But should he marry an heiress, not only
does she remain head of the family (a position
sometimes indicated by a particular
costume), but he fails to gain personal
independence, and loses even his name,
adopting in its stead that of his wife;
which, again, is derived from her house,
each dwelling retaining its own name,
which must be borne by its successive
owners. Even in cases where the
husband is possessed of independent wealth,
but lives upon the property of his wife, the
rights of the head of the family remain
intact. He cannot remove either his
children or his wife from her house; he cannot
give permission to his younger sons to
leave the maternal roof, though his wife
may do so. Should she leave him a widower,
her mother, if living, has, at Barèges, more
authority over his children than he has
himself. He is not allowed to administer
their property, nor to be master of their
house; without their consent he cannot
bring home a second wife; and, in Soule,
where the époux dotal enjoys a quarter of
the property of his deceased wife, he is not
permitted to establish a second wife upon
even this share, without the consent of the
surviving grand-parent. Should he be
childless, his dowry is, indeed, returned to
him; but, like the Irish tenant, he has no
security for any improvements made upon
his wife's property.

Generally speaking, every wife is free to
make a will, at the age of eighteen, without
the consent of her husband; in Soule
a girl who has inherited her property, may
bequeath at fifteen. The consent of the
head of the house is indeed needful to the
marriage of the eldest child in extreme
youth; later, however, not only is he (and
exactly the same rule applies to a daughter's
case) free to marry without consent; but
if he pay the dowry which he received with
his wife into the hands of the proprietory
parent, the latter is compelled to share
his goods, and even his house, with the
newly-married couple. Among the French
Basques a similar arrangement takes place
in the second, and even in the third
generation; separate houses are frequently built
for the accommodation of the young households;
but if there be but one, it must be
shared. Such a plan, it need scarcely be said,
does not conduce to family harmony, especially
as, where only one parent survives,
should he, after the division, be guilty of
waste or extravagance in the management
of his share, it may be taken from him, and
added to the portion of the younger pair.

In Soule, the magistracy is hereditary,
and devolves upon "the sieurs ou
demoiselles" of certain noble families. The
ladies do not, however, exercise the privilege,
but they transmit it to their eldest
sons, or can secure it to their husbands, if
they be judged worthy of the honour.
Although women do not, now-a-days, take
part in public matters among the Basques,
yet there is evidence to show that they
formerly did so, at least to some extent.
In the year 1316, the Abbé of Lavedau
having consulted the inhabitants of
Cauterets, who were his serfs, upon the subject
of changing the site of their town, the
question was put to the vote, and an
authentic document is still extant bearing the
names of the voters. Among these are
many names of women, of which only one
corresponds with that of any man upon the
list. They were not, therefore, married to
any of the masculine voters. They may
have been wives of younger sons, to whom
no vote was accorded, or widows, or
unmarried women in possession of their
property. Monsieur Lagrèse, whose researches
disinterred this document, justly points to
the subject as one which deserves further
investigation. We commend it to the notice
of those who wish to see women admitted
to a share in the franchise, and even now,
should any of Mr. Mill's disciples stray, in
their summer wanderings, to the beautiful
little village of St. Jean de Luz, at the foot
of the Western Pyrenees, they may have
the pleasure of observing a people among
whom the woman is— at least before the
law— considered the equal of the man.

THEATRICAL TALKERS AND
                DOERS.

WE have already seen in relation to the
art of Painting, what severe treatment the
Doer is apt to receive from the professed
Talker. There is another branch of art, in
connexion with which the critic of the
drawing-rooms is exceedingly fond of
laying down the law. In treating of the
Theatre and all that belongs to it, the
Talker is always wonderfully glib and
confident: giving his opinions in an ex-
cathedrâ tone, which is impressive in the
extreme.

These theatrical Talkers may be
separated into two classes, one differing from
the other in many important particulars,