Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XIV.djvu/679

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SAXE ries of Many Nations" (1864); "The Masque- rade and other Poems" (1866); "Fables and Legends in Khyme" (1872; complete "red- line " illustrated ed., 1874) ; and " Leisure Day Rhymes" (1875). Of the first collection of his poems (Boston, 1849) 40 editions have been issued. He now (1875) resides in Brook- lyn, N. Y. SAXE) Manrlee, count de, a marshal of France, born in Germany in October, 1696, died at Chambord, Nov. 30, 1750. He was the natural son of Augustus the Strong, elector of Saxony and king of Poland, by the Swedish countess of Konigsmark, and at 12 years of age served in the army of the allies commanded by Marl- borough and Eugene. He was present at the sieges of Tournay and Mons, and before the age of 15 was placed by his father in command of a regiment of cavalry, with which he did good service at the siege of Stralsund. He fought under Eugene against the Turks in 1717-'18, went to Paris in 1720, and received from the duke of Orleans the commission of marechal-de-camp with the command of a re- giment, which he proceeded to discipline and manoeuvre according to a system of his own invention. For several years he studied math- ematics and the art of war under Folard, and in 172G proceeded to the north in the hope of being elected duke of Courland. The opposi- tion of Russia and Poland compelled him to take refuge in France, notwithstanding he had secured his election. In 1728 he was recalled by the duchess. Anna Ivanovna, who had con- ceived an attachment for him, and with whom he might have shared the throne of Russia, to which in 1730 she was elevated, had not his inconstancy caused his dismissal. In 1733 he obtained a command in the French army, and for services at the siege of Philippsburg was appointed a lieutenant general. In the gener- al war which broke out in 1740 he served with credit in the campaigns of Bohemia and on the Rhine, and in 1743 was appointed a mar- shal of France. In 1744, at the head of an army in Flanders, he held his ground against forces thrice as numerous as his own, retain- ing all the conquests previously made by the French; and in 1745 he was appointed gen- eral-in-chief of the forces in Flanders, amount- ing to 100,000 men. The campaign began with the siege of Tournay, and on the approach of the allies under the duke of Cumberland to the support of the town, Saxe gave them bat- tle at Fontenoy (May 11, 1745), and after an obstinate contest gained a memorable victory, which led to the speedy conquest of nearly the whole of the Austrian Netherlands. On this occasion, though suffering so severely from an attack of dropsy as to be obliged to travel in a litter, he caused himself to be con- veyed to all parts of the field. Louis XV. be- stowed upon him the estates of Chambord, which yielded an annual revenue of 100,000 francs; and for the victory gained at Rau- coux over the allies under Charles of Lor- 726 VOL. xiv. 454 SAXE-MEININGEN 655 raine, Oct. 11, 1746, he was made marshal general of France. In the campaigns of 1747- '8 Saxe captured Lawfeld, Bergen-op-Zoom, and Maestricht, which with other successes led to the peace of Aix-la-Chapello in 1748. He passed the rest of his life in princely style on his estate. Saxe was remarkable for his stat- ure and bodily strength ; he died prematurely from the effects of debauchery. He devoted several years to a work entitled Met reveries (5 vols. 4to, 1757), containing many useful hints on the art of war, which was translated into English by Sir William Fawcett (London, 1757). Numerous biographies of Saxe have been pub- lished, including one by Delabarre-Duparcq (Paris, 1850), and one by Karl von Weber (Dres- den, 1863) ; and Carlyle has drawn a portrait of him in his "Life of Frederick the Great." SAXE-ALTEIVBCRG. See ALTENBUKG. SAXE-COBIRG. See COBUEG. SAXE-COBl'KG-GOTHA, a duchy of the Ger- man empire, consisting of two principal parts separated from each other by Prussia and Meiningen. The northern division comprises the former duchy of Gotha, and is bounded by Prussia, Schwarzburg, Weimar, and Mei- ningen. The southern, comprising the duchy of Coburg, is bounded by Bavaria and Meinin- gen. Area, 760 sq. m. ; pop. in 1871, 174,339, almost all Protestants. Both parts of the duchy are mountainous and have beautiful valleys and forests; the highest peaks of the Thuringian Forest are found in Gotha. The duchy is watered by the Gera, Nesse, Unstrut, and Urn. Grain, flax, find timber are the chief products. In the mountainous parts of Gotha pitch, tar, and lampblack are made. There are manufactories of linen, woollen goods, cutlery, porcelain, and wooden toys, iron founderies, and beet-sugar refineries. The duchy has one vote in the federal council of Germany, and sends two deputies to the German Reichstag. The local diet or legislature consists of one chamber with 21 members, who are chosen by the special diets of the two duchies, Gotha choosing 14 and Coburg 7. The present duke, Ernest II. (born June 21, 1818), succeeded his father in 1844; as he has no children, the heir presumptive to the throne is his nephew Alfred, duke of Edinburgh, second son of the duke's brother Prince Albert and Queen Victoria of Great Britain. The ducal line of Gotha, which was founded in 1681, by Fred- erick, eldest son of Ernest the Bious of Al- tenburg and Gotha, became extinct in 1825. After protracted negotiations between the other Saxon houses, Gotha was given to the ducal line of Coburg- Saalf eld, which had been founded by a younger son of Ernest the Pious. The duke of Coburg-Saalfeld in turn ceded Saalfeld to the duke of Meiningen, and as- sumed the title of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. SAXE-LAUENBPRG. See LAUENBURG. SAXE-MELMNGEN-HILDBCRGHAISEN, a duchy of the German empire, composed of the old duchy of Meiningen, the principalities of Hild-