COXIE CRAB. 



503 



so q., three vols., 4to) is a valuable work. Mr Coxe 

 died in 1828. 



COXIE, or COXCIN, MICHAEI, a painter and en- 

 graver, born at Mechlin, 1497. He was a pupil of 

 Bernard van Orley, and travelled to Rome, where he 

 remained several years, attracted by the works of 

 Raphael, with whom he was probably personally ac- 

 quainted. Here he executed several paintings in 

 fresco, and many other pieces. He also painted the 

 history of Cupid and Psyche, in the style of Raphael, 

 which was engraved on thirty-two copperplates. In 

 the imperial gallery of Vienna, we find a Madonna 

 with the infant Jesus, by him. His works are rare, 

 even in the Netherlands. He died in 1592. 



COYPELS, THE; 1. Noel, the father, born, it is 

 uncertain whether in Paris or Normandy, in 1628 or 

 in 1629, died in 1707, at Paris. After he had em- 

 bellished, by the royal command, the old Louvre 

 with his paintings (from the cartoons of Lebrun), 

 and had, in like manner, adorned the Tuileries, he 

 was appointed a director of the French academy in 

 Rome. His four pictures for the council hall at 

 Versailles Solon, Trajan, Severus, and Ptolemy 

 Philadelphus excited the admiration of connois- 

 seurs. His chief works are, the Martyrdom of St 

 James (in the church of Notre Dame), Cain murder- 

 ing his Brother (in the academy), the Trinity and 

 the Conception of the Holy Virgin (in the Hotel des 

 Invalides). Coypel had a rich imagination, drew 

 correctly, understood expression, and was an agree- 

 able colourist. 2. His son, Anthony, born at Paris, 

 in 1661, where he died in 1721, possessed spirit and 

 invention. At the age of fourteen, he studied the 

 works of the Venetian colourists, and, though his stu- 

 dies were interrupted by his speedy return to France, 

 the works that he executed obtained the greatest 

 applause, which rendered him probably more careless 

 than he would otherwise have been. The richness 

 of his imagination and the greatness of his composi- 

 tion caused his imperfect drawing to be overlooked, 

 and Ms dazzling colouring excused his want of har- 

 mony. His fame laid the foundation for the manner 

 of the French school. 3. Much more pure and 

 correct, but comparatively neglected by the public 

 of his time, was his younger brother. Noel Nicholas 

 Coypel, usually called Coypel the uncle, born at 

 Paris, in 1692, where he died in 1735. Far from 

 desiring to dazzle by a false glitter, he aimed only at 

 truth and nature. Without general popularity, he 

 was satisfied with the praise of a small circle of con- 

 noisseurs of good taste. He finally received a place 

 in the academy. 4. Charles Anthony, the son of 

 Anthony, born at Paris, in 1694, where he died in 

 1752, followed the example of his father, and accom- 

 modated himself to the taste of his time with great 

 success. The applause which he received did him 

 much injury. He was entirely a mannerist. His 

 colouring was dazzling but inharmonious. His 

 father was the author or a poetical epistle on paint- 

 ing, addressed to him, written with much elegance. 



COYSEVOX, ANTOINE, a sculptor, was born at 

 Lyons, in 1640, and went to Alsace, in his 27th 

 year, to adorn the beautiful palace of the cardinal 

 Fuerstenberg at Saverne. On his return to France, 

 lie became a member of the academy of the arts or 

 painting and sculpture, and made several busts of 

 Louis XIV., and other works for the royal palaces. 

 His figures are full of grace, natural, and noble. 

 He was called the Vandyke of sculpture, on account 

 of the beauty and animation of his portraits. The 

 statue of cardinal Mazarin, in the museum at Paris, 

 is a masterpiece of art. Besides this, his most dis- 

 tinguished works are the statue of Louis XIV., on 

 horseback, for the estates of Bretagne; the sepul- 

 chre of Colbert; the statues representing the 



Dordogne, Garonne, and Marne ; the group of 

 Castor and Pollux ; the sitting Venus ; the Nymph 

 of the Shell ; the Hamadryad ; the sportive Faun 

 with the Flute ; Pegasus and Mercury. Coysevox 

 died at Paris, in 1720, in the eightieth year of his 

 age. 



CRAB (cancer, Lin.). This name, which appears 

 to be derived from the Greek *gaflj, through the 

 Latin carabus, used by Pliny to designate certain 

 crustaceous species, is now applied to a considerable 

 group of invertebral animals, whose bodies are 

 covered by an external skeleton, or calcareous crust, 

 having ten articulated limbs, adapted for swimming 

 or walking, and breathing by branc/iia, or gills. 

 The head and corselet are united, the latter being 

 broader than it is long. The tail is short in propor- 

 tion, and concealed by being turned forward beneath 

 the body. 



This genus is distinguished from all others of the 

 same family by the semicircular shape of the corse- 

 let, the pointed or hooked extremities of the last 

 joint of the limbs, the narrowness of the superior 

 shell from before backwards, the posterior direction 

 of the hinder tarsi, and the absence of spines or 

 ridges from the forceps, or biting claws. They 

 belong to the fourth section of ten-legged, short- 

 tailed Crustacea (decapoda brachyura) of the latest 

 systems, and are of numerous species, exceedingly 

 various in size, colour, and modes of living. A slight 

 survey of the structure of these animals might lead 

 to the opinion that their senses were limited or im- 

 perfect ; but proper observation shows the contrary 

 to be true. The sense of sight, in most of the 

 species, is peculiarly acute, and enables them to 

 distinguish the approach of objects from a very con- 

 siderable distance. Their power of smelling is also 

 great, though we have not yet discovered the organ 

 by which this sense operates. It has been inferred 

 that the antennee serve this purpose. Until more 

 positive knowledge is acquired on the subject, no 

 evil can arise from this opinion as to the seat of the 

 sense of smell. The entrance to the organ of hear- 

 ing is at the base of the peduncle sustaining the 

 antennee, and consists of a small, hard, triangular 

 prominence, covered by a membrane, within which 

 is a cavity containing the expanded auditory nerve. 

 Of all the senses, that of touch, except so far as it 

 may be possessed by the antennae, appears to be 

 the least perfect, since the whole body and limbs 

 are incrusted with a hard, compact shell. Of the 

 sense of taste, we can say nothing, but that, as the 

 animals possess a remarkably complex and elaborate 

 apparatus for mastication, there is no reason for 

 believing them devoid of this sense. The mouth is 

 furnished with at least eight pieces or pairs of jaws, 

 which pass the food through an extremely short 

 gullet into a membranous stomach of considerable 

 size. This stomach is rendered curious by having 

 within certain cartilaginous appendages, to which 

 strong grinding teeth are attached. Tnese, in crabs, 

 are five in number, and placed at the pyloric extre- 

 mity, or outlet of the stomach ; so tliat the aliment, 

 after being subjected to the action of the jaws, is 

 again more perfectly chewed by the stomach-teeth, 

 before entering the digestive tube, where it is 

 exposed to the action of the biliary fluid of the liver. 

 The latter organ is of great size in these creatures, 

 and is all tliat soft, rich, yellow substance, found 

 immediately beneath the superior shell, usually 

 called the fat of the crab, and justly esteemed a 

 delicious morsel. A little posterior to the stomach 

 (commonly called sandbag), the heart is situated 

 a somewhat globular, whitish body, which propels 

 a colourless lymph to the gills (called dead mari'sjlesh 

 or fingers) and rest of the oody, whence it is brought 



