83 Mich. 150 | Mich. | 1890
The causes alleged for a bill of divorce in this case are habitual drunkenness and extreme cruelty. A decree was granted in the court below.
It is not claimed by complainant that defendant was ever cruel or even abusive to him when she was sober, and he testifies that when not under the influence of liquor she was a model wife and housekeeper. This is also shown by every witness in the case. It may be, as stated by the counsel for complainant in their brief and argument, that the personal appearance of the defendant, while in the court below, was that of a confirmed drunk
The parties to this suit were married October 6, 1868, and have ever since, until the filing of this bill, lived together. The husband had but little, if anything, at the time of the marriage. He has been faithful and energetic in business, and has prospered. His wife has been equally industrious with him. She has been frugal in the home-keeping, of which she has always had full and undisputed control. Hp to the very time of the filing of this bill, the husband has had such unlimited confidence in her prudence and economy that he, each week, has handed over to her a stated allowance, increasing it as he prospered in business, leaving the expenditure of such allowance entirely to her own judgment.
There is no doubt but that at times the defendant has drank more than she ought to, and there is testimony tending to show that on a few occasions she has been, in late years, so much under the influence of liquor or beer as to become noticeable on that account. But she is by no means shown to be an habitual drunkard. The evidence of her intoxication comes almost entirely from her husband and his relatives, while neavly all her neighbors, who were intimate with her, some of them living next door to her, never saw her under the influence of liquor, and did not know that she drank at all. During all the time she managed her household- affairs neatly and
Occasional intoxication is not habitual drunkenness in a woman any more than it is in a man. The defendant denies that she was ever intoxicated, and explains each specific charge of drunkenness brought against her. She admits that she has drank beer, and occasionally wine, and, at one or two times, a little whisky. She claims that one glass of beer affects her so that her husband notices it by the appearance of her eyes; but according to all the testimony she is neither a steady nor confirmed user of intoxicating stimulants. She seems to love her husband dearly, and since the bill was filed has implored him to return to her and stop the proceedings, promising that, if the drinking of even a glass of beer offends him, she will forever abstain from it. He says that when she is sober his “home is heaven." We think no divorce ought to be granted. It seems that there is good reason
The decree of the court below will be reversed, and complainant’s bill dismissed, with costs, and a solicitor’s fee of $100.