college, in medicine, the civil and canon law, and theology; and, although we were above 50 in number, besides above 3000 that were present, so pointedly and learnedly he answered to all the questions proposed, that none but eye-witnesses can believe. He spake Latin, Greek, Hebrew, and other languages, most politely. He was a most excellent horseman; and, truly, if a man should live a hundred years without eating, drinking or sleeping, he could not attain to this man's knowledge, which struck us with a panic; for he knew more than human nature can well bear. He overcame four of the doctors of the church, for, in learning, none could contest with him, and he was thought to be Antichrist." Whoever this astonishing youth may have been, it could not, says doctor Kippis, have been Crichton; for Pasquier, from whose Recherches de la France this letter is taken, says, expressly, that this young man made his appearance in 1445, about a century before Crichton's birth. After similar exhibitions at Rome and Venice, we find him, in 1581, at Padua, exposing the errors of Aristotle, astonishing his hearers with his ingenuity and elegance in an extempore oration In Praise of Ignorance; and, finally, to confound his enemies, offering to prove the fallacies of Aristotle, and the ignorance of his commentators, to dispute in all the sciences, to answer all that should be proposed or objected, in the common logical way, or by numbers and mathematical figures, or in a hundred sorts of verses, and, during three days, sustaining this contest with a spirit and energy, with such learning and skill, as to obtain the praises and admiration of all men. next exploit was at Mantua. There was His in that city a famous gladiator, who had foiled the most skilful fencers in Europe, and had lately killed three persons, who had entered the lists with him. Crichton offered to fight him for 1500 pistoles, and, having slain him in the contest, he distributed his prize among the widows of the three persons above-mentioned. The duke of Mantua, in consequence of his wonderful performances, chose him preceptor to his son-a youth of a dissolute life and riotous temper. To amuse his patron, Crichton composed a comedy, ridiculing the weaknesses of men in all employments, and sustained 15 characters in his own play, "setting before the eyes of the spectators the overweening monarch, the peevish swain, the superficial courtier, the proud warrior, the dissembled churchman, the cozening lawyer, the lying traveller, 19 the covetous merchant, the rude seaman, the pedantic scholar, and the tricksy servant," &c. During the carnival (1583), while amusing himself with his guitar, he was attacked by half a dozen persons in masks. He defended himself, and, disarming their leader, found him to be his own pupil. Crichton fell on his knees, and presented his own sword to the prince, who immediately stabbed him to the heart. The motives which impelled his pupil to the commission of so savage a deed are unknown. It is difficult to decide with certainty on the merits of Crichton. The works which he has left us, consisting of a few Latin odes, and some sketches of scholastic reasoning, do not give us a very elevated idea of his talents; and the original sources, from which our information is derived, are not of the most indubitable character. account, that, at 20 years of age, he was genus of orthopterous or straight-winged and, from the moment of escaping from the egg, the young are sufficiently vigorous to seek their own food, which consists of organized substances. While yet very soft, they are perfectly formed, with the exception of the rudiments of the elytra and wings. These, in some species, are never developed. As the insect grows, the skin becomes too small, and requires to be changed as often as seven or eight times, before the insect attains its full size. The crickets are distinguished from the other members of this family by their long, silken antennæ, by having but three joints to their tarsi, and by the comparative smallness of their thighs. Their bodies are short, thick-set and soft, with the head, corselet and abdomen immediately applied, and of equal length and breadth. The head is thick, rounded above, and nearly vertical. Between the eyes, which are widely separated and reticulated on the surface, there are two brilliant stemmata. The corselet is quadrangular, somewhat larger transversely, and rounded at the edges. The elytra, which do not completely cover the belly, are curved squarely, and are not roof-shaped, as in the locust and grasshopper. In the winged species, the wings exceed the elytra, and even abdomen, beyond which they project, in the form of a sort of bifid tail. In addition to the two flexible abdominal appendages common to both sexes, the females have a long borer or oviduct, which is a stiff, square tube, formed of two pieces, separable, and free at the point, sometimes seeming to be split, and terminating by a slight enlargement.-The noise, for which all crickets are remarkable, and usually called chirping, is produced by the friction of the bases of their clytra, or wing-cases, against each other, these parts being curiously adapted to produce this sound. Both sexes have the elytra longitudinal, divided into two portions, one of which is vertical or lateral, covering the sides, and the other dorsal, covering the back. These portions, in the female, have their nervures alike, running obliquely in two directions, forming, by their intersection, numerous small meshes, which are of a rhomboidal or lozenge shape. The elytra of the females have an elevation at the base. The vertical portion in the males does not materially differ from that of the females, but, in the horizontal part, the base of each elytrum is so elevated as to form a cavity beneath. The nervures are stronger, and very irregular in their course, with various inflexions, curved, spiral, &c., producing a variety of different sized and shaped meshes, generally larger than in the female: towards the extremity of the wing, particularly, there is a nearly circular space, surrounded by one nervure, and divided into two meshes by another. The friction of the nervures of the convex surface of the base of the left or undermost elytrum against those of the concave surface of the base of the right one, causes vibrations of the membranous areas of an intensity proportioned to the rapidity of the friction. In fact, the insect may be regarded as performing on a sort of violin, the base of one elytrum serving for a bow, and the cords of the other as the strings of the instrument. The reader, who may wish to enter upon a very minute study of this and similar insects' contrivances for producing sounds, may advantageously consult De Geer (vol. iii, p. 512), and Kirby and Spence (24th letter, vol. 2, p. 375 et seq.) The chirping of the domestic cricket (acheta domestica) is by many regarded as pleasant or musical, and their presence in holes is regarded as a good omen by some people. Where they are numerous, certainly, to our ears, their noise is any thing but agreeable; and it requires considerable habituation to it to be able to sleep undisturbed by it. They are very harmless, taking up their abode near chimneys, fire-places, and other warm situations, whence they come out, when the inmates of the house have retired to rest, and commence their monotonous song. If a light be brought, they speedily retreat, leaping lightly to their holes, the length and peculiar structure of their long thighs especially fitting them for this mode of progression. One action which we have observed them perform with the antenna shows the delicacy and perfection of the muscles. They move the long silken appendages, as if cleaning or polishing them, somewhat as we see birds do with their feathers. The field crickets (A. campestris) are as loud and noisy in the day as those above-mentioned are at night, and largely contribute to the music of the fields, so delightful to the ear of the student of nature. Both species have attracted the attention of poets, who have celebrated their simple but lively notes in verse of various degrees of excellence. Both species are equally innoxious, subsisting on small particles of organized matter, which might otherwise become troublesome from accumulation; while, from their numbers, birds and other animals of higher rank in the scale of being obtain a part of their supply of food. CRILLON, Louis de Balbe, one of the greatest warriors of the 16th century, and the friend of Henry IV, was born in 1541, at Murs, in Provence, of a respectable family of Piedmont. Being a younger son, the name of Crillon was given him from an estate belonging to the family-a name which he so ennobled by his exploits and virtues, that the heads of the Balbe family adopted it for their own. The army called Crillon the man without fear (l'homme sans peur). Charles IX, Henry III and queen Margaret called him simply le brave; but Henry IV gave him the surname of le brave des braves. His independence and nobleness of spirit were equal to his bravery, and his humanity and virtue were not less famous than his heroic achievements. He was distinguished in five successive reigns-those of Henry II, Francis II, Charles IX, Henry III, and, above all, in that of Henry IV. In his first campaign (1557), he contributed much to the speedy conquest of Calais, by a bold deed of arms. He was the first to storm the breach. Here he encountered the commander of the fort, grappled with him, and threw him into the moat. The English had employed 11 months in the reduction of the place. The French retook it in 8 days. Crillon subsequently distinguished himself in the battles of Dreux (1561), Jarnac (1563), and Moncontour (in 1569), against the Huguenots. As a knight of Malta, the young hero gained renown in the crusades against the Turks. Selim II had taken Cyprus from the Venetians. The terror of the Moslem arms filled all Europe; a coalition was formed, and the famous naval battle of Lepanto fought in 1571. Crillon, in this action, displayed prodigies of valor, and, though wounded, was appointed to carry the tidings of the great victory to the pope and the king of France. Pope Pius V and the king of France (Charles IX) loaded him with honors and favors. The massacre of St. Bartholomew (1572), the preparations for which had been carefully concealed from Crillon, was loudly reprobated by him. We find him, the following year, at the celebrated siege of Rochelle, and, subsequently, in various military operations, where there was need of courage and enterprise. Henry III ventured to propose to him the murder of the duke of Guise, which had been resolved upon by the estates of Blois. "I cannot stain my honor with a deed of shame" was his answer. He fought heroically for Henry IV against the league. After the battle of Arques, in Normandy, Henry wrote to him-"Pends 21 toi, brave Crillon, nous avons combattu a German, and, of course, was written by a the jurisprudence of the European continent.] Crime is generally used to designate an act of guilt, which offends the laws both of God and man. It implies freedom of will, and a power of distinguishing between right and wrong. Hence young children, madmen and idiots cannot commit crimes, neither can persons in a state of great intoxication.* But the circumstances under which full imputability or responsibility shall commence cannot be decided by general rules, but each case must be judged by itself. To constitute a crime, there must be an intention manifested by an outward act. If the intention be wanting, the act is merely accidental. If the outward act is wanting, there is nothing for human tribunals to punish. Mere intention does not come under their cognizance. There are, moreover, many acts of guilt committed, in every community, which are not of a nature to be made the subject of legislation, and cannot be brought before the courts. On the other hand, there are, in every state, certain actions, in themselves naturally indifferent, but which are forbidden and punished as injurious to the community. These form the greater part of the class of mere offences against the police regulations. Many actions, in themselves indifferent, may, however, by reason of the heavy penalties attached to them, be classed among crimes in the technical and juridical sense. The degree of punishment imposed on any crime should be proportioned to the degree of injury voluntarily inflicted. It is a matter of importance to decide whether an uninterrupted series of illicit acts is to be considered as the continuation of a single crime (delictum continuatum), or as several crimes of the same kind (delictum reiteratum). In the former case, there would be only one punishment; in the latter, several. But the award of several punishments, if capital, cannot be executed by more than one punishment of death; and, if the punishment consist in a deprivation of freedom, the confinement can only be prolonged. According to the scientific principles of law, it would be, perhaps, most correct to consider the several crimes as constituting a whole, deserving only one punishment, to be proportioned to the amount of guilt (pana major absorbet minorem), although the majority of learned jurists is, at present, of another opinion.-Quasi delicta are injuries which must be repaired by their authors, * Drunkenness is not admitted as a ground of acquittal, or even of mitigation of punishment, either in England or the U. States. though the intention to perpetrate an illicit act need not be evident. The Roman law has made such provisions in various cases. (See Criminal Law.) Punishments themselves may be divided into criminal or civil, or police punishments. The criminal or severe punishments are such as have great crimes for their object. They may be divided into, 1. capital punishments (see Death, Punishment of): 2. deprivation of liberty simply (as in the case of imprisonment, and exile from the country), or accompanied with hard labor (for instance, labor in a work-house, a treadmill, &c.), or sharpened by the infliction of pain (for instance, the punishment of laboring in the work-house, with stripes at the entrance and exit, or hard labor, with an iron chain round the neck): 3. punishments inflicting mere bodily pains, or corporeal punishments, such as mutilation (which, however, is discarded in well ordered states) and whipping (the latter is frequently applied in inferior crimes, or on young persons not yet entirely corrupted): 4. punishments affecting the honor. All punishments of crime, indeed, have this character; but, in some cases, the punishment consists mainly in the degradation. Of this latter sort are, 1. such punishments as have for their object to work complete degradation; for instance, the breaking of the armorial bearings of a noble family by the hangman, branding, and the public flogging usually connected with it, deprivation of decent burial, civil death, hanging in effigy: 2. such as are intended merely to withdraw some particular civil honor; as loss of nobility, exclusion from guilds and corporations, removal from office: 3. such as have for their object merely humiliation and chastisement. The latter sort may, according to the rank of the criminal and the magnitude of the crime, be connected with corporeal punishment; for instance, the pillory, &c.: or they may be of a different kind; as suspension from office, church penances, judicial reprimands, begging of pardon, recantation of injuries, &c. This latter class of punishments is intended chiefly for the correction of the person chastised. The highest degree of degrading punishments is always to be considered as equal to loss of life. 4. Civil death is a fiction of law (fictio juris), by means of which an individual can be considered as really dead, with regard to all or some of the common legal privileges. This is not always to be con sidered as a degrading punishment, since any one can give occasion to a sentence of civil death by absence or neglect. This, however, in such instances, has no effect beyond the case which gave occasion to the sentence. 5. Fines in money are not always attended with a loss or diminution of honor. They are imposed principally on usurers, counterfeiters, libellers, adulterers, forestallers, persons guilty of frauds against the revenue, and other frauds, of adulterating wine, of carrying on trades which they are not entitled to exercise, and on many offenders against the police regulations and the feudal institutions. Except in the case of high treason, fines or confiscations do not usually embrace the whole fortune of the offender, and are mostly limited to the instruments with which the crimes were perpetrated. A colorable transfer of property which has become liable to confiscation will not protect it. Civil and police punishments are such as are inflicted for petty offences, and can be imposed by the civil judge. They are chiefly-1. fines; yet a corporeal punishment, when changed by the sovereign into a fine, retains the character of a criminal punishment, without being generally connected with ignominy; 2. imprisonment; for instance, civil confinement, arrest, which is not connected with criminal imprisonment; 3. such fines as are neither equivalent to a corporeal punishment, nor can be changed into one; 4. condemnation to mechanical and agricultural labors, or chastisement with stripes, confinement within jail limits, or confinement to a country, city or district, by which a person is laid under an obligation not to pass over certain limits; 5. removal from office without infamy; 6. temporary suspension from office; 7. reprimand from the court; 8. recantation before the court, or publicly; 9. apologies ordered by the court. Punishment can be inflicted only upon the perpetrator of a crime, and his accomplices. Fines, which have not been imposed during the life-time of the criminal, cannot be exacted after his death, unless, in order to escape punishment, he commits suicide, or endeavors to delay the judgment in other unlawful ways. If the laws of the place where the crime has been committed, differ from those where the criminal is tried, the milder punishment is usually preferred to the more severe. The severity of the laws of a country ought not to add to the severity of the punishment of a crime committed abroad. In the case of crimes of a very deep die, the punishment is determined by the general law. Punishments are also divided into ordinary or legal, and discretionary punishments. The former are expressly provided by the law for any case that may occur; the latter are pronounced by the judge, in cases in which the legal punishment cannot take effect, or in which the punishment is left to his discretion. Alterations in the legal punishments take place, 1. when the object of the punishment would not be obtained by its application; 2. when the execution is impossible, or, at least, very difficult; 3. when the execution would be injurious not so much to the criminal as to some innocent individual; 4. when the rank or the personal relations of the criminal require an exception. Before making such an alteration, however, the inferior court or judge must first obtain the opinion of the higher court. Punishments do not take effect in case, 1. of unlimited remission or pardon; 2. of a mitigation of the sentence; 3. of entire abolition, or the stopping of all proceedings, by the sovereign power; 4. of the expiration of the period within which process can be instituted, which is generally 20 years; 5. of the restoration of the offender to his former rank; 6. where the party is provisionally discharged, but remains liable to be put again on trial, if new evidence should be produced; 7. of the death of the criminal, unless he was convicted of high treason, or unless the case was one in which the punishment was to have been executed in effigy; 8. in the case of small offences, the punishment may be remitted upon an accommodation taking place between the parties, or upon a request for pardon coming from the offended party; 9. corporeal punishments are remitted, in general, when the criminal, before the execution of the sentence, becomes insane or sick, to such a degree, that the infliction of the punishment might prove fatal to him. In such a case, fines are usually substituted for corporeal punishments. The obligation to repair the injury done to the offended party, does not become extinct with the punishment.-[The foregoing article contains a summary view of the theory of crimes, and of the principles applicable to them, derived from the civil law, or the jurisprudence of continental Europe. The admission of drunkards into the class of persons not responsible for the acts which they commit, on the ground that the injuries which they commit are not accompanied with a rational intention, is liable to much objection. The common law has decided that, as it is a voluntary madness, resulting from the vice of the party, he shall not excuse one offence by setting up another. But a dis |