Eavesdropping
A Dictionary of Law · Henry Campbell Black · 1891
A Dictionary of Law
In English criminal law. The offense of listening under wills or windows, or the eaves of a house, to hearken after discourse, and thereupon to frame slanderous and mischievous tales.
4 Bl. Comm. 168.
It is a misdemeanor at common law, indictable at sessions, and punishable by fine and finding sureties for good behavior.
Id.; Steph. Crim. Law, 109. See 3 Head. 300,