by John Marshall Harlan

“ It did, when her husband was alive and well, take the dues from him after the time specified, and permit the policy to continue in force, and that it did so until he had a right, as a reasonable man, to believe, and did in fact believe, that that was to be the rule in the future. I do not think that any particular number of instances, one or more, can be said, as a matter of law, to make or not make a waiver. It is a question for you, as reasonable men, to consider, what did the company intend,-what would its conduct make a reasonable man believe in reference to it? ”

“ Of course we speak by our actions, just as much as we do by our words; and although there may be no spoken word, no written word, declaring a waiver, yet it may be that a man by his conduct, his course of dealing, justly and fairly leads the other party to believe that he does not care about a strict compliance. That is what this plaintiff says was the case here; that while the contract reads 'payment must be made on specified days,' yet the company did not insist on such payment. ”

“ The refusal of the court to give the instructions asked by the defendant is also assigned as error; but such refusal constitutes no ground for reversal, for the reason that the charge of the court contained everything that need have been said to the jury upon the single question submitted to them, namely, whether, under all the circumstances, the defendant waived a strict compliance with the stipulation in the contract as to the payment, at the times specified, of the premiums or dues on the certificates of insurance. ”