every August, and the game—which is fully as scientific as modern English croquet—has numerous devotees, especially in New England.
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| Fig. 2. — Diagram of roque ground, showing setting of arches and stakes and order of play, in accordance with the official laws (1906) of the National Roque Association. |
Roque is played, not on grass, but on a prepared surface something like a cinder tennis-court. The standard ground, as adopted by the National Association in 1903, is hexagonal in shape, with ten arches (hoops) and two stakes (pegs) as shown in diagram 2. The length is 60 ft., width 30, and the “corner pieces” are 6 ft. long. An essential feature of the ground is that it is surrounded by a raised wooden border, often lined with india-rubber to facilitate the rebound of the ball, and it is permissible to play a “carom” (or rebounding shot) off this border; a skilful player can often thus hit a ball which is wired to a direct shot. A boundary line is marked 28 in. inside the border, on which a ball coming to rest outside it must be replaced. The hoops are run in the order marked on the diagram, so that the game consists of 36 points. Red and white are always partners against blue and black, and the essential features and tactics of the game are, mutatis mutandis, the same as in modern English croquet—i.e. the skilful player goes always for a break and utilizes one or both of the opponent’s balls in making it. The balls are 314 in. in diameter, of hard rubber or composition, and the arches are 338 or 312 in. wide for first- and second-class players respectively; they are made of steel 12 in. in diameter and stand about 8 in. out of the ground. The stakes are 1 in. in diameter and only 112 in. above the ground. The mallets are much shorter than those commonly employed in England, the majority of players using only one hand, though the two-handed “pendulum stroke,” played between the legs, finds an increasingly large number of adherents, on account of the greater accuracy which it gives. The “jump shot” is a necessary part of the player’s equipment, as dead wiring is allowed; it is supplemented by the carom off the border or off a stake or arch, and roque players justly claim that their game is more like billiards than any other out-of-door game.
The game of roque is opened by scoring (stringing) for lead from an imaginary line through the middle wicket (cage), the player whose ball rests nearest the southern boundary line having the choice of lead and balls. The balls are then placed on the four corner spots marked A in diagram, partner balls being diagonally opposite one another, and the starting ball having the choice of either of the upper corners. The leader, say red, usually begins by shooting at white; if he misses, a carom off the border will leave him somewhere near his partner, blue. White then shoots at red or blue, with probably a similar result. Blue is then “in,” with a certain roquet and the choice of laying for red or going for an immediate break himself. The general strategy of the game corresponds to that of croquet, the most important differences being that “pegging out” is not allowed, and that on the small ground with its ten arches and two stakes the three-ball break is usually adopted, the next player or “danger ball” being wired at the earliest opportunity.
See Spalding’s Official Roque Guide, edited by Mr Charles Jacobus (New York, 1906).
CRORE (Hindustani karor), an Anglo-Indian term for a hundred
lakhs or ten million. It is in common use for statistics of trade
and especially coinage. In the days when the rupee was worth its
face value of 2s., a crore of rupees was exactly worth a million
sterling, but now that the rupee is fixed at 15 to the £1, a crore
is only worth £666,666.
CROSBY, HOWARD (1826–1891), American preacher and
teacher, great-grandson of Judge Joseph Crosby of Massachusetts
and of Gen. William Floyd of New York, a signer of
the Declaration of Independence, was born in New York City
on the 27th of February 1826. He graduated in 1844 from
the University of the City of New York (now New York University);
became professor of Greek there in 1851, and in 1859
became professor of Greek in Rutgers College, New Brunswick,
New Jersey, where two years later he was ordained pastor of
the first Presbyterian church. From 1870 to 1881 he was
chancellor of the University of the City of New York; from
1872 to 1881 was one of the American revisers of the
English version of the New Testament; and in 1873 was
moderator of the general assembly of the Presbyterian
Church. He took a prominent part in politics, urged
excise reform, opposed “total abstinence,” was one of the
founders and was the first president of the New York
Society for the Prevention of Crime, and pleaded for
better management of Indian affairs and for international
copyright. Among his publications are The
Lands of the Moslem (1851), Bible Companion (1870),
Jesus: His Life and Works (1871), True Temperance
Reform (1879), True Humanity of Christ (1880), and
commentaries on the book of Joshua (1875), Nehemiah
(1877) and the New Testament (1885).
His son, Ernest Howard Crosby (1856–1907), was a social reformer, and was born in New York City on the 4th of November 1856. He graduated at the University of the City of New York in 1876 and at Columbia Law School in 1878; served in the New York Assembly in 1887–1889, securing the passage of a high-licence bill; in 1889–1894 was a judge of the Mixed Tribunal at Alexandria, Egypt, resigning upon coming under the influence of Tolstoy; and died in New York City on the 3rd of January 1907. He was the first president (1894) of the Social Reform Club of New York City, and was president in 1900–1905 of the New York Anti-Imperialist League; was a leader in settlement work and in opposition to child labour, and was a disciple of Tolstoy as to universal peace and non-resistance, and of Henry George in his belief in the “single tax” principle. His writings, many of which are in the manner of Walt Whitman, comprise Plain Talk in Psalm and Parable (1899), Swords and Ploughshares (1902), and Broadcast (1905), all in verse; an anti-military novel, Captain Jinks, Hero (1902); and essays on Tolstoy (1904 and 1905) and on Garrison (1905).
CROSS, and CRUCIFIXION (Lat. crux, crucis[1]). The meaning ordinarily attached to the word “cross” is that of a figure composed of two or more lines which intersect, or touch each other transversely. Thus, two pieces of wood, or other material, so placed in juxtaposition to one another, are understood to form a cross. It should be noted, however, that Lipsius and other writers speak of the single upright stake to which criminals were bound as a cross, and to such a stake the name of crux simplex has been applied. The usual conception, however, of a cross is that of a compound figure.
Punishment by crucifixion was widely employed in ancient times. It is known to have been used by nations such as those of Assyria, Egypt, Persia, by the Greeks, Carthaginians,
