ained leave to amend their answer to the
plaintiffs statement of claim. At first they had only pleaded that the
testator had not duly executed the alleged will in accordance with the
provisions of 1 Vic., cap. 26, sec. 2, and that he did not know and
approve the contents thereof. But now they added a plea to the effect
that the said alleged will was obtained by the undue influence of Augusta
Smithers, or, as one of the learned counsel for the defendants put it
much more clearly at the trial, "that the will had herself procured the
will, by an undue projection of her own will upon the unwilling mind of
the testator."

And so the time went on. As often as he could, Eustace got away from
London, and went down to the little riverside hotel, and was as happy as
a man can be who has a tremendous law suit hanging over him. The law, no
doubt, is an admirable institution, out of which a large number of people
make a living, and a proportion of benefit accrues to the community at
large. But woe unto those who form the subject-matter of its operations.
For instance, the Court of Chancery is an excellent institution in
theory, and looks after the affairs of minors upon the purest principles.
But how many of its wards after, and as a result of one of its
well-intentioned interferences, have to struggle for the rest of their
lives under a load of debt raised to pay the crushing costs! To employ
the Court of Chancery to look after wards is something as though one set
a tame elephant to pick up pins. No doubt he could pick them up, but it
would cost something to feed him. It is a perfectly arguable proposition
that the Court of Chancery produces as much wretchedness and poverty as
it prevents, and it certainly is a bold step, except under the most
exceptionable circumstances, to place anybody in its custody who has
money that can be dissipated in law expenses. But of course these are
revolutionary remarks, which one cannot expect everybody to agree with,
least of all the conveyancing counsel of the Court.

However this may be, certainly his impending lawsuit proved a fly in
Eustace's honey. Never a day passed but some fresh worry arose. James
and John, the legal twins, fought like heroes, and held their own
although their experience was so small--as men of talent almost
invariably do when they are put to it. But it was difficult for Eustace
to keep them supplied even with sufficient money for out-of-pocket
expenses; and, of course, as