CLAN 



1406 



CLARET 



shells are smooth, thin, chalky and somewhat 

 oval. They have siphons often longer than 

 the shells themselves, the tips of which are all 

 that appear above the surface of the sand. 

 When disturbed they send forth spurts of 

 water and pull the siphons out of sight. These 

 clams are secured by digging at low tide. 

 Though not quite as good as quahogs, there 

 is a large demand for soft-shell clams. They 

 were the ones originally used in the famous 

 Rhode Island clam chowders and at the New 

 England clam bakes. Soft-shell clams have 

 also been used for bait, and the walrus, the 

 Arctic fox and many birds will eat them. The 

 food of all clams consists of the tiniest animals 

 of the sea. 



A giant clam is found on the coral reefs of 

 the Pacific, its shell alone weighing 400 pounds 

 or more. Natives of the Caroline Islands 

 often use parts of its sharp-edged shell for 

 axes. 



The term clam is also applied to fresh-water 

 mussels. See MUSSEL. 



CLAN , klan, originally a body of men bound 

 by the ties of blood relationship, having a class 

 name and a tribal organization ruled by a chief. 

 As later used the word meant a body of per- 

 sons closely united by some common pursuit 

 or interest to the exclusion of other persons, 

 with no regard to family ties. 



The clan system existed in early times, and 

 is said to have sprung up about 1008 while 

 Malcolm II of Scotland was king, and was 

 peculiar to the countries of Ireland and the 

 Highlands of Scotland. The term was used 

 by the large septs or tribes into which the Irish 

 were divided, but more especially by the 

 numerous families in the Highlands. Among 

 the Highlanders there was no liking for writ- 

 ten agreements or charters, so the feudal sys- 

 tem had but little hold; the clansmen were 

 governed by men of the same blood, being 

 united by descent from a common ancestor, the 

 obligation of all the members to avenge one 

 another's injuries being the most common 

 principle. 



When by the rise of towns and by conquest 

 the tribal system began to be broken up and 

 a common surname was needed for keeping up 

 such connection, a chieftain of a tribe selected 

 some ancestor and called himself by that name 

 with the prefix Mac, meaning son. All of his 

 kindred adopted the same name, and in Scot- 

 land Mac came to be generally used in the 

 great clan which included the smaller clans of 

 the MacDonalds, MacGregors, etc. The clans- 



men had the utmost reverence for their chief 

 or lord, and obeyed his commands without 

 question. Each clan occupied a certain portion 

 of land and among neighboring clans hostili- 

 ties were frequent. 



After a rebellion in 1745 and the disarma- 

 ment of the clans, the system was practically 

 broken up, though in the more remote districts 

 of the Highlands the old popular beliefs linger, 

 and the interesting poetical traditions survive 

 in the memories of the people. 



CLAR'ENDON, EDWARD HYDE, Earl of (1609- 

 1674), an English historian and statesman, who 

 filled an important place during the reigns of 

 Charles I and II. He began his political career 

 in 1640 as a member of the Short and Long 

 Parliaments summoned by Charles I, and, hav- 

 ing become a leader of the king's party in the 

 House of Commons, threw in his lot with the 

 Royalists on the outbreak of the civil war. 

 He accompanied Prince Charles (afterwards 

 Charles II) in his flight to Jersey, remaining on 

 the island for two years and beginning there 

 his great literary work, History of the Rebel- 

 lion. In 1643 he was knighted and made 

 Chancellor of the Exchequer. Clarendon made 

 every effort to save the life of Charles I, and 

 was equally zealous in promoting the restora- 

 tion of Prince Charles. In 1658 he was for- 

 mally declared Lord Chancellor, and for sev- 

 eral years was the trusted adviser of Charles 

 II, but, having gained the ill will of the people 

 because of the unsuccessful Dutch War and the 

 sale of Dunkirk to the French and having 

 offended the king by opposing the latter's 

 divorce, he fell from power and spent the last 

 six years of his life in exile. 



Related Subjects. The following articles In 

 these volumes should be read In connection with 

 the life of the Earl of Clarendon : 

 Charles (I and II) Cromwell, Oliver 



Commonwealth of Restoration, The 



England 



CLARET, klair'et, or BORDEAUX, bawr 

 doh' , a still, dry, sour, red wine still, because 

 it does not contain a gas which- makes .it 

 sparkle. The claim is made that it is one of 

 the most wholesome of wines, and it formerly 

 was used extensively as a tonic for invalids 

 or convalescents. This wine has very little 

 sugar. The genuine clarets were originally 

 made in France, mostly at Bordeaux. The 

 plant-louse (phylloxera) wiped out so many 

 vineyards, however, that for years many cheap 

 mixtures have been sold as claret. Also the 

 War of the Nations after 1914 almost stopped 



