335305Bast. Thou Nature art my Godde
sse, to thy law my
seruices
336306are bound, wherefore
should I
stand in the plague of cu
stome,
337307and permit the curio
sity of Nations to depriue me, for that I am
339308some 12. or 14. moone-
shines lag of a brother
: why ba
stard?
340309wherefore ba
se, when my dementions are as well compa
ct, my
342310minde as generous, & my
shape as true as hone
st madams i
ssue,
343311why brand they vs with ba
se, ba
se ba
stardy? who in the lu
sty
345312stealth of nature, take more compo
sition and
fierce quality, then
347313doth within a
stale dull lie[d] bed, goe to the creating of a whole
348314tribe of fops got tweene
sleepe and wake; well the legitimate
350315Edgar, I mu
st haue your land, our Fathers loue is to the ba
stard
351316Edmund, as to the legitimate: well my legitimate. if this letter
353317speed, and my inuention thriue,
Edmund the ba
se
shall tooth'le
- 355318gitimate: I grow, I pro
sper, now Gods
stand vp for Ba
stards.
358320Glost. Kent bani
sht thus, and
France in choller parted, and
359321the King gone to night,
sub
scrib'd his power, con
fined to ex
- 360322hibition, all this done vpon the gad;
Edmund, how now, what
362324Bast. So plea
se y[ou]r Lord
ship, none.
363325Glost.. Why
so earne
stly
seeke you to put vp that letter?
364326Bast. I know no newes, my Lord.
365327Glo. What paper were you reading?
367329Glost. No, what needs then that terrible di
spatch of it into
368330your pocket, the quality of nothing hath not
such need to hide
369331it
selfe, lets
see, come if it be nothing I
shal not need
spe
ctacles.
371332Bast. I be
seech you
sir pardon me, it is a Letter from my bro
- 372333ther that I haue not all ore read, for
so much as I haue peru
sed,
373334I
finde it not
fit for your liking.
375335Glost. Giue me the letter
sir.
376336Bast. I
shall o
ffend, either to detaine or giue it, the contents
377337as in part I vnder
stand them, are too blame.
379338Glo. Lets
see, Lets
see.
380339Bast. I hope for my brothers iu
sti
fication, he wrote this but
381340as an e
ssay, or ta
ste of my vertue.
A Letter. 382341Glost. This policy of age makes the world bitter to the be
st 383342of our times, keepes our fortunes from vs till our oldne
sse can
- 384343not reli
sh them, I begin to
finde an idle and fond bondage in
385344the oppre
ssion of aged tyranny, who
swaies not as it hath pow
- 386345er, but as it is
su
ffered, come to mee, that of this I may
speake
387346more; if our Father would
sleepe till I wakt him, you
should
388347enioy halfe his reuenew for euer, and liue the beloued of your
390349 Hum, con
spiracy,
slept till I wakt him, you
should enioy halfe
391350his reuenew: my
sonne
Edgar, had he a hand to write this, a hart
392351and braine to breed it in? when came this to you, who brought
394353Bast. It was not brought me my Lord, there's the cunning
395354of it, I found it throwne in at the ca
sement of my Clo
set.
397355Glost. You know the carra
cter to be your brothers?
398356Bast. If the matter were good, my Lord, I dur
st sweare it
399357were his, but in re
spe
ct of that, I would faine think it were not.
402359Bast. It is his hand my Lord, but I hope his heart is not in
404361Glost. Hath he neuer heeretofore
sounded you in this bu
si- 405363Bast. Neuer my Lord, but I haue often heard him maintaine
406364it to be
fit, that
sonnes at par
fit age, and fathers declining, his
407365father
should be as Ward to the
sonne, and the
sonne mannage
409367Glost. O villaine, villaine, his very opinion in the Letter, ab
- 410368horrid villaine, vnnaturall dete
sted bruiti
sh villaine, wor
se then
411369bruiti
sh go
sir
seeke him; I, apprehend him, abhominable vil
- 413371Bast. I do not well know my Lord, if it
shall plea
se you to
414372su
spend your indignation again
st my brother, till you can de
- 415373riue from him better te
stimony of this intent, you
shal runnne a
416374certaine cour
se, where if you violently proceed again
st him, mi
- 417375staking his purpo
se, it would make a great gap in your owne
418376honour, and
shake in peeces the heart of his obedience, I dare
419377pawne downe my life for him, hee hath wrote this to feele my
420378a
ffe
ction to your Honour, and to no further pretence of danger.
423380Bast. If your Honour iudge it meete, I will place you where
424381you
shall heare vs conferre of this, and by an aurigular a
ssurance
425382haue your
satisfa
ction, and that without any further delay then
427384Glost. He cannot be
such a mon
ster.
427.2386Glost. To his father, that
so tenderly and entirely loues him:
427.3387heauen and earth!
Edmund seeke him out, winde me into him, I
428388pray you frame your bu
sines after your owne wi
sedome, I wold
429389vn
state my
selfe ro be in a due re
solution.
431390Bast. I
shall
seeke him
sir pre
sently, conuey the bu
sine
sse as I
432391shall
see meanes, and acquaint you withall.
433392Glost. The
se late Eclip
ses in the Sunne and Moone, portend no
434393good to vs, though the wi
sedome of nature can rea
son thus and
435394thus, yet nature
findes it
selfe
scourg'd by the
sequent e
ffe
cts,
436395loue cooles, friend
ship fals o
ff, brothers diuide, in Cities muti
- 437396nies, in Countries di
scords, Pallaces trea
son, the bond crackt
439397betweene
sonne and father;
finde out this villaine,
Edmund it
444398shall lo
se thee nothing, do it carefully; and the noble and true
446399hearted
Kent bani
sht, his o
ffence hone
st;
strange,
strange!
447400Bast. This is the excellent foppery of the world, that when we
448401are
sicke in Fortune, often the
surfet of our owne behauiour,
449402we make guilty of our di
sa
sters, the Sunne, the Moore, and the
450403stars, as if we were villaines by nece
ssity, fooles by heauenly
451404compul
sion, knaues, theeues, and trecherers by
spirituall predo
- 452405minance, drunkards, liars, and adulterers by an enforc'
st obedi
- 453406ence of planitary in
fluence, and all that we are euill in, by a di
- 454407uine thru
sting on, an admirable eua
sion of whore-ma
ster man,
456408to lay his goati
sh di
spo
sition to the charge of
stars; my Father
457409compounded with my Mother vnder the Dragons taile, & my
458410natiuity was vnder
Vrsa maior,
so that it followes I am rough &
459411lecherous; Fut, I
should haue beene that I am, had the maiden
- 460412le
st starre of the Firmament twinckled on my ba
stardy;
Edgar,
463414& out he comes like the Cata
strophe of the old Comedy, mine
464415is villanous melancholy, with a
sigh like them of
Bedlam; O
465416the
se Ecclip
ses do portend the
se diui
sions.
467417Edgar. How now brother
Edmund, what
serious contempla
- 469419Bast. I am thinking brother of a predi
ction I read this other
470420day, what
should follow the
se Ecclip
ses.
471421Edg. Doe you bu
sie your
selfe about that?
472422Bast. I promi
se you the e
ffe
cts he writ of,
succeed vnhappily,
473423as of vnnaturalne
sse betweene the childe and the parent, death,
473.1424dearth, di
ssolutions of ancient armies, diui
sions in
state, mena
- 473.2425ces and maledi
ctions again
st King and Nobles, needle
sse di
ffi- 473.3426dences, bani
shment of friends, di
ssipation of Cohorts, nuptiall
473.5428Edg. How long haue you bin a
se
ctary A
stronomicall?
474429Bast. Come, come, when
saw you my father la
st?
475430Edg. Why the night gone by.
476431Bast. Spake you with him?
477432Edg. Two houres together.
478433Bast. Parted you in good tearmes? found you no di
splea
sure
479434in him by word or countenance?
481436Bast. Bethinke your
selfe wherein you may haue o
ffended
482437him, and at my entreaty, forbeare his pre
sence, till
some little
483438time hath quali
fied the heate of his di
splea
sure, which at this
484439in
stant
so rageth in him, that with the mi
schiefe of your per
son
486441Edg. Some villaine hath done me wrong.
487442Bast. That's my feare brother, I adui
se you to the be
st, goe
493443arm'd, I am no hone
st man if there be any good meaning to
- 494444wards you, I haue told you what I haue
seen & heard, but faint
- 495445ly, nothing like the image and horror of it; pray you away.
497446Edg. Shall I heare from you anon?
Exit Edgar. 498447Bast. I do
serue you in this bu
sine
sse:
499448A credulous Father, and a brother noble,
500449Who
se nature is
so farre from doing harmes,
501450That he
su
spe
cts none, on who
se fooli
sh hone
sty
502451My pra
cti
ses ride ea
sie, I
see the bu
sine
sse,
503452Let me if not by birth, haue lands by wit,
504453All with me's meete, that I can fa
shion
fit.
Exit.