suffered. Come to me, that of this I may speak more.
If our father would sleep till I waked him, you should
enjoy half his revenue forever, and live the beloved of
your brother,
Edgar.”
55
Hum, conspiracy? “'Sleep till I wake him, you should enjoy
half his revenue”—my son Edgar? Had he a hand to write
this, a heart and brain to breed it in? When came this to
you? Who brought it?
power of the elderly is starting to feel like a silly and foolish slavery to me, and they only enjoy that power because we let them have it. Come talk to me about this. If our father were dead you'd receive half of his revenue forever, and you'd have my undying love,
Edgar.”
Hmm, what's this, a conspiracy? “If our father were dead, you'd receive half of his revenue forever”—my son Edgar? How did he bring himself to write such a thing? How could he have even entertained these thoughts in his heart? How did you get this letter? Who delivered it?
EDMUND
It was not brought me, my lord. There's the cunning of it.
60
I found it thrown in at the casement of my closet.
EDMUND
Nobody delivered it, my lord. That's what's clever about it. It was tossed into the window of my room.
GLOUCESTER
You know the character to be your brother's?
GLOUCESTER
You're sure the handwriting is your brother's?
EDMUND
If the matter were good, my lord, I durst swear it were his.
But in respect of that, I would fain think it were not.
EDMUND
If he'd written nice things, I'd swear yes right away. But as it stands, I wish I could believe it wasn't.
GLOUCESTER
It is his.
GLOUCESTER
But it is his handwriting?
EDMUND
65
It is his hand, my lord, but I hope his heart is not in the
contents.
EDMUND
It's his handwriting, my lord, but I hope he didn't mean what he wrote.
GLOUCESTER
Has he never before sounded you in this business?
GLOUCESTER
Has he ever tested out these ideas on you before?
EDMUND
Never, my lord. But I have heard him oft maintain it to be
fit that, sons at perfect age and fathers declined, the father
70
should be as ward to the son, and the son manage his
revenue.
EDMUND
Never, my lord. But I've often heard him argue that when sons are at their prime and their fathers are declining, the sons should be their fathers' guardians and manage their fathers' money.
GLOUCESTER
O villain, villain! His very opinion in the letter! Abhorred
villain! Unnatural, detested, brutish villain—worse than
GLOUCESTER
Oh, what a villain! That's just what he said in the letter. Evil villain! Monstrous, hateful, bestial villain! Worse
