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CLYDE CLYMER 721 many, and Italy. At Oxford he made the ac- quaintance of Drs. Holland and Prideaux, and tne latter procured him offers of promotion. But he returned to Leyden, where the uni- versity gave him an annual stipend. His In- troductio in Universam GeograpJiiam tarn Ve- terem quam Novam (Leyden, 1629; best ed., Amsterdam, 1729; translated into German, 1733), was regarded as the first attempt at a comprehensive system of geography. Among his other works are archaeological descriptions of Italy (edited by Daniel Heinsius, 2 vols., Leyden, 1623), of Sicily, Sardinia, and Corsica, (Leyden, 1619, and Wolfenbiittel, 1659), and Germania Antiqua (Leyden, 1616 and 1631). CLYDE, the most important river of Scotland, rises in the southern part of Lanarkshire, out of the northern declivities of the chain of hills which may be regarded as a part of the Chev- iots, dividing Lanarkshire, Peeblesshire, Sel- kirkshire, and Roxburghshire from Dumfries- shire. It runs principally in a N. W. direc- tion, passing by Lanark, Hamilton, Both well, Rutherglen, Glasgow (which is the head of ship navigation), and Renfrew, and falls into the great estuary known as the frith of Clyde, formed by the concurrence of its own waters with those of Loch Long, coming down from the northward. This large river mouth, or arm of the sea, extends southward between the isles of Bute and Arran, which divide it on the west from Loch Fyne and Kilbrennan , soun.d, and the shores of Renfrewshire and Ayrshire ; off the latter it enters the Irish sea, between the mull of Cantyre and Kirkcolm point in Wigtonshire, nearly opposite Tor point, the extreme N. E. promontory of Ireland. The total length of the Clyde, from its source to the S. point of Bute island, is about 115 m. Its valley is one of the most interesting and the richest in old historic and legendary lore, as well as in agricultural and commercial wealth, of all the beautiful vales of Scotland. Its magnificent falls of Corra Linn and Stone- byres have been described by the most elo- quent writers, and its banks are the scene of Scott's " Old Mortality." The valley of the Clyde is famous for a peculiar race of strong black cart horses, known as the Clydesdale breed. Commercially, the embouchure of the Clyde monopolizes the American, West In- dian, and South American trade, besides at- tracting to itself a large portion of the In- dian and Australian commerce. This is the more remarkable, since the Clyde is for the most part, as a navigable river, an artificial stream. Formerly a shallow, rapid river, ob- structed by sand banks, it has been converted into a fine, uninterrupted, easily navigated avenue for ships of large burden, up to the splendid wharves of the great city which has grown up on its banks. The Forth and Clyde canal, which enters the latter river a little way below Kilpatrick, some 10 ra. lower down the river than Glasgow, connects it with Bor- rowstounness on the Forth, about 30 m. above Leith, and affords a perfect communication be- tween the E. and W. coasts. It was com- menced in 1777, and completed in 1790. Its total length is 35 m. ; its greatest elevation, at its summit level, is 156 ft., which it reaches in 10 m. by means of 20 locks, while on its de- scent to the western tide water, which it reach- es at Bowling bay, it has 19 locks. When full, it can carry vessels drawing 8 ft. of water, and its locks have a length of 74 ft. and a width of 20. It was the earliest considerable Scottish work of the kind, and continues to be one of the most important, being the great connect- ing channel for the trade of the E. and W. coasts of the kingdom. There is also a branch to this canal, 2J m. in length, terminating, di- rectly in Glasgow. CLYDE, Lord. See CAMPBELL, Sir COLIN. CLYMER, George, a signer of the declaration of independence, born in Philadelphia in 1739, died at Morrisville, Bucks co., Pa., Jan. 23, 1813. Left an orphan at the age of 7 years, he was adopted by his uncle, William Coleman, who educated him, brought him up to mercan- tile pursuits, and eventually left him the bulk of his fortune. His first appearance in public life was at a u tea meeting " in Philadelphia, Oct. 16, 1773, when he was made chairman of the committee to request the tea agents to resign, and soon after he was a member of the council of safety. He was one of the first two conti- nental treasurers, from July 29, 1775, to Aug. 6, 1776, when he resigned. During his term of office he converted all his own specie into continental money, besides subscribing liberal- ly to the loan. On July 20, 1776, with four others, he was appointed to succeed the mem- bers of the Pennsylvania delegation who had refused their assent to the declaration of inde- pendence ; and, although he was not present when it was agreed upon, he and his associates signed that instrument. He was appointed with Stockton, Sept. 26, 1776, to visit Ticon- .deroga and inspect the northern army. When congress removed in December to Baltimore, he was appointed one of the commissioners to guard the public interests in Philadelphia. He was reflected to congress, March 12, 1777. On July 11 he was appointed one of the commis- sioners to inspect Washington's army. After the battle of Brandywine, Sept. 11, the British plundered and burned his country residence in Chester co., 25 m. from Philadelphia. On Dec. 11 he was appointed one of the commission- ers to treat with hostile Indians, and to endea- vor to suppress disaffection among some of the whites on the western frontier of the states. From November, 1780, to November, 1782, he sat for the third time in the continental con- gress. In 1780 he was deputed with John Nixon to organize the bank of North America, and in 1782 he was associated with Rutledge in a mission to persuade the southern states to contribute their quotas to the purposes of the war. In 1784 he was sent to the legislature, where he was influential in 'modifying the se-