death of the queen, and the loss of his pension,completed his ruin; and, although a few friends raised a subscription, with a view of enabling him to reside in Wales, the same propensity to dissipation induced him not only to squander the money advanced to him, but to incur a debt of eight pounds at Bristol; for which he was arrested, thrown into the county jail, and eventually removed to Newgate, where he died in 1743. Although Savage at one time received an allowance of fifty pounds a year from Mrs. Oldfield, and repeatedly extorted considerable sums of money from lady Macclesfield by threats of lampooning her, besides other sums from the admirers of his genius, his extravagance always kept him poor; and it is well known that he was the friend and companion of Johnson at the time when the latter was sleeping in the streets of London, houseless and pennyless. For the true character and history of Savage, see Galt's Lives of the Players (London, 1831, 1st vol.).

SAVANNAH; a river which makes the north-east boundary of Georgia, and separates it from South Carolina. It is formed by the junction of the Tugalo and Kiowee, 100 miles by the course of the river above Augusta. The largest vessels come up to Five-fathom Hole, within three miles of the city of Savannah, eighteen miles from the ocean; large brigs come to the wharves; steam-boats of 150 tons ascend to Augusta, about 250 miles by water, and 127 by land; and poleboats ascend 100 miles farther, and then 50 miles on the Tugalo branch. Boats on this branch carry from thirty to sixty bags of cotton, and return with eight or ten tons of merchandise. Tides flow up 25 miles. SAVANNAH; a city of Georgia, and port of entry, in Chatham county, on the south bank of Savannah river. It is built on a sandy bluff point, 40 feet high. It was laid out by general Oglethorpe in 1733. In 1829, it contained ten houses of worship, an exchange, a court house, a jail, a poor house, an hospital, a theatre, an academy, two state banks, and a brauch of the U.States bank. Two of the churches are for Africans; and one of these has more than 2000 members attached to the congregation. Population in 1830, 7303; lat. 32° 2′ N.; lon. 81° 3′ W. The town is regularly laid out; the streets are wide, and ornamented with the China tree. The chief part of the exports and imports of the state are landed here. In the year ending September 30, 1826, the exports were 190,578 bags of cotton, 11,455 tierces

of rice, 170 hogsheads of tobacco. Since a safe inland passage to Charleston by way of Beaufort has been discovered, some part of the exports have passed from Augusta directly to Charleston. In January, 1820, this town was burned; but it has been rebuilt in an improved style. The city abounds in benevolent institutions. Savannah was taken by the British during the revolution. (See Sherwood's Gazetteer of Georgia.)

SAVARY, René, duke of Rovigo, was born in 1774. He was Napoleon's minister of police, &c., and served with distinction, in 1789, in the line; also in 1796, under Moreau, and in 1799 under Desaix in Egypt. After Desaix's death, at Marengo, in 1800, he became Napoleon's adjutantgeneral, and, soon after, was intrusted with the charge of the secret police. Bold, active, and dexterous (for example, in the discovery of the conspiracy of George and Pichegru), and at the same time zealously devoted to the emperor, he soon obtained the confidence of the latter. Napoleon employed him on important missions. After the battle of Austerlitz, he was sent to the Russian and Austrian head-quarters, and, in 1808, to Ferdinand VII, at Madrid, whom he induced to come to Bayonne. On account of a brilliant charge which he successfully made at the head of his regiment at the battle of Friedland in 1807, the emperor made him duke of Rovigo (q. v.); and when Fouché fell into disgrace, he was appointed (June 3, 1810) minister of police. After Napoleon's return from Elba, Fouché was made minister of the police, and Savary was appointed general superintendent of the gens d'armes, and a peer of France. It is well known that the British government refused to give him permission to accompany Napoleon to St. Helena. Having been detained as a prisoner at Malta, he escaped, in April, 1816, to Smyrna. Thence he went, in 1817, to Trieste, in order to repair to Paris, to defend himself against a sentence of death passed on him December 25, 1816, by a court martial; but he was detained at Grätz until he returned to Smyrna, in June, 1818, where he engaged in mercantile business. In 1819, he went to London, and thence to Paris, where, December 27 of that year, he presented himself before the court, and was acquitted. He then lived retired, but went to Berlin in 1823, to bring before the Prussian courts of justice an action against the Prussian exchequer for indemnification (inadmissible by the peace of Paris) for the loss of his dotations in the Prussian dominions,

researches are contained in papers read before the academy of sciences, and in articles in the periodical mentioned above. Uncommon erudition, acuteness, and elegance in the exposition of his views, are allowed him, even by those who do not belong to his school.

SAVILE, Sir Henry, one of the most profound and elegant scholars of his age, was born in 1549, and, after graduating at Brazen-nose college, Oxford, removed on a fellowship to Merton college, in the same university. In his twenty-ninth year, he made a tour on the continent, for the purpose of perfecting himself in elegant literature, and, on his return, was appointed tutor in Greek and mathematics to queen Elizabeth. Seven years after, the wardenship of his college, which he held for about six-and-thirty years, the provostship of Eton being added to it in 1596, was conferred on him. In 1619, he founded two professorships, in geometry and astronomy, at Oxford, besides conferring several other valuable benefactions, both in property and books, many of the latter forming still a part of the Bodleian library. Among his works, the principal are his Commentaries on Roman Warfare; Rerum Anglicarum post Bedam Scriptores; Prælectiones in Elementa Euclidis; and his edition of the writings of St. Chrysos tom, in eight folio volumes. Sir Henry Savile was the correspondent of J. Scaliger, Meibomius, Isaac Casaubon, and most of the learned men of his day. His death took place in 1622.

SAVILE, George, marquis of Halifax, a statesman and writer, was born in 1630. On the death of Cromwell, he distinguished himself by his exertions in favor of the absent king, and on the restoration was raised to the peerage. He was removed from the council in 1675, through the influence of the duke of York (see James II), in consequence of his opposition to that prince's measures in favor of the Roman Catholic religion. But when the bill for excluding the duke from the succession was in agitation, his repugnance to that measure brought him into disgrace with the party with which he had hitherto acted. In 1682, he was created marquis of Halifax, keeper of the privy seal, and president of the council, which dignities he retained in the early part of the succeeding reign, till his opposition to the proposed repeal of the test acts caused his abrupt dismissal. From this moment lord Halifax continued in opposition, till the flight of James II, when he was chosen speaker of the house of lords

in the convention parliament, and contributed mainly to the elevation of William III to the throne. But, soon after the revolution, he resigned the privy seal, and, during the remainder of his life, voted against the court. A mortification in the bowels carried him off in 1695. He was the author of Advice to a Daughter, and of a variety of political tracts, the principal of which are, Maxims of State; the Character of a Trimmer; Character of King Charles II; Anatomy of an Equivalent; Letter to a Dissenter, &c. SAVIN. (See Juniper.)

SAVINGS INSTITUTIONS, or, as they are often called, SAVINGS BANKS, are an institution of recent origin, but have already accomplished much good. They afford an opportunity for those who have any thing to spare, not only to deposit their savings in safety, but to receive interest for the sum so secured, against a time of sickness, or distress, or age. One of the first attempts with which we are acquainted to realize such an institution was made by Mrs. Priscilla Wakefield, at Tottenham, near London, in 1803, in which small sums were received, and interest allowed on them. The first attempt on a larger scale was made in Edinburgh, in 1814; and soon after this example was imitated in England. The Scotch banks allowing interest on mere deposits, the managers of savings institutions in that country had no difficulty in investing their funds; but in England, this not being the case, it became necessary to vest the deposits in the public funds, in some instances paying a fixed interest, in others leaving the depositors to take their chance in the fluctuations of the stocks. Such was the extent of the operations of these institutions, that from 1817 to 1828 inclusive, the commissioners for the reduction of the public debt received from the directors of savings banks, including friendly societies, the sum of £13,746,546, for which government paid four per cent. interest. By act of parliament of July 28, 1828 (to consolidate and amend the laws relating to savings banks), for the further regulation of savings banks, the rate of interest was reduced to £3 8s. 54d. per cent. per annum. November 20, 1830, there were 379 savings banks in England, and since that time five others have been established. The number of depositors in 369 banks, from which returns were received, was 367,812; the amount deposited, £13,080,255: of the depositors, 187,770 deposited under twenty pounds, and 102,621 under fifty pounds. In Wales, there

are twenty-five institutions of this kind, with 10,404 depositors, and an amount invested of £340,721. In Ireland, there are eightythree, returns from sixty-two of which give 34,638 depositors, and an amount invested of £945,991. (See Pratt's History of Savings Banks.) The first savings bank in America was opened in Philadelphia, in November, 1816. In Boston, an institution was incorporated in December of the same year; but its action did not begin until February following. Since that time, these societies have become quite numerous, and, with hardly an exception, have been exceedingly prosperous. That of New York has the largest funds: next in magnitude is the institution at Boston; then those of Philadelphia, Baltimore, Salem, New Bedford. Perhaps the number may amount to forty or fifty; for most of the northern maritime cities, and the larger manufacturing towns, afford strong encouragement to such projects. In Boston, the number of depositors exceeds ten thousand, and the amount of funds cannot be short of a million and a half of dollars. SAVONAROLA, Geronimo, an Italian monk, celebrated for his eloquence, and his melancholy fate, was born at Ferrara, September 21, 1452, and was designed for the medical profession. Religious enthusiasm led him, at the age of fourteen, to leave his father's house secretly, and enter the order of Dominicans. Several years later, he began to preach at Florence, but with so little success that he determined to abandon the pulpit; and, retiring to Bologna, he devoted himself to metaphysical and physical studies. The reputation of his talents and learning induced Lorenzo de' Medici to invite him to return to Florence. Here Savonarola began to preach again; and his discourses attracted such crowds that the church could not contain them. His extraordinary sanctity and his powerful eloquence gained him great influence over the minds of the Florentines, and he was emboldened to assume a prophetic tone, and to urge with vehemence, and in public, the necessity of a reform in the church. The multitude looked upon him as divinely inspired, while some ridiculed him as a fanatic, and others denounced him as an impostor. He soon broke off all connexion with his patron Lorenzo, whose character he assailed, with prophecies of his approaching fall. He refused to make the customary visit to that chief, which it was his duty to do as prior of St. Mark's, and, when Lorenzo went himself to St. Mark's, refused to see him. Although Lorenzo de' Medici was repeatedly urged to adopt

severe measures against him, he refused, either from lenity, or from his respect for the character of the preacher. When Lorenzo lay on his death-bed (1492), Savonarola obtained admission to him, and spoke to the dying man with the dignity of his office. After the death of Lorenzo, and the expulsion of his son Pietro, Savonarola took the most active part in the political affairs of Florence. He put himself at the head of those who demanded a more democratical form of government, asserted that God had commissioned him to declare that the legislative power must be extended to the citizens, that he himself had been the ambassador of the Florentines to heaven, and that Christ had consented to be their king. The newly elected magistrates accordingly laid down their offices, and the legislative functions were intrusted to a council of the citizens, which chose a committee from their own number for the discharge of the duty. Dissensions, however, distracted the new republic; the aristocratical and democratical parties persecuted each other with great fury, the former consisting of the friends of the old order of things, and the latter of the devout admirers of the monk. But the zeal of Savonarola was not content with revolutionizing Florence; he meditated the reform of the Roman court, and of the irregularities of the clergy. The pontificate of Alexander VI could not fail to supply causes of complaint on both heads. He accordingly wrote, as his eulogists assure us, to the Christian princes, declaring that the church was going to ruin, and that it was their duty to convoke a general council, before which he was ready to prove that the church was without a head, and that the reigning pope was not a true bishop, had never been worthy of the title, nor even of the name of a Christian. Alexander excommunicated him, and the bull of excommunication was read in the cathedral at Florence; but Savonarola despised the thunders of the Vatican, and continued to preach. His influence was still further increased by the failure of an attempt of Pietro de' Medici to restore his family authority. But another party had, meanwhile, arisen in opposition to him. His innovations in St. Mark's and other monasteries had excited the enmity of the monks, especially of the Franciscans of the strict observance, who denounced him from the pulpit as an excommunicated heretic. Fra Domenico da Rescia, a monk of his convent, offered, in the heat of his fanatical zeal, to prove the truth of his master's

doctrines, by passing through fire, if one of his opponents would undergo the same ordeal in defence of their opinions. The challenge was accepted by a Franciscan monk, and Savonarola, with his champion, appeared at the head of a large procession, chanting the Psalm lxviii," Let God arise, and let his enemies be scattered." The Franciscan also presented himself, the fire was kindled, and Domenico was ready to enter the flames, bearing the host in his hands. But the crowd exclaimed against this sacrilege, as they termed it; and, as Domenico persisted in his determination, he thus happily escaped the ordeal for which he had offered himself. But this event was fatal to Savonarola. The people loaded him with insults, and he was finally thrown into prison. A spiritual court, under the direction of two papal commissioners, was held for his trial. His firmness and eloquence at first threw his judges into confusion, but, being examined on the rack, he confessed that he had falsely arrogated supernatural powers. He was condemned, with some of his adherents, to be first strangled, and then burnt, and the sentence was executed May 23, 1498, in presence of a large multitude, some of whom considered him as a martyr and a saint. This extraordinary man left, besides letters, a Treatise against Astrology, and several philosophical and ascetical works (Opera, Lyons, 1633-40, 6 vols.). His sermons (Prediche, Florence, 1496), though wanting in the characteristics of finished discourses, contain powerful and stirring passages. (See Reformation.) SAVOY (Savoia, Italian; Savoie, French); a duchy belonging to the Sardinian monarchy (see Sardinia), and bordering on France, Switzerland, and Piedmont, with a superficial extent of 3750 square miles, and a population of 501,165. The greatest part of the duchy consists of lofty mountains and forests, alternating with deep and narrow valleys. The Cottian and Pennine Alps belong in part to Savoy, and the Gray Alps separate it from Piedmont. (See Alps.) Mont Blanc (q. v.), the loftiest summit in Europe, is in Savoy. The Iseran, the Little St. Bernard, and mount Cenis, over which an artificial road leads from Savoy to Piedmont, are also in this duchy. (See Alps, Roads over.) Many of the summits are covered with perpetual snow and ice. Savoy is watered by the Rhone, the Isere, the Arve, which flows through the vale of Chamouni (q. v.), and the Arc. The lake of Geneva is on the borders. The smaller lakes are those of Bourget and Annecy. Near the lake

of Bourget is an intermittent spring, called the Miraculous Fountain, which ceases to flow during periods varying from twenty minutes to towards three hours. The climate is very changeable, and in the course of a day the severest cold is often succeeded by a great heat. The soil is mostly rocky, and far from fertile; but where it is susceptible of being brought into cultivation, it yields corn, though insufficient to supply the inhabitants, potatoes, hemp, flax, wine, chestnuts, and orchard fruits. The forests are extensive, and the pastures good; grazing is therefore much attended to.- -Game, the marmot, chamois, and ibex, are found in the mountains. Among the mineral productions are silver, copper, lead, iron, coal, and salt. The Savoyards speak a mixture of French and Italian. They are honest, faithful, frugal, and industrious, but poor. They are often compelled to quit their ungrateful soil for a subsistence (as porters, pedlars, &c.), but generally return with their earnings to their country. Chamberry, the capital, with 11,991 inhabitants, is the only considerable town. Savoy was anciently inhabited by the Allobroges. It was under the Roman dominion till 400, belonged to Burgundy till 530, to France till 879, to Arles till 1000, when it had its own counts, and, in 1416, was erected into a duchy. 1792, it was conquered by the French, and incorporated with France, as the department of Mont Blanc. It was partly ceded to Sardinia by the first peace of Paris (1814), and by the second (1815), the remainder was given up to the Sardinian monarchy. See Cribrario's Notizie sopra i Principi di Savoia (Turin, 1825).

In

SAW-FISH (pristis antiquorum); a fish of the family of sharks, remarkable for having the head prolonged in the form of a long, flat plate, having strong osseous spines implanted like teeth on each margin, the whole bearing some resemblance to a saw. This forms a powerful weapon, with which it attacks whales and other cetaceous animals, towards whom this fish seems to bear an inveterate hostility. The habits of the saw-fish are otherwise, as well as their organization, the same as those of the sharks. It grows to the length of twelve or fifteen feet. The flesh is hard, coriaceous, and ill-tasted. Several species of saw-fish are now known. They inhabit all seas, from the polar ice to the equatorial regions.

SAW-GIN. (See Cotton.)

SAXE, Maurice, count de, a celebrated military officer, was the natural son of Augustus, king of Poland, by the count