  A new approach to the averaged two-particle distribution function of a
crystalline phase is presented. It includes an indirect check of the merit of
the Gaussian approximation for the local density and a new way to inferring
values of the thermodynamic variables from simulation data. The equation of
state and the compressibility of the hard-sphere FCC crystal is computed from
Tarazona free energy density functional [Phys. Rev. A {\bf 31}, 2672 (1985)].
They are in excellent agreement with simulation results over the physical range
of densities up to almost close packing. We also include the comparison with
the results obtained by two other functional approaches which are also
excellent.
