THE PICKWICK CLUB.
471
for, down in the country, and a humble relation of whose I married — she's dead, God bless her, and thank Him for it — was seized with a fit and went off."
"Where?" inquired Sam, who was growing sleepy after the numer- ous events of the day.
- ^ How should I know where he went ? " said the cobbler, speaking
through his nose in an intense enjoyment of his pipe. " He went off dead."
" Oh, that indeed," said Sam. " Veil ? "
" Well," said the cobbler, " he left five thousand pound behind him."
- ' And wery gen-teel in him so to do," said Sam.
- 'One of which," continued the cobbler, "he left to me, 'cause I'd
married his relation you see."
" Wery good," murmured Sam.
- ^ And being surrounded by a great number of nieces and nevys, as
was always quarrelling and fighting among themselves for the property, he makes me his executor, and leaves the rest to me in trust, to divide it among 'em as the will prowided."
" Wot do you mean by leavin' it on trust ? " inquired Sam, waking up a little. '^ If it ain't ready money, vere's the use on it ? "
" It's a law term, that's all," said the cobbler.
" I don't think that," said Sam, shaking his head. '^ There's wery little trust at that shop. Hows'ever, go on."
"Well," said the cobbler, " when I was going to take out a probate of the will, the nieces and nevys, who was desperately disappointed at not getting all the money, enters a caveat against it."
" What's that?" inquired Sam.
" A legal instrument, which is as much as to say, it's no go," replied the cobbler.
" I see," said Sam, " a sort of brother-in-law o' the have-his-carcase. Veil."
"But," continued the cobbler, "finding that they couldn't agree among themselves, and consequently couldn't get up a case against the will, they withdrew the caveat, and I paid all the legacies. I'd hardly done it, when one nevy brings an action to set the will aside. The case comes on some months afterwards, before a deaf old gentleman, in a back room somewhere down by Paul's Churchyard ; and after four counsels had taken a day a-piece to bother him regularly, he takes a veek or two to consider and read the evidence in six vollums, and then gives his judgment that how the testator was not quite right in his head, and I must pay all the money back again, and all the costs. I appealed ; the case come on before three or four very sleepy gentlemen, who had heard it all before in the other court, where they're lawyers without work ; the only difference being, that there they're called doctors, and in the other place delegates, if you understand that ; and they very dutifully confirmed the decision of the old gentleman below. After that we went into Chancery, where we are still, and where I shall always be. My lawyers have had all my thousand pound long ago; and what between the estate, as they call it, and the costs, I'm here for ten
