Defrauded I a Butterfly－1
The lawful Heir－for Thee－
The lawful Heir－for Thee－
(F.850/J.730)
[1] Butterfly:: a vain, gaudily attired person (OED 2a). Defrauded I:: a girl being cheated by the man.
[2] Heir:: the child of that man. lawful:: legal, and without affection. In Dickinson's time, American law protected some rights of an illegitimate child.
The mother, or reputed father, is generally in this country chargeable by law with the maintenance of the bastard child, and in New York it is in such way as any two justices of the peace of the county shall think meet; and the goods, chattels, and real estate of the parents are seizable for the support of such children, if the parents have absconded. ─ Commentaries on American Law (1858)
What (said she) the Child must not starve, though it be a By blow; its none of the poor infants fault ─ The English Rogue (1680)