CLERMONT, or Clermont Ferrand, a city of France, formerly the chief town of Basse Auvergne, and now of the department of Puy-de-Dôme, is situated on a hill composed chiefly of volcanic tufa, in the fertile district of Limagne, and surrounded on the S. and W. by a line of mountains, of which the Puy-de-Dôme is the culminating point. It lies in 45° 46' N. lat. and 3° 5' E. long., and is 220 miles S. by E. from Paris. Since 1633 it is composed of the two towns of Clermont and Mount Ferrand, connected by a fine avenue of walnut trees and willows, two miles in length. The streets are generally ill laid out, narrow, and crooked; and the houses are built of dull, grey lava, which had a gloomy effect until the fashion was introduced of covering them with white-wash. It has several handsome squares ornamented with fountains, and is well supplied with water brought by subterranean conduits from Royat, a league distant. The principal public building is the cathedral, a Gothic edifice of the 13 th century, and though still unfinished its interior is considered one of the finest existing specimens of Gothic architecture. The church of Nôtre-Dame-du-Port is curiously decorated externally with mosaic work and bas-reliefs, and is very ancient—parts of it dating from 870. Clermont has also a university-academy, a royal college, a botanic garden, a public library of 30,000 vols, (among which are several ancient MSS. of great value), museums of natural history and antiquities, two hospitals, and a theatre. The manufactures are woollen and linen goods, silk stockings, paper, cutlery, and jewellery. Being the entrepôt for the produce of the surrounding departments, the town carries on a considerable trade in hemp, flax, corn, wine, cheese, wool, hides, and cattle. In the suburb of ...

CLERMONT EN BEAUVOISIS, frequently but by mistake called Clermont sur Oise, a town of France, at the head of an arrondissement in the department of Oise, is situated about 36 miles by rail to the north of Paris, near a small tributary of the Oise, called the Brèche. The town-hall and the church of St Samson date from the 13th century, and the hill on which the town is built is surmounted by an old castle partly of the 10 th or 11 th, now transformed into a penitentiary capable of accommodating upwards of 1000 female prisoners. The principal industries are the manufacture of cotton goods and stained paper. Clermont was an important post in the Middle Ages. It was frequently taken and retaken in the wars of the English, and in 1437 it was surrendered to them as a ransom for the great national leader La Hire. In 1569 it was sold to the duke of Brunswick by Charles IX., and about thirty years later it was resold by the duchess of Brunswick to the duke of Lorraine. In 1595 it was captured by Henry IV., and in 1615 it was held by Condé. Cassini the astronomer was a native of the town. Population in 1872, 5774.

CLERMONT-L’HÉRAULT, or Clermontde Lodève, a town of France, in the department of Hérault, and about ten miles by rail south of Lodève, is built on the slope of a hill which is crowned by an ancient castle and skirted by the Ydromiel, a tributary of the Ergue or Lergue. It owes its importance to its woollen manufacture, which was introduced in 1678; and it also produces vinegar and vitriol, has quarries of building-stone, plaster, and lime, and deals in brandy, oil, cattle, and wool. Population in 1872, 5487.