and he was lord of the manor of Clapham in that county. He died on 12 March 1589-90, and was buried in the old church at Clapham.
By his wife Eleanor [Haselrigge] he had a son, Sir Francis Clerke of Merton in Surrey (not Francis Clerke, the civilian) [q. v.], who is said to have been an eminent benefactor to Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge (but cf. Cole, Hist. of King's Coll. Camb. ii. 97).
His works are:
- 'Balthasaris Castilionis comitis de Curiali, sive Aulico, libri quatuor, ex Italico sermone in Latinum conversi,' … 15 … London, 1571, 8vo; 1577, 12mo; 1585, 8vo; 1603, 12mo; 1612, 8vo; Strasburg, 1619, 8vo; Cambridge, 1713, 8vo. This work receives high commendation from Sir John Harington in his preface to his 'Orlando Furioso,' 1591 (Haslewood, Ancient Critical Essay, ii. 143).
- 'Fidelis servi subdito infideli responsio, una cum errorum et calumniarum examine quæ continentur in septimo libro De visibili ecclesiæ monarchia à Nicholao Sandero conscripto,' London, 1573, 4to. Sanders wrote a rejoinder bearing the same title: ' Responsio servi fidelis subdito infideli' (Pits, De Scriptoribus, p. 775; Davies, Athenæ Britannicæ, pref. p. 77).
- 'Cantiæ status ab adventu Cæsaris.' Verses in the Earl of Sunderland's copy of Archbishop Parker's 'Antiquitates Britannicæ;' transcribed in Baker's MS. xxxii. 216.
- 'The reasonable Answer of the Official of the Arches, who … is driven to defend the ancient dignity of the Court of Arches, and Official thereof: not with triple titles and gay terms, but by reason, law, and statute,' 1576. MS. Petyt.
[Ames's Typogr. Antiq. (Herbert), pp. 910, 979, 1071, 1125; Cole's Hist. of King's Coll. Camb. ii. 92-7; Cooper's Athenæ Cantab, ii. 70, 544; Guillim's Display of Heraldry (1724), p. 246; Harwood's Alumni Eton. p. 170; Le Neve's Fasti; Lodge's Illustr. of British Hist, ii. 318; Lysons's Environs, Suppl. p. 19; Manning and Bray's Surrey, iii. 361, 365; Cal. of State Papers (Dom. 1547-80), pp. 257, 260, 291, 320, 324, 346, 397, 473; Strype's Works (gen. index); Tanner's Bibl. Brit.; Wood's Fasti Oxon. (Bliss), i. 195; Leicester Correspondence (Camden Soc).]
CLERKE, CHARLES (1741–1779), captain in the royal navy, circumnavigator, entered the navy about 1755, served continuously during the seven years' war, and was on board the Bellona when she captured the Courageux on 13 Aug. 1761. During the action Clerke was stationed in the mizen-top, and when the mizen-mast was shot away fell with it into the sea, happily, however, without any serious hurt. After the peace he was appointed midshipman of the Dolphin, and sailed with Commodore the Hon. John Byron [q. v.] in his voyage round the world (1764-6). On his return he communicated to the secretary of the Royal Society an account of the great height of the Patagonians, among whom he says they saw 'hardly a man less than eight feet; most of them were considerably more.' The paper was read before the society on 12 Feb. 1767, and published in the 'Philosophical Transactions,' lvii. 75. In 1768 he was appointed as master's mate to the Endeavour, with Captain Cook [see Cook, James (1728-1779)], and again sailed round the world in that expedition, 1768-71. He had been promoted during the voyage to the rank of lieutenant, and sailed as second lieutenant of the Resolution in Cook's second voyage round the world, 1772-5. On his return to England he was advanced to the rank of commander, and when Cook's third expedition was fitting out in 1776, Clerke was appointed to command the Discovery. On the death of Captain Cook on 14 Feb. 1779, Clerke succeeded to the vacant rank and the command of the expedition, which, however, he did not long enjoy, dying of a lingering consumption within little more than six months. During this short time he had given proofs not only of his zeal for the service in which he was engaged, but of his ability, energy, and devotion. He had taken the ship into high latitudes. The climate proved extremely trying to his fatal disease; but as his orders were to look for a north-west passage, he persisted until 'it was the opinion of every officer in both ships that it was impracticable, and that any farther attempts would not only be fruitless, but dangerous.' But it was then too late. He died in Avatcha Bay on 22 Aug. 1779.
[A Voyage to the Pacific Ocean during the years 1776-80, vol. iii. by Captain James King, p. 280 et seq.]
CLERKE or CLARKE, FRANCIS (fl. 1594), civilian, after a short stay at Oxford, left the university and went to Doctors' Commons, and for about forty years practised civil law in various courts. In consequence of his having acted as senior proctor for the university he received the degree of B.C.L. without examination in 1594, having then practised in London about thirty-five years. He wrote 'Praxis tam jus dicentibus quam aliis omnibus qui in foro ecclesiastico versantur,' finished in 1596, but not published until after the author's death; an edition was published at Dublin in 1664, 4to (Brit. Mus.), and another by T. Bladen, dean of Ardfert, Ireland, 1666 (Wood), 2nd ed. 1684, 4to (Brit. Mus.); and 'Praxis curiæAd-
