Cone And Key

[Cone or colne, Sax. an account.] A phrase (partly Saxon, or early English,^ used by Bracton in describing the privileges which a certain age gave a female in his time. Femina in tali cetate, (i. e. li vel 15 annorum,) potest disponere domui suce, et habere Cone et Keye. Bract, fol. 86 b. A woman at such an age, (14 or 16,) may take charge of her house, and have cone and key; (that is, keep the accounts and keys.) Spelman, A somewhat similar qualification in the son of a burgess is mentioned by Glanville, (lib. 7, c. 9;) and also by Bracton in another passage. Bract, fol. 86 b. fl 2. Some copies read cover et keye, as to which Spelman expresses a doubt. His own MS. copy of Bracton had cone aut keye. According to Lord Coke, "cover et keye" is the true reading, that is, cqfer and keye; meaning that a woman at the age mentioned was able to discern what things were in a household, fit to be kept in c<^er, under lock and key, 2 Injst, 203. See 1 Reeves' ffist, Eng, Law, 284, note. See Key,