CEEVATJX. 571 CKIBBAGE. of his escort alone escaped to relate the de- tails of the catastrophe. An account of liis ex- plorations has since appeared under the title, 'oyuycs dans VAm<^riquc du Hud (1883). A work ])ublished by the (Geographical Society of Paris, and entith'd FU-nvcs de rAinrriqiic du Slid (1SS3), is also based upon his researches. CREVECCETJR, krev'ker', Jean Hector Saint John de (1731-1813). A French agriculturist, traveler, and author. He was born at Caen, and was educated in England. He came' to America in 17.54, bought an estate near New York, and married the daughter of an American Dierchant. He sufl'ercd much from the Revolu- tionary War, and in 1780 was imprisoned three monllis in Xcw York on suspicion of being a spy. He was sent to England as a prisoner, was ex- changed, reached France in 17S:i, and introduced there the culture of the American potato. On his return to New Y'ork (November, 1783) as French Consul, he found his wife dead, his house burned; his children, too, had disappeared, but were finally found in the care of a kindly merchant. He had previously published Letters of an Ainerirun Farmer (1782), which he trans- lated into French and published in Paris. They gave such glowing accounts of the climate and fertility of America that five hundred families ore said to have left France for the Ohio Valley on the strength of his statements. Most of them soon died there. He wrote also a volume on Potato Culture (in French), and A Journey in V/rper Pennsylvania and in Xew York State (2 vols., in French. 1801). In his most important ■work, the Letters, Crfevecoeur, disguising his French nationality, writes as a simple-hearted American farmer of slight education and narrow horizon. Internal evidence in his writings tends to indicate that he was a Quaker. He was a man of much cultivation, who refused to take any part in the fierce political and military con- troversies of the Revolution. His idyllic descrip- tions of life in the New World, with its ap- proximation to Rousseau's state of nature, trans- formed crudity into an idealistic mirage that fascinated the philosopher. ^et in some ways Cr&vecoeur's ideals were such as typical Ameri- cans have rarely been without — he saw in pro- phetic vision the future glory of the country. He had an exquisite sympathy ^^'ith natural life tliat makes some of his descriptive passage's prose idyls of great beauty; for example, the beauti- ful passage describing him feeding quails in the snow. The Letters were translated into German and Dutch, and their idealized treatment of American rural life may perhaps be traced in Campbell, Southey, Coleridge, and Byron — pos- sibly in Chateaubriand. After holding his consul- ship for ten years, Crfevecoeur returned to France, dj'ing at Sarcelles. Consult Tyler. Literary His- tory of the Revolution (New Y'ork, 1897). CREVILLENTE, krfi've-ly.-m'ta. A town of Spain, in the Province of Alicante, about 20 miles west-southwest of the city of that name (Map: Spain, E 3). It is picturesquely situated at the foot of the hills near the boundary of Murcia and has a pretentious town hall, and a castle, formerly the possession of the Count of Altamira. Weaving and agriculture are the principal industries. Crevillente is supposed to have been founded by the Romans, t'nder the ■Goths it formed part of the Kingdom of Todmir; Vol. v.— 37. it passed into the hands of the floors, by whom it was held until 1203. Population, in 1900, 10,8()O. CREW (older form also crue, apocopated from accrue, OF. acreivc, oercue, increment, from acreistre, Fr. accroitrc, to increase, from Lat. accrescere, to increase, from ad, to + crescere, to grow) , A term used to designate the body of men employed to man a sliip, boat, gim, etc. The crew of a full-rigged sailing ship is divided into iive parts — forecastlemen, foretopmen, maintop- men, mizzentopmen, and afterguard; these are called the parts of the ship, and they are again subdivided into port and starboard watches, and each watch is again separated into first and second parts port (or start^oard) . Modern men- of-war without sail-power usually liave the crew divided according to the arrangement of the bat- tery. It is customary to have four deck divi- sions and the guns are maimed by them. In ad- dition to these there are the powder division, engineer's division, and marines. CREW, Henry ( 18.59—) . An American phys- icist, born at Richmond, Ohio. He graduated at Princeton in 1882. was fellow in physics at the Johns Hopkins Universit.y in 1884-87, and instructor in ])hysics at Haverford College in 1888-91. In 1891-92 he was astronomer of Lick Observatory, and in 1892 was appointed pro- fessor of physics at Northwestei'n University (Evanston, 111,). He also became assistant editor of the Astroph.ysical Journal, and pub- lished Elements of I^hysics (1899). CREWE, kruo. A town of Cheshire, England, about 43 miles sotitheast of Liverpool (Map: England, D 3). It is a central station of several railways and owes its importance to the estab- lishment in 1843 of the immense workshops of the London and Northwestern Railway, which now employ more than 7000 men, Crewe was incorporated in 1877, Its affairs are admin- istered by a mayor, a municipal council of nine- teen, and a board of aldermen of seven members, (See Geeat Britain, paragraph on Local Gov- ernment.) Its supply of gas and water is pro- vided by the London and Northwestern Railway, It has a modem S3'stem of sewerage connected with a sewage farm. Two hospitals, a techni- cal school and school of art, public baths, and a large general market are maintained by the corporation. Among its chief industries are the manufacture of locomotives, railway-cars, cloth- ing, and fusti.an. In 1851 its population was onlv slightlv over 4000, in 1874 it had reached 18,000, in "1891 it was 32,774, and in 1901, 42,075, CREW'LER. The name of an indigent clergy- man's family in Dickens's David ('oj)p(rfield. The wife has an infirmity of the legs which makes them susceptible to the least domestic trial. Traddles marries one of the daughters, after a long engagement. CREYTON, kr.'i'ton, Paul, A pseudonjTU of J. T. Trowbridge. CRIB. See Foundations. CRIBBAGE (from crih, rack, Ger. Krippe, OHG. krippa. also ehripfa: connected with MIIG. krtbe. basket, which is probably related to Lat, corI)is. basket), A game of cards, which can be played by two, three, or four persons, but is
