delights to think that the world is going to rack and ruin. His
favorite phrase is "May be not."

A poor, fretful soul, that has a new distress
for every hour of the four and twenty.--Act i. 1.

_Mrs. Croaker_, the very reverse of her grumbling, atrabilious
husband. She is mirthful, light-hearted, and cheerful as a lark.

The very reverse of each other. She all laugh
and no joke, he always complaining and never
sorrowful.--Act i. 1.

_Leontine Croaker_, son of Mr. Croaker. Being sent to Paris to fetch
his sister, he falls in love with Olivia Woodville, whom he brings
home instead, introduces her to Croaker as his daughter, and
ultimately marries her.--Goldsmith, _The Good Natured Man_ (1768).

CROCODILE (_King_). The people of Isna, in Upper Egypt, affirm that
there is a king crocodile as there is a queen bee. The king crocodile
has ears but no tail, and has no power of doing harm. Southey says
that though the king crocodile has no tail, he has teeth to devour his
people with.--Browne, _Travels_.

_Crocodile (Lady Kitty)_, meant for the Duchess of Kingston.--Sam.
Foote, _A Trip to Calais_.

CROCUS, a young man enamoured of the nymph Smilax, who did not return
his love. The gods changed him into the crocus flower, to signify
_unrequited love_.

CROESUS, king of Lydia, deceived by an oracle, was conquered by Cyrus,
king of Persia. Cyrus commanded a huge funeral pile to be erected upon
which Croesus and fourteen Lydian youths were to be chained and burnt
alive. When this was done, the discrowned king called on the name of
Solon, and Cyrus asked why he did so. "Because he told me to call no
one happy till death." Cyrus, struck with the remark, ordered the fire
of the pile to be put out, but this could not be done. Croesus then
called on Apollo, who sent a shower which extinguished the flames, and
he with his Lydians came from the pile unharmed.

[Illustration] The resemblance of this legend to the Bible account
of the Jewish youths condemned by Nebuchadnezzar to be cast into the
fiery furnace, from which they came forth uninjured, will recur to the
reader.--_Daniel_, iii. _Croesus's Dream_. Croesus dreamt that his
son, Atys, would be slain by an iron instrument, and used every
precaution to prevent it, but to no purpose; for one day Atys went to
chase the wild boar, and Adrastus, his friend, threw a dart at the
boar to rescue Atys from danger; the dart, however, struck the prince
and killed him. The