1369 
'ruttc re.u kal> new-yorkek 
December 20. 
Companionship for Dessert. 
(Continued from page 1S03-) 
table, and held one of my hands under 
the table, and I cleared the table of eat¬ 
able with the other hand, while She told 
me things which were pleasant to hear. 
And when both my arms were at liberty 
I just—O pshaw! I can’t describe the 
dessert-” - 
/J Palate-tickler of Boyhood. 
As to that one best meal; if you cut 
out that three-gallon crock of doughnuts 
that Cousin Ed and 1 devoured one after¬ 
noon when Aunt Susan was off visiting; 
those meals of Mother’s long-keeping loaf 
cake when we boys deftly turned the good 
fat loaves out of the tins they were 
baked in and ate the whole inside out 
from the bottom and put the unbroken 
shell back in the tins to look as good as 
new; that meal of 18 eggs we found 
Bridget the old speckled hen setting on 
under the old barn floor; and that meal 
out in the “Brook Lot” by the deep bend 
near the old sycamore tree, when roasted 
potatoes from our own field and a few 
slices off neighbor Kinne’s old cow that 
broke her leg and had to be killed and 
the meat hung up for chicken feed and 
had been hanging a long time before our 
choice cuts were hacked off; why then 
the one best meal of my life was on one 
cold November day, 30 or more years ago, 
when I had been driving a long distance. 
I stopped at the home of a farmer friend 
just as the family were sitting down to 
a dinner of meat, mashed potatoes, 
mashed turnips, celery, cider and plenty 
of good bread and butter and apple pie. 
It was the best bit of meat I had ever 
tasted, before or since, and I talked about 
it so much that I was finally told it was 
the “neck piece” of a bull that had been 
“boiled down in the pot” for nine hours. 
Bless that old bull, he sure did give me 
a taste of real meat, the memory of which 
will last through life. Every bit of that 
meal was “home grown,” except flour 
for the bread and pie crust. 
j. H. HALE. 
! The Woman At Law i 
■ [Under tills heading wo shall discuss the legal ■ 
i rights of women, particularly as regards their I 
| property and their children. There will lie direct I 
I answers to actual questions aud general state- | 
I inputs of law.] I 
Married Women’s Property Rights. 
So much discussion has appeared in the 
press of late in regard to the suffragettes 
and the rights of women that one comes 
easily to the belief that the women at 
present have no rights, and this is an 
erroneous belief. In many of the States 
they have all the rights which the men 
possess, except the right to vote, and In 
many of our Western States they have 
obtained this and stand on an equality 
in all things with mhn. But it has 
been a hard struggle to obtain these 
rights and this equality. 
In early ages among our barbarous an¬ 
cestors marriage did not exist. Promis¬ 
cuous living was the custom, and later 
when the relation of husband and wife 
was partially recognized the wife was 
practically a slave, with her husband as 
the master. The rights were all with the 
strong—the man ; the duties for the weak, 
the woman. And it might be said that 
this idea has continued strong in some 
quarters, as evidences of belief in it may 
still be found. Then in the early Roman 
law the identity of the wife was com¬ 
pletely merged in that of her husband. 
He had absolute power over her, even 
to sell or kill. Later on the relationship 
was regarded more as a partnership. 
Coming down to the early common law of 
England on which is based much of the 
fundamental laws of our States, we find 
that the husband and wife are regarded 
as one person. During her marriage the 
wife’s identity was practically suspended 
—merged in that of her husband. Then 
little by little she came to be emanci¬ 
pated. The equity side of the courts 
recognized the woman’s individual exist¬ 
ence and enforced her right to control, 
enjoy and dispose of her separate estate. 
From this beginning the States of our 
Union have gone ahead and practically 
revolutionized the status of the wife with¬ 
in the last 50 or 75 years, so that to-day, 
as has been said, she stands practically 
on a parity with her husband—man. 
Let us, as a sort of middle ground, 
examine the laws of New York in this 
respect. All real or personal property 
owned by a married woman at her mar¬ 
riage or acquired by her thereafter in 
any manner remains her sole and separ¬ 
ate property, and she may deal with it 
as if she were single, and it is not liable 
for her husband’s or any other debts ex¬ 
cept her own, nor is it subject to her 
husband’s control or disposal. He has 
nothing to say in the matter. She has 
all the rights with respect to all kinds 
of property as if she were unmarried. 
She may buy, sell or exchange real estate 
directly with her husband or any other 
person without the intervention of any 
third person and she may make any con¬ 
tract directly with her husband which 
anyone else could make, subject to this 
condition that they may not contract to 
relieve the husband from liability, to sup¬ 
port the wife, as this is against good 
public policy. She may carry on her own 
separate business and may be sued with 
respect to it without having her husband 
joined. She may be appointed and act as 
administratrix, executrix or guardian, 
and she appears in actions at law as if 
single. A contract made by her does not 
bind her husband or his property. A 
married woman may bring suit to recover 
damages to her person, estate or character 
and the amount received is her own sep¬ 
arate property. She is liable for her own 
wrongs and her husband cannot be held 
unless the wrongs were done by his actual 
coercion or instigation, which must be 
proved. She is entitled to the wages she 
deserves from any trade or occupation 
and may sue for them, and the husband 
has no right in them or to bring action 
to recover them without her knowledge 
and consent and the presumption in all 
cases is that she alone is entitled to them. 
Where land is conveyed to husband and 
wife it is understood unless the contrary 
intention is plain that they take it as 
tenants in the entirety; that is that the 
title to the whole property is in each 
and during their joint lives they are en¬ 
titled to share the proceeds and at the 
death of one the other of course contin¬ 
ues as sole owner. A wife is still en¬ 
titled to her dower right; that is to a 
third part of all the lands of which her 
husband “was seized of an estate of in¬ 
heritance” (which being interpreted, 
means owned) during marriage. This 
right she may contract away and the 
signing of deeds with her husband by a 
wife is no mere form, for by so doing she 
contracts away this valuable right. It 
may not be amiss here to state that a 
woman may bequeath personal property 
at the age of sixteen, that she attains the 
age of legal consent to marriage (without 
the consent of her parents or guardian) 
at eighteen and at twenty-one attains her 
majority and may then devise real estate 
whether married or single and has all 
the rights as outlined above. 
As was stated these are the rights of 
married women in New York State, but 
the laws of the other States are very 
similar, some having extended her rights 
beyond these, while others have been 
slower. Enough has been shown, how¬ 
ever, to make clear just how far the mar¬ 
ried woman has been emancipated from 
her old bondage and non-entity, and in 
the near future she will in all countries 
stand in all respects on a parity with 
her companion in all the vicissitudes of 
life—her husband. M. n. 
Deed from Husband to Wife. 
1. Is it, legal for a man to deed his 
farm to his wife without deeding it to 
some other party first and then having 
that party deed it to her? 
2. Is it necessary to have any money 
mentioned in the transaction? 
1. It is legal for a man to deed his 
farm directly to his wife without the 
formality of its going through the name 
of some third person. 
2. Every deed should have expressed in 
it the consideration, for without any con¬ 
sideration it is void. It is usual to in¬ 
sert, where the whole consideration is 
not given, the nominal sum of $1, but it 
is better to give the full consideration. 
It must be understood, however, that 
where property is deeded from husband 
to wife without consideration the rights 
of creditors of the husband must be con¬ 
sidered, and if it is done to get rid of the 
husband’s creditors, then it is void as 
to them. 
Guardianship of an Estate. 
In regard to settling an estate must all 
the heirs be cited and if there is a minor 
and she has a guardian appointed should 
that guardian be mentioned in the final 
settlement of the estate? Instead of the 
mother being appointed as guardian an- 
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