Chapter III. 
WIDOWS AND THEIR PROPERTY &e. 
The state of widowhood in Siam does not materially differ from 
that in England. Widows are not restricted from marrying again. 
In the event of a separation , merely, betwixt husband and wife, the 
sons remain with the mother, the daughters with the father, on the 
principle that the man would otherwise be deprived of female assist¬ 
ance in his household. 
Although no legal restrition is imposed on the widow; yet, by a 
fancied moral one applying indirectly the more frequently she has been 
married, the less will her share be of her deceased husband’s proper¬ 
ty. Should she have married a fourth husband, she cannot claim 
any part of his property at his decease. She is a Pretsiya , and her 
alleged incontinence must thus be punished. Rut she is entitled to 
her Maradok or personal property, and to what she had personally 
acquired, during cohabitation, (women carring on petty traffic if they 
like,) and also to the portion which she may have brought to her hus¬ 
band. 
When a husband dies before consummation, his widow does not take 
any portion of his Estate. Nor can either inherit the survivor’s pro¬ 
perty if they have not cohabited for three years. The children how¬ 
ever take according to Law. The crime of adultery invalidates any 
claim to such property on the part of the wife. But the wife has no 
recourse against the husband for infidelity. The moral Law on this 
point, as couched in the Bali , would seem to make some amends for 
the deficiency regarding it contained in the Civil Code. It will sub¬ 
sequently be noticed that a man may kill his wife and her paramour 
if he discover them together. 
If a man has three or more wives, they will, in the event of his 
death, share amongst them one third of his property,—the wife who 
was first married receiving the largest portion ;—and the remaining 
wives, portions according to their seniority. They will also get one 
half share amongst them when they have no father-in-law or mother- 
