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■for he might always either grant or receive a clvip in aif^ion 

 by affignment ; and our courts of equity, coiilideriiig that 

 in a commercial country almoft all pcrfonal property mull 

 neccdarily lie in contract, will proted the airignmeut of a 

 chofe ill aftion, as much as the bw will tliat of a chofe in 

 pofTefnon. 3 P. Wms. 199. I" equity, therefore, a bond 

 is afTignable for a valu;ible confuleration paid, and the 

 afliguee alone becomes entitled to the money, fo that if 

 the obligor, after notice of the alTi^nment, pays the money 

 to the obligee, he will be *;ompelled to pay it over again. 

 2 Vern. 295. 



Several things are affignable by afls of parliament, 

 which fecm not to be afTignable in their own nature ; as 

 promiffory notes and bills of exchange, by ftat. 3 Sc 4 Ann. 

 c. 9. ; bail-bonds by the dierill', by 4 & 5 Ann. c. 16. ; a 

 judge's ceitificate for taking and profccuting a felon to 

 conviction, by 10& 11 W.' 3. c. 23. ; and a bankrupt's 

 efFeds, by the feveral ftatutes of bankruptcy. 



The njjignmeni of Joivcr is the fctting out of a woman's 

 marriage-portion by the king. By the old law, grounded 

 on the feudal exadions, a woman could not be endowed 

 \ntli()Ut a fine paid to the lord ; neither could (lie many 

 again without iiis licenle ; but {he could contracl hcrfclf, 

 and fo convey part of the f^eud, to the lord's enemy. Mirr. 

 c. I. ;J^ 3. This liccnfe the lords took care to be well paid 

 for ; and as it feenis, would fonietimes force the dowager 

 to a fecoud marriage, in order to gain the line. But, to 

 remedy thefe opprelTions, it was provided, firil by the char- 

 ter of Henry 1. and afterwards by Magna Charta (cap. 7.), 

 that the widow fliould pay nothing for her marriage, nor 

 be dillrained to marry again, if Ihe chofe to live without a 

 hufband ; but fliould not, however, marry againll the con- 

 fent of the lord : and farther, that nothing lliould be taken 

 for afTignment of the widow's dower, but that (he fliould 

 remain in her hufband's capital manfion-houl'e for forty days 

 after his death, during which lime, called the widow's 

 " quarantine," her dower fliould be alTigned. The parti- 

 cular lands to be held in dower, muft be alTigned by the 

 heir of the hufljand, or his guardian ; Co. Litt. 34, 35. not 

 only for the fake of notoriety, but alfo to entitle the lord 

 of the fee to demand his fervices of the heir, in relped of 

 the lands fo holden. For the heir by this entry becomes 

 tenant thereof to the lord, and the widow is immediate 

 tenant to the heir, by a kind of fubinfeudation or under- 

 tenancy, completed by this invcfliture or alTignmcut ; which 

 tenure may ilill be created, notwithftundiug the ilatute of 

 quia emptores, becaufe the heir parts not with the fee fimple, 

 but only with an eftate for life. If the heir or his guar- 

 dian do not afTign her dower within the time of quarantine, 

 or do alTign it unfairly, fhe has her remedy at law, and the 

 fherilT is appointed to alTign it. Co. Litt. 34, 35. Or, if 

 the heir, being under age, or his guardian ailign more than 

 fne ought to have, it may be afterwards remedied by writ 

 of Admeasurement of ilower. Bl. Com. vol.ii. 135. &c. 

 The alTitrnment of the lands is for the life of the woman ; 

 and if lands are afligned to a woman for years, in recom- 

 pence of dower, this is no bar of dower. 2 Danv. Abr. i6oj 

 When other land is afligned, that is no part of the lands 

 in which the woman claims dower, that affignment will not 

 be good or binding ; and there muil be certainty in that 

 which is affigned ; otherwife, though it be by agreement, 

 it may be void. 4 Rep. 2. i lull. 34. If a wife accept 

 and eiiter upon lefs land than the third of the whole, on 

 the flicriff's affignment, flie is barred to demand more. 

 Moor. 679. But if a wife is entitled to dower of the lands 

 of her firlt huftjand, and her fecond hufljand accepts of this 

 dower lefs than her third part, (lie may, after his death. 



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refufe the fame, and have her full third part. Fitz. Dower, 

 121. By provilion of law, tlie wife may take a third part 

 of thehulhand's lands, and hold them difcharged. 2 Danv. 

 672. Theihcnffniay alfo affign a rent out of the land in lieu 

 of dower ; and her acceptance of it will bar dower out of 

 the fame land, but not of other lands. 2 And. 31. Dyer, 

 31. I Nelfon Abr. 680. None can afligu dower but thofe 

 who have a freehold, or againll whom a writ of dower lies ; 

 and therefore a tenant by ftaiutc-merchant, ftatute-ftaple, 

 or elegit, or leffee for years, cannot affign dower ; for none 

 of thcle have an eftate large enough to anfwer the plaintiff's 

 demand. Park. 403, 404. Co. Litt. 35. Bro. 63. 94. 

 I Rol. Abr. 681. 6 Co. 57. If the heir within age affign 

 to tlie wife more land in dower than flic ought to have, 

 he himfelf fliall have a writ of adineafureinent of dower at 

 full age by the common law. 1'. N. B. 148. 332. Co. 

 Litt. 39 a. 2 Infl. 367. 7 H. II. c. 4. 13 Edw. I. c. 7 

 & 8. if the heir within age, before the guardian enters, 

 alligns too much in dower, tiie guardian (hall have a writ of 

 admeafurement, by Hat. W. II. c. 7. 2 Inft. 317. If a 

 wife after ailignment of dower improves the lands, fo that 

 they then become of greater value than the other two parts, 

 no writ of admeafurement hes, &:c. F. N. B. 149. 2 loft. 

 368. 5 W. 12. 



Assignment, Novel. See Novel. 

 ASSIMILATION, compounded of aJ, to, znd/milhf 

 /tie, the ad of njjimilaling \ an ad whereby a thing is ren- 

 dered llmilar, and like to another. 



Assimilation, Assimilatio, in Phvjics, is properly a 

 motion whereby bodies convert other duly difpoied bodies, 

 into a nature like, or homogeneous to their own. Inflances 

 of this affimilation we fee in flame, which converts the oily 

 or other particles of fuel into its own fiery and luminous 

 nature. The like alfo appears in air, fmoke, and fpiiits of 

 all kinds. 



The like we fee in vegetables, where the watery 

 juices imbibed from the earth, being farther prepared and 

 digefted in the vcffels of the plant, become of a vegetable 

 nature, and augment the wood, leaves, fruit, &c. 



So alfo, in animal bodies, we fee the food affunilated o;- 

 changed into animal fubilance, by digellion, chylilicatioii, 

 and the other operations neceffary to nutrition. 

 Assimilation, in Rhetoric. See Simile. 

 ASSIMILATOR, in Entomolo^^y, a fpecies of Ichnlu" 

 MON, found in North America. The general colour is 

 fearlet ; anterior part of the thorax black ; wings brown; 

 bale and band ycllowifh, with a fanguineous dot. Swcde- 

 rus Nov: Ad. Stockh. &c. 



ASSIMILIS, a fpecies of Brentus, a native of Ncvir 

 Zealand, and firft deferibed by Fabricius in his Species Infec- 

 toium, under the name of Curculio afiimilis. It is of a 

 cylindrical form, with the apex of the beak glabrous and 

 black ; and the wing-cafes fomewhat fafciated with ferru- 

 ginous. Fab. Gmel. &c. — Obf. The fnout is (horter than ■ 

 the body ; aiitennx black, brown at the tip; thorax black, , 

 and caniculated ; wing-cafes pointed, and marked with four 

 or five dots. 



AssiMiLis, a fpecies of Grvllus [Acheta fedion}. 

 The wings arc tailed, and longer than the wing-cafes ; ab- 

 domen with two ftyles, which are cleft at the end. 



AssiMiLis, a fpecies of Spmex, that inhabits Tran- 

 quebar. It is black ; antennae, tail, and legs rufous ; wings 

 blue, white at the bafe and tip. Fabr. Mant.Inf. 



AssiMiLis, a fpecies of Oniscus, found in the Eii- 

 ropean feas. It is oval; the tail obtufe and unarmed; body 

 cinereous. Fabricius. This is afcllus niarinue vulgari bre- 

 vier 



