one of the ordinary senses of the word. We find,
accordingly, the term applied to those officers of courts, corporations,
&c., whose duty consists in keeping records, correspondence, and
generally managing business, as _clerk of the market, clerk of the petty
bag, clerk of the peace, town clerk_, &c. Similarly, a clerk also means
any one who in a subordinate position is engaged in writing, making
entries, ordinary correspondence, or similar "clerkly" work. In the
United States the word means also an assistant in a commercial house, a
retail salesman.

FOOTNOTE:

[1] The accepted English pronunciation, "clark," is found in southern
English as early as the 15th century; but northern dialects still
preserve the e sound ("clurk"), which is the common pronunciation in
America.

CLERKE, AGNES MARY (1842-1907), English astronomer and scientific
writer, was born on the 10th of February 1842, and died in London on the
20th of January 1907. She wrote extensively on various scientific
subjects, but devoted herself more especially to astronomy. Though not a
practical astronomer in the ordinary sense, she possessed remarkable
skill in collating, interpreting and summarizing the results of
astronomical research, and as a historian her work has an important
place in scientific literature. Her chief works were _A Popular History
of Astronomy during the 19th Century_, first edition 1885, fourth 1902;
_The System of the Stars_, first edition 1890, second 1905; and
_Problems in Astrophysics_, 1903. In addition she wrote _Familiar
Studies in Homer_ (1892), _The Herschels and Modern Astronomy_ (1895),
_Modern Cosmogonies_ (1906), and many valuable articles, such as her
contributions to the _Encyclopaedia Britannica_. In 1903 she was elected
an honorary member of the Royal Astronomical Society.

CLERKENWELL, a district on the north side of the city of London,
England, within the metropolitan borough of Finsbury (q.v.). It is so
called from one of several wells or springs in this district, near which
miracle plays were performed by the parish clerks of London. This well
existed until the middle of the 19th century. Here was situated a
priory, founded in 1100, which grew to great wealth and fame as the
principal institution in England of the Knights Hospitallers of the
Order of St John of Jerusalem. Its gateway, erected in 1504, and
remaining in St John's Square, served various purposes after the
suppression of