Les apporta respectifs; t.e., the amount of property

brought by each one of the contracting parties to

the ménage, the apport of the bride being called

in France dot. It is customary for thèse property

détails to be carefully arranged before marriage,

in order to remove ail cause for future dispute or

misunderstanding on that score. The spirit of

such a usage as the dot, or maxriage portion, is

apt to be much misunderstood by Americans,

being of ten interpreted as a marked indication of

the social inf eriority of the wife in respect to the

husband, or of the lower personal dignity of the

bride, who, not esteemed sufficiently for her mère

Personal charms, must, it is alleged, bring a mar-

riage portion with her in order to be able to com-

mend herself fully to her future husband. The

reverse of this interprétation is rather trué, since

her dowry puts her in possession of an important

material factor for increasing her influence in the

ménage and equalizing social conditions in her

Pkge. Une.

f avor ; it is thns a means of adding to her domestic dignity and personal independence.