If a woman marries a man knowing him to be intemperate, though she does
so in the hope of reforming him, the courts will not interfere after
marriage to grant her relief from the result of her misplaced
confidence, but where the habit has been acquired subsequent to the
marriage and has become fixed and the husband is habitually drunk,
though not in such condition during business hours, it is such habitual
drunkenness as will entitle the wife to a divorce.

[Sidenote: Cruel treatment.]

Cruel and inhuman treatment, to constitute ground for divorce must be of
such a nature as to endanger life, but need not necessarily consist of
physical violence. Even where no single act or number of acts can be
shown which might cause reasonable apprehension of harm to life, if the
ill treatment as an entirety is of a nature to affect the mind and
undermine health to such a degree that the life will be ultimately
endangered, it will entitle the injured party to a divorce. Ungovernable
outbursts of rage, the use of profane and obscene language, applying
insulting epithets to the wife in the presence of others, acts of
cruelty and neglect in sickness, coupled with failure to provide
suitable food and clothing, have all been held to be such cruelty,
which, if long continued, would result in danger to life. Condonation is
always a valid defense in proceedings for divorce. If the wrong is once
forgiven, it cannot afterwards be made a ground for divorce, but the
mere fact that a wife continues to live in the same house with her
husband, and does the household work, is not such condonation as will
defeat her action.

[Sidenote: Husband from wife.]