BOWETT and LANGHAMS case Ellen Bowett procure a corpus cum causan out of the  common plea to the sheriff of London who return that she be imprison upon a  suit against her by George Langham as a feme sole merchant accord to the  custom there now the truth be that her husband be a vintner be press by the  king to be a soldier and go over sea the feme afterward take a house and buy  wine of Langham who trust her suppose she be a feme sole merchant afterward  the husband return and the wife deny to pay for the wine and the doubt be if  the feme be a sole feme merchant by the custom so or not and the word of the  custom be read that where the wife meddle in a trade in which the husband may  meddle nothing she shall have all advantage and shall be sue as a feme sole  merchant c but by hetley er p Richardson and Yelverton she be not a feme sole  merchant within the custom for her husband exercise himself the same trade and  a feme sole merchant by Yelverton ought to be the widow of a tradesman who  take a second husband and afterward exercise the trade of the first husband  second she ought to be a feme covert and not a virgin or maiden three she  ought to be of another trade than that which her second husband be for if she  man exercise the same trade of her husband when he be over the sea the husband  may go over sea and return within a year and then she be a feme covert c and  so make her a feme sole or covert at his pleasure and Richardson and Yelverton  say that that will be a prejudice to all the wife in London so that they will  never be free from imprisonment but crook Hutton and Harvey to the contrary  and they say that if the husband meddle with the trade hetley of his wife then  she be not Chargeable as a feme sole merchant but if the husband be over sea  or become bankrupt or relinquish his trade and the wife exercise the same  trade or they both exercise the same trade distinct by themselves and not  meddle the one with the other she be a sole merchant or otherwise it will be a  great inconvenience for the wife when her husband be over sea will contract  and gain much good of other into her hand and the party shall not have any  remedy but Richardson say that he who sell ought to take notice whether she be  feme covert or feme sole merchant by the custom or not his peril