"Some French women's petitions asked only for the return of their dowries. Antoine Aufrere initiated a suit on behalf of his minor daughter, Françoise Pery, in 1743. Pery received a divorce of bed and board that ordered her husband to restore her dowry, including money, slaves and cattle. Because her husband refused to comply. this case reappeared several times in the official record. Finally, the court ordered that the recalcitrant husband's goods be inventoried and sold at public auction. His wife finally received the share specified by the court. The unremitting theme of wife abuse in Louisiana divorce of bed and board plea, suggests that such documents usually focused on legally acceptable ground. Thus, such petitions are untrustworthy accounts of the underside of marriage. Although abuse may have occurred, petitions failed to present a comprehensive description of a couple's marital conflicts." On page 29 of chapter entitled: "Reward-Runaway Wife"' From DIVORCE: An American Tradition by Glenda Riley