Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 05.djvu/617

* CRABBE. 531 CRACOW. the way to the realism of Wordsworth. W'hat he lacked was the imagiuatiou nueessary to give lasting interest to his subject. His great e.K- cellcuee is the directness with which he port rajs the tragic lite of men and women whom he knew and the scenes in which they lived. Consult: M'orks, with memoir, by his sou G. Crabbe (8 vols., Loudon, 1834-3o) ; selections from poems, by Lamplougii (London. 188S), and by Holland (London, 181)9) : Stephen's essaj' in Hours in a Libntry (London, ISTlJ); C'ourthope"s essay in Ward, EiKjliHn Poets (London. 1884) ; the JJfe, by Kcbbel (London, 1SS8) ; and Aiuger, Crabbe, in "English Men of Letters" Series (New York, 1902). CRAB-EATER, or Cobia. See Sebgeant- Fisn. CRAB-EATING DOG, RACCOON', Etc. See Dog; Raccoox, elc. CRABETH, kraTjet, Dirk and Wouteu. Dutch painters on glass. They were brothers, born at Gouda, in South Holland, and they nourished in the latter half of the sixteenth eeutuiy. As the brothers worked together and were the most famous glass-painters of their time, they can- not be separated in biography. Vei'y little is known of their lives, but they executed a luiniber of excellent works in the churches of Belgium and France. Tiieir chief works are fourteen of the seventy-five windows of the great church at Gouda. Among the best of these are the "Bap- tism of Christ" and the "Last Supper," by Dirk, and the "Xativity" and the "Sacrilege of Heliodorus." by Wouter. The latter excels in brilliancy of color, but Dirk lias a more vigorous style. The works of both show a somewhat man- nered imitation of Die Italian, but they still retain much of the brightness of the medi.-eval coloring. Dirk died in 1.581 ; his brother about KiOl. Consult Westlake, Histori/ of Design in Painted Ghisn, vol. iv. (London, 1894). CRAB-GRASS. A name applied to Panicum sanguinale, an annual grass common throughout many parts of the United States. It is fre- quently .seen to spring up in fields after the period of cultivation has passed. It grows to a height of two or three feet, bearing at the top three to twelve spreading purplish spikes which carry the flowers and seed. In many places it is considered a weed, but in the South it is valued for the hay it yields as well as for pastur.age. The hay must l)e cured without rain falling upon it or its value is greatly impaired. It ranks close to Bermuda grass in the value and cheap- ness with which a crop may be produced. Eleu- sine indiea is sometimes called crab-grass. CRABIER, kra'bya' (Fr.. crab-eater). The name in the French West Indies and Jamaica for several herons, especially the common night- heron (ycticoraa; violaceus). See Night- Heron. CRAB'S-EYES. See Abkus. CRAB'S-PLOVER. A singular shore-bird (DnniKift (irrlcolii) nearly related to the oyster- catchers, but set apart in a family, DromadidfE, of its own. which is to be found sparingly on the coasts and islands of the Indian Ocean. "Its habits remind us both of the plovers and the terns, and so do the unusually large eggs," but in India, accnrding to Hume, it nests in bur- rows in sand-hills. CRAB'SHAW, Timothy. A plowman and carter, wlio becomes squire to Sir Launcelot Greaves, in Smollett's novel of the latter name. CRAB-SPIDER. A sjiider of the family Thomisidj', su named (ju account of the short, broad body and the fact that, like a crab, it runs more successfully sideways or backw'ard than forward. These spiders spin no web, but await their prey hidden among foliage, and are colored in harmony with their background; but a few species are liright-eolored and hide in flowers. The most common American form {Misuineiia ratia) is milk-white, occasionally with light- crimson markings. Another species (Philo- dromus LUilaaris) eats housc-llics almost exclu- sively. Consult: Emerton. The Common Spiders of the United States (Boston, 1902). Compare BirSD-SpiDEE. CRAB'TREE. Uncle of Sir Benjamin Back- bite — a deaf, cross-grained old scandal-monger — in Sheridan's comedy The Hehool for Scandal. CRABTREE, Sir Cadwallader. In Smol- lett's Adrcntiires of Peregrine Pickle, the friend of the hero. CRABTREE, Charlotte (1847—). An American actress, known as Lotta. She was born in New York, and when a child of ten began her career in California. After starring for a time in the ^Vest. she came again to New York about 1860. In 1867, as Little Nell and the Mai-chioness in a dramatization of Old Curiosity Shop, she made her first great impression there, and became a popular favorite. Her success was entirely due to her personal charm. Critics found little to approve ill the pieces in which she appeared, such as The Little Detectice. Zip, Musette, and The Firefly, but her stage appear- ance was characterized by a naturalness and grace which won the hearts of the audience. She retired from the stage, still unmarried, in 1891, having acquired a fortune. Consult: Welch, in McKav and Wingate's Famous Anurican Actors of To'-Dny (New York, 1896) ; and Clapp and Edgett, Players of the Present, Dunlap Society Publications (New Y'ork, 1899). CRACKED HEELS. See Hobse. CRACKER. See BiscnT. CRACKERS. A name given in the southern part of the L^nited States to the poor and ig- norant whites, probably because of their usual diet, which is cracked com ground into a coarse meal. The term 'corn-crackers' is employed in the same sense. CRACKER STATE. Georgia. See States, Popular Name.s of. CRACKLIN, or CRACKLE "WARE. A kind of china ware, the glazing of which is purposely cracked in the kiln, as an ornament, the effect being produced by a glaze which tends to contract in the burning more rapidly than the vessel itself. CRACOW, kra'ko (Pol. Krakov, Ger. Krakau, Fr. Crurovie, Lat. Cracoria. Caroduninn ; said to be named after its founder, Krakus. a legend- ar>' Slavic chief). The ancient capital of the Kingdom of Poland and residence of the Polish kings, now a fortified city of the Austrian Crown- land of Galicia (IIap: .Aiistria. F 1). It is situ- ated on the left bank of the Vistula, at its conflu- ence with the T!ur|ow:i. aliont 10 miles from the frontier of Russian Poland and 256 miles north-