"Of course, it is very doubtful if any reputable solicitor would have taken up the case.

Timothy Beddingfield, the Birmingham lawyer, is a gentleman who--well--has had some misfortunes, shall we say?
He is still on the rolls, mind you, but I doubt if any case would have its chances improved by his conducting it.

Against that there is just this to be said, that some of these old peerages have such peculiar histories, and own such wonderful archives, that a claim is always worth investigating--you never know what may be the rights of it.
"I believe that, at first, every one laughed over the pretensions of the Hon.

Robert Ingram de Genneville to the joint title and part revenues of the old barony of Genneville, but, obviously, he _might_ have got his case.

It certainly sounded almost like a fairy-tale, this claim based upon the supposed validity of an ancient document over 400 years old.