Cross
an ancient gibbet, consisting essentially of an upright piece and a crosspiece. It preceded the modern gallows, and was in common use among the Romans at the time of the crucifixion of Christ. There are several forms. The Latin cross, or the cross of the crucifixion, consisted of a long upright beam, crossed by a transverse beam near the top. St. Andrew's cross has the form of an X. St. Anthony's cross has the form of the letter T. The Greek cross is like the Latin cross except that the four arms are of equal length. The Maltese cross consists of four triangular arms with their points to the center. Cathedrals are built in the form of a Latin or a Greek cross. The top, or choir, points invariably toward the east. The cross is the emblem of sorrow, suffering, and burden bearing. A crucifix is a cross bearing an effigy of Christ. It took the place of the plain cross about the eighth or ninth century. It is used above the altar in the Greek, the Roman, and in some Lutheran churches. See Crescent
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Cross
MARY ANN EVANS. See ELIOT, GEORGE.
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Cross
WILBUR LUCIUS, an American educator and editor, born in Mansfield, Conn., in 1862. He graduated from Yale in 1885 and took post-graduate studies at that university. In 1902, after having occupied several positions on the faculty of Yale, he became professor of English in the Sheffield Scientific School. In 1916 he was appointed dean of the Graduate School at Yale. He was editor of the "Yale Review" and in 1903 was lecturer at Columbia. He was a member of the National Institute of Arts and Letters. His writings include "Development of the English Novel" 1899); and "History of Henry Fielding" (1918). He also edited the works of many English writers, contributed articles on literature to several encyclopædias , and was a wellknown contributor to magazines.
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Cross
A four-winged iron beam, provided with a central ring for suspending in the crane-hook. The wings or arm-ends for some distance are evenly notched to receive beam-hooks or slings. By this means each of the four slings is suspended vertically, and clear of the cope or core, separate lugs being provided under which to insert the slings. See SLINGS; BEAM-HOOKS; BEAM.
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Cross Buns
2026 Editor's Note: This page uses language about other peoples, religions, or nationalities that was commonplace when the book was published and is offensive by today's standards. The text has been left exactly as it was printed, rather than cut or softened, so that the historical record — including how ordinary such language once was — is preserved. (Ed: ET 2026-07-22) small cakes prepared especially for Good Friday . They were appropriately marked with the sign of the cross, hence the name. They were always a popular feature of the English Lent, and some attempt has been made to revive their use in this country. The origin of the practice of serving cross buns is thought to be rooted in some heathen practice long forgotten. Chambers states that at Chelsea there were formerly two celebrated bun houses, besieged on Good Friday, both morning and night, by eager purchasers.
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Crossbill
a bird of the finch or sparrow family. The red or American crossbill is an inhabitant of evergreen forests from the Carolinas northward. The male is of a dull red color, with brown wings and tail. The female is of a dull olive green. The name comes from an apparent deformity of the bill. One tip turns to the right, the other to the left--a peculiar arrangement, which, combined with an ability to move the tips laterally, enables the bird to spread the scales of pine or other cones in search of the seed within. It is a bird of the north. Its home is in the great coniferous forests. It nests about twenty feet from the ground. There is also a white-winged crossbill, and there are a number of Old World species. See Sparrow ; Grosbeak ; Cardinal
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Crothers
SAMUEL MCCHORD, an American clergyman of the Unitarian church and author. Born in Illinois in 1857, he graduated from Princeton in 1874 and received his theological education at Union Theological Seminary, New York. After serving pastorates in California, Nevada, and Vermont , he became in 1894 pastor of the Unitarian Church in Cambridge, Mass . A few years later he was appointed one of the preachers at Harvard University. His writings are mostly of the familiar essay type and are classics in English style. Most of them were originally written for the "Atlantic Monthly." ly." Among his best known works are "The Pardoner's Wallet" (1905); "The Gentle Reader" (1903); "By the Christmas Fire" Friends" (1910); "Humanly Speaking (1908); "Among (1912); "Oliver Wendell Holmes and His Fellow Boarders" (1909); "Three Lords of Destiny" ( 1913).
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Croton (River in New York which joins)
a river in New York which joins the Hudson, 32 miles N. of New water through the Croton Aqueduct, York City. It supplies the city with aqueduct was completed in 1906. which was first opened in 1842. A new which carries a portion of the water CROTON AQUEDUCT, the aqueduct supply of New York City from the Croton basin, an area of about 375 square miles, situated about 30 miles from the city. The old aqueduct was constructed between 1837 and 1842 ; it is 38 miles long, with a declivity for the greater part of its course of 13½ inches to the mile, the water channel averaging 8 feet 5 inches in height and 7 feet 8 inches in greatest breadth. New York needs demanding a greater supply, a new aqueduct was begun in 1883. This delivers to the city about 336,000,000 gal- Catskill aqueduct in 1917 the Croton lons daily. With the completion of the aqueduct furnishes only about half the water supply of New York City.
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Croup
a term used in Scotland from of laryngeal symptoms, was first applied an early period to describe a certain train by Dr. Francis Home, in 1765, to an affection of the larynx, in which there is acute inflammatory and non-contagious the formation of a false membrane or of the windpipe. The invasion of the disfibrinous deposit on the mucous surface may be very insidious. If the patient is ease resembles that of simple catarrh, and not relieved by coughing or vomiting up some membranous shreds and glairy mucus, a state of greater dyspnea ensues. A period of extreme restlessness and suffering is (unless relieved by immediate treatment ) death from increasing coma, syncope, or exhaustion. soon followed by atmosphere of low temperature, espe- Croup seems to be caused by a damp cially in exposed situations. It is most frequently met with between the years of two and ten, though all ages are liable to suffer from it. It is commoner in boys than girls.
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