account of the expense I
have been at in your education--I wish you a great deal of joy, and am
your very humble servant."
So saying, he left my father in a situation easily imagined. However, he
did not long hesitate: for being perfectly well acquainted with my
grandfather's disposition, he knew it would be to no purpose to attempt
him by prayers and entreaties. So without any further application, he
betook himself with his disconsolate bedfellow to a farmhouse, where an
old servant of his mother dwelt. In this ill-adapted situation they
remained for some time, until my mother, hoping that her tears and
condition would move my grandfather to compassion, went, in disguise, to
the house, and implored his forgiveness. My grandfather told her that he
had already made a vow which put it out of his power to assist her; and
this said, he retired.
My mother was so afflicted by this that she was, at once, thrown into
violent pains. By the friendship of an old maidservant she was carried
up to a garret, where I was born. Three days later my grandfather sent a
peremptory order to her to be gone, and weakness, grief, and anxiety
soon put an end to her life. My father was so affected with her death,
that he remained six weeks deprived of his senses; during which time,
the people where he lodged carried the infant to the old man, who
relented so far as to send the child to nurse.
My father's delirium was succeeded by a profound melancholy. At length
he disappeared, and could not be heard of; and there were not wanting
some who suspected my uncles of being concerned in my father's fate, on
the supposition that they would all share in the patrimony destined for
him.
I grew apace; and the jealous enmity of my cousins quickly showed
itself; before I was six years of age their implacable hatred made them
blockade my grandfather, so that I never saw him but by stealth.
I was soon after sent to school at a village hard by, of which my
grandfather had been dictator time out of mind; but as he neither paid
for my board, nor supplied me with clothes, books, or other necessaries,
my condition was very ragged and contemptible; and the schoolmaster gave
himself no concern about the progress I made.
In spite of all this, I became a good proficient in the Latin tongue;
but the contempt which my appearance produced, the continual wants to
which I was exposed, and my own haughty disposition, involved me in a
thousand troubles and adventures. I was often inhumanly scourged for
crimes I did not commit; because having the character of a vagabond in
the village every piece of mischief whose author lay unknown, was
charged upon me. Far from being subdued by this infernal usage, my
indignation triumphed, and the more my years and knowledge increased,
the more I perceived the injustice and barbarity of the treatment I
received. By the help of our usher, I made a surprising progress in the
classics and arithmetic, so that before I was twelve years old I was
allowed by everybody to be the best scholar in the school.
Meanwhile, I took the advantage of every playday to present myself
before my grandfather, to whom I seldom found access, by reason of his
being closely besieged by a numerous family of his grandchildren, who,
though they perpetually quarrelled among themselves, never failed to
join against me, as the common enemy of all. His heir, who was about the
age of eighteen, minded nothing but fox-hunting, and never set eyes on
me, without uncoupling his beagles, and hunting me into some cottage or
other, whither I generally fled for shelter.
About this time, my mother's only brother, who had been long abroad,
lieutenant of a man of war, arrived in his own country; where, being
informed of my condition, he came to see me, and, out of his slender
finances, not only supplied me with what necessaries I wanted for the
present, but resolved not to leave the country until he had prevailed on
my grandfather to settle something handsome on me for the future. To
this end he set out with me for my grandfather's house, and after a few
minutes' pause he was admitted. When we came into the judge's presence
(through a lane of my relations), my uncle, after two or three sea bows,
expressed himself in this manner: "Your servant--your servant, what
cheer?--I suppose you don't know me--mayhap you don't. My name is Tom
Bowling; and this here boy--you look as if you did not know him neither,
'tis like you mayn't. 'Tis my nephew, d'ye see, Roderick Random--your
own flesh and blood; and, if you have any conscience at all, do
something for this poor boy, who has been used at a very un-Christian
rate. Come--consider, old gentleman, you are going in a short time to
give an account of your evil actions. Remember the wrongs you did his
father, and make all the satisfaction in your power before it be too
late. The least thing you can do is to settle his father's portion on
him."
The judge in reply told my uncle he had been very kind to the boy, whom
he had kept to school seven or eight years, although he was informed he
made no progress in his learning, but was addicted to all manner of
vice. However, he would see what the lad was fit for, and bind him
apprentice to some honest tradesman or other, provided he would behave
for the future as became him.
The honest tar answered my grandfather, that it was true he had sent me
to school, but it had cost him nothing; as to my making small progress,
he was well-informed as how Rory was the best scholar of his age in all
the country. "Thank you for your courteous offer of binding the lad
apprentice to a tradesman. I suppose you would make a tailor of him,
would you. I had rather see him hanged, d'ye see. Come along, Rory, I
perceive how the land lies, my boy; let's tack about--i'faith, while I
have a shilling, thou sha'n't want a sixpence. Bye, old gentleman,
you're bound for the other world, but damnably ill provided for the
voyage."
Thus ended our visit, and we returned to the village, my uncle muttering
curses all the way against the old shark and the young fry that
surrounded him.
_II.--I Arrive in London_
A few weeks after our first visit, we were informed that the old judge,
conscious of his approaching end, had made his will, and desired to see
all his descendants. So my uncle set out with me a second time, and when
we entered his chamber we found my grandfather in his last agonies. My
uncle approached him with these words: "How fare ye, old
gentleman?--Lord have mercy upon your poor sinful soul. Here's poor Rory
come to see you before you die, and receive your blessing. What, man!
Don't despair--you have been a great sinner, 'tis true. What then?
There's a righteous judge above--ain't there?--Yes, yes, he's agoing--He
minds me no more than a porpoise, the land crabs will have him, I see
that--his anchor's apeak, i'faith."
In a few minutes we were convinced of my grandfather's decease, by a
dismal yell uttered by the young ladies in his apartment.
It was not till after the funeral that the will was read, and the reader
can scarce conceive the astonishment and mortification that appeared,
when the attorney pronounced aloud, the young squire sole heir of all
his grandfather's estate, personal and real, and that there were no
legacies.
My uncle at once decided, though he could ill afford it, to give me
university education; and accordingly settled my board and other
expenses at a town not many miles distant, famous for its colleges,
whither we repaired in a short time.
In a few days after, my uncle set out for his ship, and I began to
consider my precarious situation; that my sole dependence was on the
generosity of one man.
I at once applied myself with great care to my studies, and in the space
of three years I understood Greek very well, and was pretty far advanced
in mathematics.
Then one day my landlady's husband put two letters in my hand, from my
uncle. The first was to my landlord, explaining that he had fought a
duel with his captain, and in consequence had been obliged to sheer off
from his ship.
The second was to me, assuring me that all would be well some day.
My landlord only shook his head and desired me to provide myself with
another lodging; which I promptly did, and for a time I took service
under a drunken surgeon named Crab. When I deemed myself sufficiently
master of my business, I decided to go to London. "You may easily get on
board of a King's ship in quality of a surgeon's mate," said Crab;
"where you will certainly see a great deal of practise, and stand a good
chance of getting prize money."
In a few weeks I set out for London, my whole fortune consisting of one
suit of clothes, half a dozen ruffled shirts, as many plain, four pair
of stockings, a case of pocket instruments, Wiseman's Surgery, and ten
guineas in cash, for which Crab took my bond.
At Newcastle-upon-Tyne I found an old schoolfellow, named Hugh Strap,
employed in a barber's shop, and we at once embraced cordially. Strap,
having saved sufficient money for the occasion, at once decided to go to
London with me, and we departed next morning by daybreak.
As we travelled mostly in wagons, it was a tedious journey, but at
length we entered the great city. Nothing but disappointment awaited us.
In vain I applied at the Navy Office. I had satisfied the board at
Surgeon's Hall, it seemed nothing but money could help me at the Navy
Office, and by that time I had not wherewithal to purchase a dinner.
Strap obtained employment and generously shared his purse with me,
otherwise I should have starved.
Instead of getting an appointment as surgeon's mate, I was seized, when
I was crossing Tower Wharf, by a press-gang; and on my resistance, was
disarmed, taken prisoner, and carried on board; where, after being
treated like a malefactor, I was thrust down into the hold among a
parcel of miserable wretches, the sight of whom well nigh distracted me.
After we had sailed, I was released from irons by the good offices of a
Surgeon's Mate whom I had met on land, and subsequently I was appointed
to assist the surgeon, and exempted from all other duties.
Our destination was the West Indies, and here I saw active service in
the war with Spain. When the time came to return to England the ship was
wrecked off the coast of Sussex. I got ashore, and in my distress was
glad to be hired by an elderly lady as her footman. I speedily acquired
the good opinion of my mistress, and fell in love with her niece
Narcissa, cursing the servile station that placed me so far beneath the
regard of this amiable and adorable being. I soon learnt that the
brother of my idol was a savage, fox-hunting squire, who had designed
the lovely Narcissa for Sir Timothy Thicket, a neighbouring foxhunter. I
cursed in my heart this man for his presumption, looking upon him as my
rival.
Eight months I remained in the station of footman, and then an accident
put an end to my servitude.
I was passing through a wood when I heard the cries of Narcissa, and
rushing to her assistance, rescued her from the brutal familiarities of
Sir Timothy. I struck his weapon out of his hand, and cudgelled him so
that he fell to the ground and lay senseless.
Narcissa thanked me with tender acknowledgements, but I was soon warned
that I should be apprehended and transported for assaulting a
magistrate. I escaped to France by the aid of smugglers, but before I
left I avowed my passion, and explained that I was an unfortunate
gentleman, and the story of my mishandling provoked a sympathetic
response.
_III.--I Recover My Father_
From the Marshalsea Prison, where I had been lodged for debt, some time
after my return from France, I was rescued by my generous uncle, Mr.
Bowling. He told me that he was now in command of a large merchant ship,
and proposed that I should sail with him in quality of his surgeon, with
a share in the profits. I accepted his offer, without hesitation, and
Strap, who had stood by me in so many troubles, at my desire was made
ship's steward by Captain Bowling.
Before we sailed I managed to achieve an interview with Narcissa; and
sure, lovers never parted with such sorrow and reluctance as we.
Our voyage was entirely successful, and while we were at anchor in that
part of South America which is called Buenos Ayres, I amused myself with
the transporting hopes of enjoying Narcissa on our return. I had money
and would marry his sister by stealth if the fox-hunting squire was
still as averse to me as ever.
We were very much caressed by the Spanish gentlemen of the country, and
made the acquaintance of a certain English signior, who had been settled
in those parts many years, and had acquired the love and esteem of the
whole province.
I had been struck with a profound veneration for this gentleman on first
seeing him; when he spoke I listened with reverence and attention. I
sympathised involuntarily with the melancholy which saddened the face of
Don Rodrigo--for so he was named.
Don Rodrigo, understanding we were his countrymen, desired our company
at his house, and seemed to show a particular regard for me. He made me
a present of a beautiful ring, saying at the same time that he was once
blessed with a son, who, had he lived, would have been nearly of my age.
This observation made my heart throb with violence, and a crowd of
confused ideas filled my imagination. My uncle, perceiving my absence of
thought, tapped me on the shoulder and said: "Odds! are you asleep,
Rory?"
Before I had time to reply, Don Rodrigo said eagerly, "Pray, captain,
what is the young gentleman's name?"
"His name," said my uncle, "is Roderick Random."
"Gracious Powers!" cried Don Rodrigo, starting up--"and his mother's?"
"His mother," answered the captain, amazed, "was called Charlotte
Bowling."
"O Bounteous Heaven!" exclaimed Don Rodrigo, clasping me in his arms,
"my son! my son! have I found thee again?" So saying, he fell upon my
neck and wept aloud for joy. The captain, wringing my father's hand,
cried, "Brother Random, I'm rejoiced to see you--God be praised for this
happy meeting." Don Rodrigo embraced him affectionately, saying, "Are
you my Charlotte's brother? Brother, you are truly welcome. This day is
a jubilee!"
My father decided to return with us to England, and having learnt from
me of my love for Narcissa, approved of my passion, and promised to
contribute all in his power towards its success. I stayed in his house,
and at his request recounted to him the passages of my life, and he
gratified me with the particulars of his story.
"Careless of life," he said, "and unable to live in a place where every
object recalled the memory of my dear Charlotte, I little suspected that
my father's unkindness would have descended to my innocent orphan, when
I set out for France. From Paris I accompanied a young nobleman as tutor
to the Court of Spain, and from Spain I came to South America, where for
sixteen years heaven has prospered my undertakings. Your fate I could
never learn, notwithstanding all my enquiries."
Presently Strap arrived, whom my father at once took by the hand,
saying, "Is this the honest man who befriended you so much in your
distress? I will soon put it in the power of my son to reward you for
your good offices in his behalf."
Shortly afterwards, Don Rodrigo, who had already remitted twenty
thousand pounds to Holland, settled his affairs, converted his effects
into silver and gold, visited and took leave of all his friends; and,
coming on board of my uncle's ship, with the first favourable wind we
sailed from the Rio de la Plata, and in three months after made the
Lizard.
It is impossible to express the joy I felt at the sight of English
ground! Don Rodrigo was not unmoved, and Strap shed tears of gladness.
My father and I went ashore immediately at Portsmouth, leaving Strap
with the captain to go round with the ship. I rode across country into
Sussex, where I learnt that Narcissa was in London, and that her brother
was married, and vowed his sister should lose her fortune if she married
without his consent.
_IV.--I Am Married_
No sooner was I in London than I sought my charmer in her lodgings. How
was my soul transported, when Narcissa broke in upon my view, in all the
bloom of ripened beauty! We flew into each other's arms. "O adorable
Narcissa," cried I; "never shall we part again."
In the evening I accompanied my father to her lodgings. He embraced her
tenderly, and told her he was proud of having a son who had engaged the
affections of such a fine lady.
Don Rodrigo was, quickly, as much charmed with her good sense as with
her appearance; and she was no less pleased with his understanding and
polite address.
The following was the squire's answer to a letter from my father,
promising handsome settlements on my marriage to Narcissa:
"Sir--Concerning a letter which I received, subscribed R. Random, this
is the answer. As for you, I know nothing of you. Your son, or pretended
son, I have seen--if he marries my sister, at his peril be it; I do
declare, that he shall have not one farthing of her fortune, which
becomes my property, if she takes a husband without my consent. Your
settlement, I do believe, is all a sham, and yourself no better than you
should be; but if you had all the wealth of the Indies, your son should
never match in our family, with the consent of