It is eminently clear at the beginning of Act 2, scene 2 that Launcelot, servant of Shylock, is not treated well by his master. In his monologue, he expresses a desperate battle raging within his conscience about whether he should leave Shylock or not:
Certainly my conscience will serve me to run from
this Jew my master...
Throughout his speech, Launcelot emphasises what a terrible employer Shylock is:
...I should stay with the Jew my master,
who, God bless the mark, is a kind of devil... ...Certainly the Jew is the very devil
incarnal...
The suggestion is that Shylock is evil, for he treats Launcelot poorly. This is confirmed later, when Launcelot speaks to his father:
...My master's a very Jew: give
him a present! give him a halter: I am famished in
his service; you may tell every finger I have with
my ribs...
Evidently, Shylock has...
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not been feeding Launcelot well or paying him well enough to provide him with adequate sustenance, for he has grown very thin, almost skeletal, as suggested in the above extract. Launcelot has made up his mind to get as far away from Shylock as he possibly can. He has already decided to approachBassanio for employment and tells his father to give the gift that he has brought for Shylock to his possible new master.
...I am glad you are come: give me
your present to one Master Bassanio, who, indeed,
gives rare new liveries...
Bassanio will provide him with better and new attire, probably unlike the rags he had to work in whilst in Shylock's service. Bassanio later hires Launcelot and instructs him to take delivery of his new clothes:
Go, father, with thy son.
Take leave of thy old master and inquire
My lodging out. Give him a livery
More guarded than his fellows': see it done.
Launcelot is obviously quite pleased with this new arrangement and happily accompanies his father to his new master's apartment. He later acts as a messenger for Lorenzo, Bassanio's friend, and delivers messages from him to Jessica, Shylock's daughter, to assist with her elopement. Soon after, he also accompanies his new master to Belmont, where Bassanio wishes to chance his luck at winning the wealthy Portia's hand.
Surely, Launcelot is much better off than he had ever been with Shylock.