ak, or to
annoy an official with whom he may be on bad terms. Nor can he do it
to obtain information to be used for stock-jobbing purposes. Suppose
he has reason for supposing that the books were falsified, that the
stockholders were not receiving correct accounts of the expenditures
and earnings of the company, a stockholder would certainly have a
right to make an examination, and could also employ an agent,
attorney, or expert accountant to do this for him, for his ignorance
of bookkeeping methods might debar him from making an efficient
examination were the right confined exclusively to himself.

=Curtesy.=--A husband acquires an interest or estate in land belonging
to his wife after her death. To be entitled to it, there must be a
legal marriage. Even though it be unlawful, if not set aside during
her life, his interest in her estate cannot be defeated by afterwards
declaring the marriage void. Curtesy does not extend to land nominally
held by her, or as trustee. The wife must have had a child who might
have inherited the estate. It is immaterial whether she acquired her
estate before or after the birth of the child. As soon therefore as a
child is born, his estate or interest begins and is perfected or
consummated by her death, and may be taken at any time afterward for
his debts. What may be the effect of a divorce is not well settled. In
some states even though he is an innocent party, he forfeits his
estate. This rule is founded on the idea that he is a voluntary party,
and therefore need not have one; in other states his interest
continues. As the husband's rights to such an estate have been
abolished in many states, we refrain from adding more principles.

=Deceit.=--A seller is not liable for deceit when the knowledge, or
way of obtaining it, is equally known by both parties. If one goes
into a store to buy a bushel of apples that he has seen by the door
and inquires the price and pays for them without making any inquiry
concerning their quality, he cannot recover his money if half of them
prove to be rotten unless the seller intentionally deceived him, for
he might have inquired whether they were all like those on top and of
good quality. But if the merchant should put fine ones on top in order
to deceive a purchaser, he could recover for his loss. This rule has a
wide application. Suppose a seller keeps his store dimly lighted
intentionally so that the inferior quality of his goods cannot be
discerned