CLARE, JOHN (1793-1864).--Poet, _s._ of a cripple pauper, was _b._ at Helpstone near Peterborough. His youth is the record of a noble struggle against adverse circumstances. With great difficulty he managed to save one pound, with which he was able to have a prospectus of his first book of poems printed, which led to an acquaintance with Mr. Drury, a bookseller in Stamford, by whose help the poems were _pub._, and brought him £20. The book, _Poems descriptive of Rural Life_ (1820), immediately attracted attention. Various noblemen befriended him and stocked a farm for him. But unfortunately C. had no turn for practical affairs, and got into difficulties. He, however, continued to produce poetry, and in addition to _The Village Minstrel_, which had appeared in 1821, _pub._ _The Shepherd's Calendar_ (1827), and _Rural Muse_ (1835). Things, however, went on from bad to worse; his mind gave way, and he _d._ in an asylum. C. excels in description of rural scenes and the feelings and ideas of humble country life. CLARENDON, EDWARD HYDE, EARL of (1608-1674).--Lawyer, statesman, and historian, _s._ of a country gentleman of good estate in Wiltshire, was _b._ at Dinton in that county, and _ed._ at Oxf. Destined originally for the Church, circumstances led to his being sent to London to study law, which he did under his uncle, Sir Nicholas H., Chief Justice of the King's Bench. In early life he was the friend of all the leading men of the day. Entering Parliament in 1640 he at first supported popular measures, but, on the outbreak of the Civil War, attached himself to the King, and was the author of many of his state papers. From 1648 until the Restoration C. was engaged in various embassies and as a counsellor of Charles II., who made him in 1658 his Lord Chancellor, an office in which he was confirmed at the Restoration, when he also became Chancellor of the Univ. of Oxf., and was likewise raised to the peerage. His power and influence came to an end, however, in 1667, when he was dismissed from all his offices, was impeached, and had to fly to France. The causes of his fall were partly the miscarriage of the war with Holland, and the sale of Dunkirk, and partly the jealousy of rivals and the intrigues of place hunters, whose claims he had withstood. In his enforced retirement he engaged himself in completing his great historic work, _The History of the Rebellion and Civil Wars in England_, which he had begun in 1641, and which was not _pub._ until 1702-4. C.'s style is easy, flowing, diffuse, and remarkably modern, with an occasional want of clearness owing to his long and involved sentences. His great strength is in character-painting, in which he is almost unrivalled. The _History_ was followed by a supplementary _History of the Civil War in Ireland_ (1721). C. also wrote an autobiography, _The Life of Edward Earl of Clarendon_ (1759), a reply to the _Leviathan_ of Hobbes, and _An Essay on the Active and