The Historie of King Lear.
¶Glost. No, what needes then that terribe di
spatch of
¶it into
>your pocket, the qualitie of nothing hath not
¶such need to hide
it
selfe, lets
see, come if it bee no
370thing I
shall not neede
specta-
cles.
¶Ba. I be
seech you Sir pardon me, it is a letter
¶from my brother,
that I haue not all ore read, for
so
¶much as I haue peru
sed, I find it
not fit for your liking.
375Glost. Giue me the letter
sir.
¶Bast. I
shall offend either to detaine or giue it,
¶the contents
as in part I vnder
stand them,
¶are too blame.
¶Glost. Lets
see, lets
see?
380Bast. I hope for my brothers iu
stification, he wrot
¶this but
as an essay, or tast of my vertue.
¶Glost. This policie of age makes the
¶world bitter to the be
st
of our times, keepes our fortunes from
¶vs till our oldnes cannot
reli
sh them, I begin to find an idle
385and fond bondage in the op-
pre
ssion of aged tyranny, who
swaies
¶not as it hath power, but as
it is
suffered, come to me, that of
¶this I may
speake more, if our
father would
sleepe till I wakt
¶him, you
should inioy halfe his
reuenew for euer, and liue the
¶beloued of your brother
Ed-
gar.
390_Hum, con
spiracie,
slept till I wakt him, you
should
¶enioy halfe
his reuenew, my
sonne
Edgar, had hee a
¶hand to write this, a
hart, and braine to breed it in,
¶when came this to you, who
brought it?
¶Bast. It was not brought me my Lord, ther's the
395cunning of
it, I found it throwne in at the ca
sement of
¶my clo
set.
¶Glost. You know the Caractar to be your brothers?
¶Bast. If the matter were good, my Lord I dur
st
sweare
¶it were
his but in re
spect, of that I would faine thinke it
400were not,
¶Bast. It is his hand my Lord, but I hope his heart is
¶not in
the contents.
¶Glost. Hath he neuer heretofore
soũded you in this bu
sines
?
405Bast. Neuer my Lord, but I haue often heard him main
¶taine
it to be fit, that
sons at perfit age, & fathers
¶declining, his father
should be as ward to the
sonne, and
¶the
sonne mannage the re-
uenew.
