Woman And the Law

one of them refuses to carry out the agreement, the other may bring a suit for damages, as in the case of other contracts. To sustain such a suit, however, there must have been a definite offer of marriage, or a promise to marry, by one party that has been made known to the other. A mere intention to marry communicated to third persons not in the presence of the other party is no offer or promise at all. Such a valid offer may, however, be made through a friend or an agent. No express form of words is required, as it need only appear that both theman and the woman understood it to be an offer of marriage. Another essential feature of this contract is that there is a definite acceptance of the offer or promise. The acceptance, like the offer, may be made through a third person, and need not be in express words, but may be inferred from the conduct of the one who accepts the offer or promise. It must appear that the acceptance was made known to the other party, and that it was made within a reasonable time after the offer was made. The promise of a man to marry a woman "if he married any one" has been held void both because it is too indefinite and because it operates virtually as a restraint upon marriage, and is for that reason against the public policy. If the parties to a contract to marry do not themselves make the contract definite as to time and place, the law in a suit for breach of promise will presume that a promise to marry is a promise to marry ...