Bastard

Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)

a child begotten and born out of wedlock; an illegitimate child. By the civil and canon laws, and by the law of Scotland (as well as some States of the United States), a bastard becomes legitimate by the intermarriage of the parents at any future time. But, by the laws of England, a child, to be legitimate, must at least be born after the lawful marriage; it does not require that the child shall be begotten in wedlock, but it is indispensable that it should be born after marriage, no matter how short the time, the law presuming it to be the child of the husband. The only incapacity of a bastard is that he cannot be heir or next of kin to anyone save his own issue. In England the maintenance of a bastard in the first instance devolves on the mother, while in Scotland it is a joint burden upon both parents. The mother is entitled to the custody of the child in preference to the father. Corsica, in the N. E. part of the island, 95 miles N. N. E. of Ajaccio. Antimony mining, boat building, iron founding, tunny and coral fishing are carried on; besides, there is some trade in oil, wine, and fruit. Population about 30,000. Bastia was founded in 1388 by the Genoese Leonello Lomellino, and was the seat of the Genoese governors for 400 years. It has several times been in the hands of the English, who, under Admiral Hood, last captured the town in 1794.