of his own. The so-called Éloge de Crébillon (1762), really a depreciation, which appeared in the year of the poet’s death, is generally attributed to Voltaire, though he strenuously denied the authorship. Crébillon’s drama is marked by a force too often gained at the expense of scenes of unnatural horror; his pieces show lack of culture and a want of care which displays itself even in the mechanism of his verse, though fine isolated passages are not infrequent.
There are numerous editions of his works, among which may be noticed: Œuvres (1772), with preface and “éloge,” by Joseph de la Porte; Œuvres (1828), containing D’Alembert’s Éloge de Crébillon (1775); and Théâtre complet (1885) with a notice by Auguste Vitu. A complete bibliography is given by Maurice Dutrait, in his Étude sur la vie et le théâtre de Crébillon (1895).
His only son, Claude Prosper Jolyot Crébillon (1707–1777), French novelist, was born at Paris on the 14th of February 1707. His life was spent almost entirely in Paris, but the publication of L’Écumoire, ou Tanzaï et Neadarné, histoire japonaise (1734), which contained veiled attacks on the bull Unigenitus, the cardinal de Rohan and the duchesse du Maine, brought Crébillon into disgrace. He was first imprisoned and afterwards forced to live in exile for five years at Sens and elsewhere. With Alexis Piron and Charles Collé he founded in 1752 the gay society which met regularly to dine at the famous “Caveau,” where many good stories were elaborated. From 1759 onwards he was to be found at the Wednesday dinners of the Pelletier, at which Garrick, Sterne and Wilkes were sometimes guests. He married in 1748 an English lady of noble family, Lady Henrietta Maria Stafford, who had been his mistress from 1744. Their life is said to have been passed in much affection and mutual fidelity; and there could be no greater contrast than that between Crébillon’s private life and the tone of his novels, the immorality of which lent irony to the author’s tenure of the office of censor, bestowed on him in 1759 through the favour of Mme de Pompadour. He died in Paris on the 12th of April 1777. The most famous of his numerous novels are: Les Amours de Zéokinizul, roi des Kofirans (1740), in which “Zéokinizul” and “Kofirans” may be translated Louis XIV. and the French respectively; and Le Sopha, conte moral (1740), where the moral is supplied in the title only. This last novel is given by some authorities as the reason for his imprisonment.
His Œuvres were collected and printed in 1772. See a notice of Crébillon prefixed to O. Uzanne’s edition of his Contes dialogués in the series of Conteurs du XVIII e siècle. Crébillon’s novels might be pronounced immoral to the last degree if it were not that two writers slightly later in date surpassed even his achievements in this particular. André Robert de Nerciat (1739–1800) produced under a false name a number of licentious tales, and was followed by Donatien, marquis de Sade.
CRÈCHE (Fr. for a “crib” or cradle), the name given to a
day-nursery, a public institution for the feeding and care of
infants while the mothers are engaged in work outside their
homes, or are otherwise prevented from giving them proper
attention. Infants are usually admitted when over a month old,
and are kept till they are capable of looking after themselves.
The advantages of such institutions are that the attention of
skilled and trained nurses is given to the children, the food is
better and more adapted to their needs than that given in their
homes, the surroundings are cleaner and healthier, and habits of
discipline and cleanliness are instilled, which, in many cases,
react on the mothers. The nurseries are usually under medical
supervision, and the small fees charged, which average in London
from 3d. to 4d. a day, and on the continent of Europe about 2d.,
are much less than the cost to the mother who places her young
children under the care of neighbours when at work or away from
home. Institutions of this kind were started in France in 1844,
and have been established in the majority of the large towns on
the continent of Europe. In the industrial centres of France and
Germany they have helped to check infantile mortality. The
state or municipality in nearly every case grants subsidies, but
few are maintained entirely by public authorities; voluntary
contributions are depended upon for the main support, and the
organization and management are left in the hands of private
societies and charitable institutions, although some outside
official supervision with regard to the number of infants
admitted to each institution, air-space, and ventilation and
general hygienic conditions is considered useful. In Great
Britain the establishment of such institutions has been left
almost entirely to private initiative; and in comparison with the
continent the provision is inadequate and unsatisfactory, Paris
having nearly double the proportion of accommodation for
infants to the population that is provided in London. The
National Society of Day Nurseries was founded in 1901 for the
purpose of providing a bureau where information may be found of
good methods of founding and managing a crèche.
See the Report of the Consultative Committee upon the School Attendance of Children below the Age of Five, issued by the Board of Education (1908).
CRÉCY (Cressy), a town of northern France, in the department of Somme, on the Maye, 12 m. N. by E. of Abbeville by road. It is famous in history for the great victory gained here on the
26th of August 1346 by the English under Edward III. over the French of King Philip of Valois. After its campaign in northern France, the English army retired into Ponthieu, and encamped
on the 25th of August at Crécy, the French king in the meantime marching from Abbeville on Braye. Early on the 26th Edward’s army took up its position for battle, and Philip’s, hearing of this, moved to attack him, though the French army marched in much
disorder, and on arrival formed only an imperfect line of battle.
The English lay on the forward slope of a hillside, with their
right in front of the village of Crécy, their left resting on
Wadicourt. Two of the three divisions or “battles” were in first
line, that of the young prince of Wales (the Black Prince) on the
right, that of the earls of Northampton and Arundel on the left;
the third, under the king’s own command, in reserve, and the
baggage was packed to the rear. Each battle consisted of a
centre of dismounted knights and men-at-arms, and two wings of
archers. The total force was 3900 men-at-arms, 11,000 English
archers, and 5000 Welsh light troops (Froissart, first edition, the
second gives a different estimate). The French were far stronger, having at least 12,000 men-at-arms, 6000 mercenary crossbowmen (Genoese), perhaps 20,000 of the milice des communes, besides a certain number of foot of the feudal levy. Along with these served a Luxemburg contingent of horse under John, king of Bohemia, and other feudatories of the Holy Roman Empire, and the whole force was probably about 60,000 strong.
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The day was far advanced when the French came upon the English position. Philip, near Estrées, decided to halt and bivouac, deferring the battle until the army was better closed up, but the indiscipline of his army committed him to an immediate action, and he ordered forward the Genoese crossbowmen, while a line of men-at-arms deployed for battle behind them; the rest of the army was still marching in an irregular column of route along the road from Abbeville. A sudden thunderstorm caused a short delay, then the archers and the crossbowmen opened the battle. Here, for the first time in continental warfare, the English
