'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, were'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- carcass.

Well.'

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, afore a deaf old gentleman, in a back

room somewhere down by Paul's Churchyard; and arter four counsels

had taken a day a-piece to bother him regularly, he takes a week or

two to consider, and read the evidence in six volumes, 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 thousand, and shall stop here, till I die, mending shoes.

Some gentlemen have talked of bringing it before Parliament, and I

dare say would have done it, only they hadn't time to come to me, and

I hadn't power to go to them, and they got tired of my long letters, and

dropped the business. And this is God's truth, without one word of

suppression or exaggeration, as fifty people, both in this place and out

of it, very well know.'

The Pickwick Papers