water, or of light, or of any other easement,
in any particular way, for twenty years, or for any other period which
in any particular state is the established period of limitation, is a
sufficient enjoyment to raise a presumption of title as against the
right of any other person. The enjoyment is deemed to have been
uninterrupted, whether it has been continued from ancestor to heir, and
from seller to buyer; or whether the use has been enjoyed during the
entire period by one person.

Sec.12. As a right may be acquired by use, so it may be lost by disuse; and
as an enjoyment for twenty years, or such other period as is prescribed
by statute, is necessary to establish a right; an absolute
discontinuance of the use for such period will raise the presumption
that the right has been released or extinguished. Thus a title to land
may pass from its actual owner by non-occupancy for the period above
stated; and a title to it may be acquired by an undisturbed occupant who
shall hold it in peaceable and uninterrupted possession for the same
period.

Chapter LIII.

Leases:--Estates for Life; Estates for Years; Estates at Will; Estates
by Sufferance; Rent, &c.

Sec.1. Real estate, the title to which is conveyed by deed, as
distinguished from other estates in land, is called an _estate of
inheritance_. An estate of inheritance, that is, an estate in lands that
may be transmitted by the owner to his heirs, is a _fee_. No estate is
deemed a fee unless it may continue forever. When it is a pure and
absolute inheritance, clear of any qualification or condition, it is
called a _fee-simple_.

Sec.2. An interest in lands which is to continue for a limited period, is
usually conveyed by a written instrument called lease. _To lease_, means
to let; but generally to grant the temporary possession of real estate
to another for rent or reward. Sometimes the word _demise_ is used for
ease. The landlord, or person letting the estate, is called _lessor_;
and the tenant, or person to whom the land is leased, is called
_lessee_. Leases for a term longer than one year, are usually required
to be sealed, and in some states, proved and recorded also, as deeds and
mortgages.

Sec.3. These limited interests in land are divided into estates for life,
estates for years, estates at will, and estates by sufferance. An
_estate for life_ is an estate conveyed to a person for the term of his
natural life. Life estates held by lease, however,