SAVAGE, Ricnnur, an English poet, more cele brated for his vices and his misfortunes than for his talents, was the son of the Countess of Macclesfield, and Richard Savage, Earl of Rivers. He was born in January 1697. and though Lord Rivers took upon him self the care of the boy. yet his mother, who seems to have cherished for him the most unnatural dislike, put him under the care of a poor woman, who under took to educate him as her own child, and to keep him ignorant of the circumstances of his birth. Al though he now bore the name of his nurse, yet Lady Macclesfield's mother paid him some concealed atten tion, and contrived to have him placed at the school of St. Albans. Lord Rivers was at that time on his death-bed, and having expressed his resolution to leave Richard 6,000, Lady Macclesfield frustrated his de sign by telling him that he was dead. Having failed in a scheme of sending this unfortunate youth to the plantations in North America, he was bound appren tice to a shoemaker. The death of his supposed mo ther gave him an opportunity of perusing some letters, which disclosed to him the secrets of his birth. Quit ting his humble profession, he sought by every means in his power to conciliate the affections of his mother, who had now married Colonel Brett; but she spurned him from her with the most unnatural harshness, and on one occasion, when he had walked into her house, impelled by a resistless curiosity to see the being to whom he owed his existence, he was immediately turned to the door under the pretence that he sought her life.
Being now destitute of every means of support, Savage turned his thoughts towards literature. His first compositions were a poem and two plays, taken from Spanish comedies, and entitled, " Woman's Riddle," and "Love in a Veil;" but he gained from them no other advantage than the acquaintance of Sir Richard Steele and other wits. By ridiculing Sir Richard Steele behind his back, he lost his patronage, and was for awhile dependant on of Mrs. Oldfield the actress, who, though she supplied his wants, would never admit him into her house.
Savage now resolved upon writing a tragedy, but he was in such destitute circumstances, that he com posed it in the streets, and wrote what he composed on scraps of paper picked up from the ground, and with pen and ink borrowed from the nearest shop. In
that way he wrote the tragedy of " Sir Thomas Over bury," which, when corrected and fitted for the stage by Aaron Hill and Cibber, was acted at Drury Lane in 1723. This piece had little success, though he himself acted the part of Overbury; but it produced him the sum of 200.
His next literary undertaking was a volume of " Mis cellaneous Poems," to which he prefixed an humorous. account of the usage lie had received from his mother. The profits of this little work, which was published by subscription, raised our author above abject po verty; and the interest excited by his private history brought him into notoriety. An event, however, of a most distressing kind now occurred. In one of his drunken rambles, in November 1727, he quarrelled with a party who were just quitting the tavern which he was entering, and unfortunately killed one of them. For this he was tried, convicted, and condemned to death. His friends made great exertions to save his life, while his mother exerted herself as strenuously to prevent him from obtaining mercy. The Countess of Hertford, however, laid the whole case before the Queen, and succeeded in obtaining a pardon.
Justly regarding his mother as his most implacable foe, he now threatened to harass her with satirical poems, and expose her conduct unless she allowed him a pension. This threat was successful. Lord Tyrconnel, Lady Macclesfield's nephew, took our au thor under his roof, treated him as his equal, and gave. him an allowance of a-year. Under this gleam of sunshine, Savage was courted by a crowd of young aspirants after fame. He published his " Temple of Health and Mirth" on the occasion of Lady Tyrcon nel's recovery from a severe illness; and he composed the " Wanderer," a moral poem, which he dedicated to Lord Tyrconnel, in terms of the most overstrained panegyric. In this prosperous condition Savage did not long continue. He quarrelled with his benefac tor, and again threw himself upon the world.