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'notorious' or 'notoriously,' in the constitution of an offense of the nature spoken of, is sufficiently answered if the act is done in such a manner or under such circumstances as necessarily to become public or generally known in the neighborhood. As in the case before Lord Hardwicke, where it appeared in a cause in chancery that a man had formerly assigned his wife over to another man, Lord Hardwicke directed a prosecution for that transaction as being notoriously against public decency and morals."

The law punishes offenses against good manners when they are of a notorious character. The following are instances of this kind of nuisance: :

Common scolding, which is an offense of this character. To hold a woman liable to punishment for a too free use of her tongue, the common law thought a very reasonable thing. Therefore, where a woman was habitually addicted to scolding in public, she was indictable as a "common scold." Formerly the punishment was a ducking the woman being placed on a stool at the end of a beam which was over a pond and which, by means of a lever, raised her in the air and then dropped her into the water again and again until she was half drowned. This penalty is now obsolete, being succeeded by fine and imprisonment. James v. Com., 12 S. & R. 236. As late as 1866, when the Supreme Court was appealed to on the ground of politeness to refuse to recognize the offense, it turned a deaf ear, the Chief Justice saying: "The argument drawn from the indelicacy and unreasonableness of such a prosecution of a female should be addressed to the Legislature rather than to the courts, for courts of justice who declare, rather than make the law, are insensible to all considerations of gallantry." Com. v. Mohn, 52 Pa. St. 246. It is a feminine offense entirely, though a somewhat kindred nuisance, viz.: Common brawling is generally committed by the male gender.

Eaves-dropping is another nuisance of this kind. It consists in listening at a man's window or wall or other part of the house, in order to hear what is going on inside, and make it the gossip of the neighborhood. A man's house is his castle, and no one has a right to pry into one's secrets, whatever they are. Therefore, it is

at common law an indictable offense to clandestinely hearken to the discourse of a man or his family in his own house. And it has been held that a person who secretly ensconces himself near the room of the grand jury, in order to hear what they are saying and doing,, is an eaves-dropper. State v. Pennington, 3 Head, 299. I cite this case as a warning to the enterprising reporters of our daily newspapers; but I very much doubt if they will heed it.

A husband, however, may listen to his wife without being guilty. Mr. Lovett was tried in Pennsylvania, in 1831, for hiding under the chamber window of a married woman, hearing what took place there, and then telling on her out of school. He was able to show, however, that he had been engaged to do this by her husband, who for some reason or another "smelt a rat." This was held a good defense. "Some evidence," said the court, "has been offered to show that the owner of the house, the husband, gave this man authority to watch his wife. If he did so, as he had a right to do, the defendant should be acquitted. There is no law that can prevent a husband from constituting a watch on his wife." Com. v. Lovett, 4 Clark, 5.

But to constitute eaves-dropping there must be a "listening or hearkening of the discourse." Looking through the keyhole, or peeping between the shutters or through a knot-hole, is not indictable, a man being allowed to look wherever he pleases. Com. v. Mengelt, 4 Clark, 6. For which reason Tom of Coventry, who "low churl, compact of thankless earth,

The fatal byword of all years to come,

Boring a little augur hole in fear,

Peeped-but his eyes, before they had their will,
Were shrivelled into darkness in his head

And dropt before him."—

if he had not been blinded, could not have been convicted of eavesdropping.

Private drunkenness is not an offense at common law, nor is it as a rule even by statute. It becomes an offense, however, by being so open and exposed to public view, and so frequent as to be a nuisance to the neighbors. The guzzler then becomes a common drunkard and is indictable, State v. Waller, 3 Murph. 229.

And so at common law mere private lewdness or immorality is not indictable. State v. Cagle, 2 Humph. 414. Therefore an indictment against a man charging him with visiting a house of ill-fame must

allege that "knowing it to be such," he did "openly and notoriously" frequent it. Brooks v. State, 2 Yerg. 482.

Indecent exposure of the person is an indictable nuisance. It must take place in a public place and before more than a single person to be an offense at common law.

NUISANCE - OFFENSES TO PUBLIC DECENCY.

REG. v. GREY.

[4 F. & F. 73.]

A gentleman who, half a century ago was a boy, has related to me how, on one occasion, he was deputed to dispose of the unnecessary increase of the family cat. Drowning not suggesting itself as the easiest mode, he carried the kittens to the nearest woods. But being without a weapon he was obliged to resort to the expedient of taking each tabby by the tail and battering its head against the nearest oak tree. The result, particularly in the matter of blood and brains, was not reassuring. When the boy reached home, he was observed to have the appearance of a youth who has just attempted his first cigar, and was consequently asked as to what was the matter with him. His reply simply was that it made him sick to kill cats.

A similar feeling took possession of those citizens of Chatham who passed by Mr. Grey's drug store one morning. For the enterprising vendor of pills had put up in his window a large colored picture, life size, of a man naked to the waist, and covered with filthy and disgusting eruptions and sores. This was the man before taking Grey's Cure. Next to him was a picture of a person sans pimples, sans sores, and this was the same man after taking Grey's Cure.

Mr. Grey was indicted for creating a nuisance and pleaded not guilty. But on the day of trial, when he unrolled the picture, his counsel was so disgusted with it that he advised him to plead guilty. He did so and the judge passed sentence on him saying: "That is the proper course to adopt. There is no doubt the exhibition of the picture on a highway is a nuisance. It is so disgusting that it is calculated to turn the stomach. No man has a right thus to expose disgusting and offensive exhibitions in or upon a public highway. The object, no doubt, is to display the nature of a particular disease and the effect of a particular medicine; but it is not commendable, even to medical men, to display such representations in public. The exhibitions must

not be repeated.”

Any public exhibition of gross and wanton indecency is a nuisUnder this head fall the following:

ance.

Keeping a house of ill-fame or bawdy house, which is a nuisance of this kind. 66 Although," says Coke "adultery and fornication be punishable by the ecclesiastical law, yet the keeping of a house of bawdy or stews or brothel house, being, as it were, a common nuisance is punishable by the common law." The keeper may be a man or woman, but more women than one must resort to it, and more than one act of illicit intercourse must be shown in order to constitute it a bawdy house. And it is not necessary that the establishment be carried on for lucre or that there be any indecency or disorder visible from the outside.

Keeping a common gambling house is likewise indictable at common law. Simple gaming is not; though in some States it is by statute.

Exhibiting obscene or indecent pictures or printing and selling works of this character is a nuisance. It is difficult in such cases to determine whether or not a particular book or picture is obscene or indecent within the law. Many, no doubt, think that the nude in art should be considered as obscene and indecent. But the law does not hold to this opinion - a publication may be technically obscene, yet it is only when it tends to corrupt the morals by

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