Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XIV.djvu/668

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Q4A SAUVEUR SAVANNAH ed and invented other instruments, the best known being the cyanometer. In 1787 he as- cended the summit of Mont Blanc, in 1788 of the Col clu Geant, and in 1789 Monte Rosa. Cuvier regarded his Essai sur Vhygrometrie . (Neuf ch&tel, 1783) as a remarkable scientific work, and attached the highest importance to his geological and mineralogical labors. His Voyages dans lea Alpes (4 vols., 1779-'96), comprising also his exploration of other moun- tains, gave him the title of the " first painter of the Alps." His son NICOLAS THEODORE (1767-1845) became eminent in vegetable chem- istry. His daughter ALBERTINE ADRIENNB (176&-1841), who married Jacques Necker, a cousin of Mme. de Stael, translated Schlegel's "Course of Dramatic Literature" (1814), and wrote Notice sur le caractere et let ecrits de Mme. de Stael (1820), and L 1 Education pro- gressive (3 vols., 1828-'32 ; 4th ed., 2 vols., 1864.) S

Kl R, Joseph, a French mathematician, 

born at La Fleche, March 24, 1653, died in Paris, July 9, 1716. He was mute until the age of seven, and his voice and hearing long remained imperfect, yet he made a new sci- ence of musical acoustics. He gained an in- troduction at court through Prince Eugene, and in 1686 became professor of mathematics at the col!6ge de France. He determined the number of vibrations corresponding to each determinate sound, whether of an organ pipe or of a sonorous chord. His discoveries are described in numerous papers in the Memoires of the academy of sciences. SAVAGE, Msrmion W., an Irish novelist, died in Torquay, May 1, 1872. After holding for many years a public office in Dublin, he set- tled in London in 1856, and for several years edited the "Examiner." His "Bachelor of the Albany," "My Uncle the Curate," "Reu- ben Medlicott," and "The Falcon Family" were originally published under an assumed name, to avoid compromising his official posi- tion, as they were strongly imbued with the spirit of young Ireland. He also edited with notes Richard Lalor Shell's "Sketches, Legal and Political " ( 2 vols., London, 1855). SAVAGE, Richard, an English poet, born in London, Jan. 10, 1698, died in Bristol, July 81, 1743. According to his own story, he was the illegitimate offspring of Anne, countess of Macclesfield, and Richard Savage, Earl Rivers, and at the age of 14 months was consigned by his mother to the care of a poor woman. The countess early disowned him, but her mother, Lady Mason, caused him to be placed in a school at St. Albans, after leaving which he was ap- prenticed to a shoemaker. Hearing by accident the secret of his birth, he assumed his father's name. Steele, Wilks the actor, and Mrs. Old- field befriended him, and in 1723 he produced a successful tragedy, " Sir Thomas Overbury," in which he played the principal character. The publication of a volume of miscellanies soon after increased his reputation. In 1727, hav- ing killed a man in a drunken brawl, he was tried and condemned to death. The countess of Hertford interceded with Queen Caroline in his behalf, and, despite the exertions of his mother to have the sentence carried into effect, on the ground that he had once attempted her own life, he received the royal pardon. On leaving prison he published his poem, " The Bastard." With a view of putting an end to scandal, Lord Tyrconnel, a relative of his mother, took him into his own house, where he was allowed an annual income of 200. For several years he led a life of excitement ; but having quarrelled with his protector, he was again cast adrift. By the death of Queen Caroline soon after he was deprived of a pen- sion of 50, and left to the charity of his friends, whom he gradually alienated. He was finally induced to retire to Swansea in Wales, and an annual stipend was contributed to his support by Pope and others. After the lapse of a year he started for London with a tragedy, and while passing through Bristol was arrest- ed for a debt of 8, and died in the debtors' prison of that place. He also wrote " The Wanderer" (1729), a poem esteemed by him as his masterpiece, and a number of minor pieces. His works, with an account of his life and writings by Dr. Samuel Johnson, were published in 1775 (2 vols. 8vo). SAVANNAH, the largest city and the commer- cial metropolis of Georgia, capital of Chat- ham co., on the right bank of the Savannah river, 18 m. from its mouth, and at the termi- nus of the Central, Atlantic, and Gulf, and the Savannah and Charleston railroads, 82 m. in a direct line and 104 m. by rail S. W. of Charleston, S. C. ; lat. 82 5' N., Ion. 81 5' W. ; pop. in 1850, 15,812; in 1860, 22,292; in 1870, 28,285, of whom 13,068 were colored and 8,671 foreigners. The city is on a sandy plain about 40 ft. above the river, with one narrow street below the steep bluff, the ware- houses upon which open below on the level of the piers, and from the uppermost story on the other side upon a wide sandy area called Bay street, which is divided by numerous car- riageways and rows of trees. The whole city is regularly laid out with broad shaded streets, and at many of the principal crossings are open squares with trees. The corporate lim- its extend about !$ m. back from the river, and include an area of 3-^ sq. m. The water front extends in the form of an elongated cres- cent about 2 m. Suburban settlements are fast springing up S. of the city limits. In this district a public park of 80 acres, called For- syth place, has been laid out. Bonaventure cemetery, about 4 m. from the city, is reached by a fine drive. The principal other cemetery is Laurel Grove, belonging to the municipality. The residences are mostly surrounded with flower gardens, which bloom all the year. The most noticeable public edifices are the city ex- change, court house, state arsenal, barracks, artillery armory, theatre, St. Andrew's hall, lyceum, Oglethorpe hall, Chatham academy,