The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-07-17
DIVORCE IN MANY LANDS


MdffAffdGE BOND rs SEVERED.
Ensy for n Man TO Put n GiriIe OF Gras
Widows Around the Earth In n CompaP
atlVsly Brief Time--TridlnR Ground
for, Divorce in Olden Times and NOvg
From he Green Rag. =
Tho marriage and divorce laws Of the varioua
countries, States and tribes. brought together
compound n dish of statutes as analogous b
hash as anything on the legal board.
Agar or two ago a London writer humorous
ly suggested that an interesting piece might b
prepared for the stage, entitled. " Round the
Worlds Divorce Courts in Sixty Days" he
would have the hero. or shall l say the villain.
Don Juan, begin his matrimonial adventures
In Ireland. take n second wife In Scotland, and
a third in England. The laws covering his case
lacking uniformity between the three countries
would declare the marriages both legal and
Illegal.
Don Juan would next go to America, where
by reason OF the varying laws Of the different
States. he could marry and divorce. remarry
and rcdivorce. and commit bigamy. trigamy.
quadrigamy. &c, until his itinerary called him
on to fresh fields and pastures new.
Over In Japan he could legally shake offa
wife who talked too much; In China one who
was ill-tempercd; in Australia one who Inn
bibed too freely. and In Germany one who was
too extravaRant; and so he could travel merrily
VIZ hhSi NC LhN oNNudilg klAhlOu ttIo ~ WIZ
divorces and grass widows.
Divorce was known in Rome as far back e.
the time OF the decemvirs. The historian
Dionysius has preserved n speech by Veturia,
In which she mentions that her son. Coriolanug,
before he left Rome. told his wife. volumnia,
that he was no longer to be her husband, and
wished her better luck In marrying another
more fortunate than himself. This was In the
fifth century before Christ.
In anniant Athaoa Tho Iaur ollaunA at-1-.~
upon very trifinR grounds. In Crete any man
might dismiss a wife who promised to hamper
him with a too numerous progeny. The Greek
wife of to-day, II she would remain q wife, muS1
conduct herself with the greatest propriety.
The husband may obtain a divorce from her II,
against his wish, she should stay a night in ans
other house: II, without his knowledge. she
should go to the theatre or the races; or u.
against his desire, she attends a dinner or goes
in bathing in the company OF men.
The divorce procedure Of the ancient He.
brews, Judging from the case OF Abraham and
his wife .HagaIr, was a very simple matter IN.
a @eTning AND and took aSFf bTead F and a aB Bot sHisig Of IN Ra aeS
and gave, it e, Hagar. putting 1t on her shoul
about in this way: The couple who wished 70
square. and, each taking hold OF one, Of the ends
Of q strip Of brittle muslin. they pulled \ apart
1t is not only in Japan that a husband may
The Chinese courts allow divorce for loquacity.
iinattention to her parents-in;law, thievishness.
M ma tem WRSa n lasclyi9 onb ne Ti aed do 5a nne oFSss os ThS
is e e be plnished with eighty blows:
in The the, an GiTaTcS Chinese hines TeT Re T much more Re Liberal dD
their old books. that "a wife was turned away
i she allowed the house to be full Of smoke, OF
no ase By which t would o8E T appear arr that those rsss I'D
rat eaters thought more of their dogs than the!
for them their favorite rodentian fare.
In Morocco a man may leave his wife on the
G efEiS1ss writes S1ftSsa: One a Of the as servants nts'R here IS
reported to have had nineteen wives already.
writer says y that an among the Ioorts it Is co1s
sidered low" for a couple to live too long to-
who have been the ~oftenest divorced.
Pollak tells us that in Persia a %,Sighe" wife
Per fRsfR which h n @a5 e Of fos any q lfS snstE fit TGR% dSa
hour to ninety.nine years: In Greenland hqs.
i RSha t eoset Ss,e for SFe six si months 10 T SSSeSMfa aIdiv atsSs
are 50 fond Of matrimonial change. that cases
are frequent where a man marries and die
In France, in 1872. during the reign Of ter
ror. the National Convention tried the exPeEis
PsrtIes s sirSsrns f'v? The az result u va shos & M
During the twenty-seven months Immediately
than 5000 divorces took, place in Paris alone,
and the matter grew steadily worse until In 1787
1 r5sss S'vo n 17s sS' shs get S %ss am nGsd. 'N $r RfI;
Of this period. the historian Duval says:
di So9SsddS u a!Earf tSe I least pSf ss cat nv HitS SSsS
any sRfb %or Ifls aso n en- th msa SSo%ld d hs AZ a to az and %
to eat cherries at Montmorency."-
w S5T|dhge m GETIey tells dns ps t that Sit the flrst b act tn Under
dSeacirSeRe IN ms amy dfepe eSdf9 " d ft the English @ CrSWn
WAS VAS pa as YSa 6y ne he General nsw Court Court 81 Of i MaisstaGaass
s9I5 8 ut ap By that ats act fe dfd not SHAVE have e' l ons!t To- wait
at its first meeting this case was decided:
"InmnG 1nVfprd hninO nFagnnfnn for having
two wives. his last marriage was declared void.
or a nulity, thereof, and to be divorced, not to
and he to. be sent away for England by the 6rsf
opportunity; and all that he hath is appointed
children he is also fined f100. and to be set in
the stocks an hour upon a market day after the
In almost all the States Of our Union divorces
may be obtained for cruel and phuman treat
times been so considered, In one case a court
granted a divorce to a wife because her hus;
ease it was allowed the piaintiF because the
defendant had said to her. after they mad pee9
Worm out. | do . not want You any more" ""O
II. another instance a woman who was sub.
ject to sick headaches. which grey worse when
cause her husband smoked. The amusing, ple9
night she was severely scratched.
4 fifth instance is where a woman secured Q
divorce because her little man insisted on quot.
her in the language of the Apostle Paul that
she should be obedient to her husband.
Some years ago a Kentucky victim Of man'O
inconsistency set forth her plant in a petition
for divorce in this style:
DARK clouds Of discord began to lower over
the sky of welded felicity, and the minaciouR
lightning of disunion began TO dart its luriQ
flames across the gloomy clouds Of atramentRl
blackness. obscuring every star Of hope and hap
piness whose Respondent glory illuminated the
dawn OF the first few brief years Of her welded
life. when she gave her hand and an undivided
heart TO the defendant. who in the suitry month
OF July. 1876. after having been warmly and
snugly .wintered within tho fond embraces OF
her loving arms and closely nestled 10 a heart
that beat alone for the defendant. showed his
base black inRratitude by abandoning hsr
b thirst for novelty. which is the predominant
character OF the defendants nature
II the deserted one was in the habit OF hold
ing out in this style the wonder is that the
union lasted as long as II did.
But complaints OF cruel and inhuman treat
ment are not the exclusive privilege OF the