The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1892-12-02
soMERrAsVNs FOR DIVORCE,

The accommodating letter of the Penn
sylvania divorce law brings to the courts
of the border counties of the State large
amount of business under that law, es-
pecially in those counties ad joining New
York State, whose law of divorce will
not permit the absolute dissolution of
the marriage bond except for one cause.
While the statutes of Pennsylvania allow
divorces for many causes, the one almost
universally mentioned in the complains
of those coming into the State for relief
from marital gliefs is 'incompatibility
of temper" This phrase frequently
conceals odd facts which are only
brought out in the evidence taken in the
cases before the commissioners appoint
ed by the courts to investigate their mer-
its, and are rarely made public. A case
now pending is one brought by a well-to-
do and prominent resident of Allegany
county, N. Y, the incompatibility of
the temper of whose wife This third one),
with his own is such that he seeks legal
separation from her She was a widow
with three children when he married
her. He had children by former mar
riages. The principal charge he makes
to sustain his complaint is that recently,
after family prayers, his wife charged
him with having prayed for his own chill
dren and neglected to notice hers in his
devotions. lie does not deny the charge,
but makes affidavit that the discussion
over the subject became warm, and that
his wife ordered him to repeat the family
services and make special mention of
her children in his prayer. He at first
refused to do her bidding, and she grab
bed him by his hair with both hands,
pulled him down on his knees and re-
fused to release her painful hold on his
hair until he had prayed as she ordered
| him to. For this evidence eff incompati-
bility of temper he prays the court for
release from his marriage bonds.
Another case with queer cause for
complaint in divorce comes from Allie
| gany county. A young woman of eigh-
teen married wealthy farmer of seven
/ ty. A week after her marriage a woman
| living on neighboring farm was widow
| ed and her husband left her the sole pos
SCISSOR of farm and 1900 in securities.
| The young woman's old husband, on
hearing of the death of his neighbOr and
the comfortable situation he had left his
widow in, seized his wife, who had
brought him no property, and shaking
her with violence, swore that but for her
he could now marry the rich widow"
After shaking his young wife all around
the house, he locked himself in a room
and has remained there ever since, COM
ing out only once day to eat a meal and
shake and curse his wife because she
stands in the way, as he alleges, of his
marrying the rich widow. The wifes
complaint is incOmpatibility of temper,
and she wants divorce, which some
people believe is evidence that she does
not believe the widow would marry hel
husband, or she would not give her the
chance.
A young man from Cattaraugus county
is gaining a residence in Pennsylvania
border county for the purpose of obtain
ing legal separation from his wife
whom he has never seen since she wen'
to change her wedding dress for trav
cling dress in which she was to start OF
her wedding tour. While he was waiting
for her return she sent him word tina
she would 90 away and would not SCI
him again. She was an orphan, OF lnde
pendent means, and what caused he
queer conduct the ignored husband doe
not know. She left the town alone tn
next day after the wedding, and neithe
the husband nor any of her acquaintance
: know where she is, but 1t is suppose'
that she is in Europe.
Another case is that OF woman VIII
asks for divorce from her husband VIII
lives in Steuben county. This complain
J ant is elderly and very Pioas, and ha