SAXE 265 SAXIFRAGA distinguished part. He captured Prague, defended Alsace, and in 1743 was named Marshal of France. In the following year he held a command in Flanders. One of his most brilliant achievements was his victory over the English and Hanoverian forces at Fontenoy in May, 1745. He was at the time "nearly dead of dropsy; could not sit on horseback, except for a few minutes; was carried about in a wicker bed; had a lead bullet in his mouth all day, to mitigate the intolerable thirst." (Carlyle.) The vic- tories of Roucoux and Laufeldt, and the capture of Maestricht, added to his fame in two following years. Saxe was a man of great size and strength, intrepid, self- possessed, and as a commander won fame for his ingenuity and dash; but he was one of the most dissolute men of his age. George Sand, the eminent au- thor, was descended from an illegitimate daughter of his. He wrote a work on the art of war, called "My Reveries." He died in his palace of Chambord, near Blois, France, Nov. 30, 1750. SAXE, JOHN GODFREY, an Ameri- can humorous poet; born in Highgate, Vt., June 2, 1816. In 1872 he became editorially connected with the Albany "Evening Journal," and subsequently con- tributed to "Harper's Magazine" and the "Atlantic Monthly." He was also well known as a lecturer. His most popular verses include "Rhyme of the Rail" and "The Proud Miss McBride" ; and his pub- lished works: "The Money King" (1859) ; "The Flying Dutchman; or, The Wrath of Herr von Stoppelnose" (1862) ; "The Masquerade and Other Poems" (1866) ; "Fables and Legends in Rhyme" (1872) ; and "Leisure-Day Rhymes" (1875). He died in Albany, N. Y., March 31, 1887. SAXE - ALTENBTJRG, formerly a Duchy, but since 1919 part of Thuringia; a state of the German Republic. Area 511 square miles. The eastern or Alten- burg division is very fertile, while the western or Saal-Eisenburg portion is hilly and wooded. The capital is Alten- burg. Pop. about 216,000. SAXE-COBTJRG-GOTHA, formerly a Duchy, but since 1919 a part of Thu- ringia, a state of the German Republic, comprising the province of Gotha, lying between Prussia, Schwarzburg, Meinin- gen, and Weimar; and the province of Coburg, lying between Meiningen and Bavaria; Coburg 218 square miles, and Gotha 548 square miles. The S. of Gotha and the N. of Coburg are both mountain- ous. Both divisions are fertile; the hills are covered with wood, and in Gotha coal and other minerals are found. Prior to the World War. the chief occupations of the inhabitants, particularly in Coburg, were cattle rearing and agriculture. In Gotha there were manufactures of linen, leather, metal-wares, etc. The population profess the Lutheran faith. The Prince Consort of England, husband of Queen Victoria, was the younger brother of Duke Ernest II., and Prince Alfred of Great Britain, Duke of Edinburgh suc- ceeded his uncle in 1893, dying in 1900, without a son. He was succeeded by the Duke of Albany, nephew of King Edward VII of England. He was forced to abdicate in 1918 as the result of the German revolution. Gotha joined the Republic of Thuringia, Coburg that of Bavaria. Pop. of Gotha (1919) 433,959; of Coburg, 74,344. SAXE-MEININGEN, under the Em- pire a Duchy but now part of Thuringia, a state of the German Republic, consist- ing of a main body and several minor isolated portions; area, 953 square miles. The greater part of the surface is hilly, and the principal crops are oats, buck- wheat, potatoes, turnips, hemp, and the pastures rear considerable numbers of cattle, sheep, and horses. The minerals include iron and copper, worked to a small extent, and the manufactures are chiefly ironware, porcelain, glass, etc. The government under the empire was hereditary and constitutional with a rep- resentative chamber of 24 members. The capital is Meiningen. Pop. (1919) 191,491. SAXE - WEIMAR, or SAXE - WEI- MAR-EISENACH, under the Empire a Grand-Duchy, since 1919 part of Thu- ringia, a state of the German Republic. Area, 1,397 square miles. The forests are very extensive, and form the prin- cipal wealth of the grand-duchy. The minerals are unimportant. In Eisenach woolen, cotton, and linen tissues, ribbons, and carpets, etc., are made. The chief town is Weimar, and there is a univer- sity at Jena. Pop. (1919) 270,015. SAXHORN, a brass wind instrument, invented by Adolph Sax, constructed in such a manner that the large portion, after passing under the arm of the per- former, repasses over his shoulder, pre- senting the bell to the front. The advan- tage of this shape is that it avoids the elbows, which would otherwise impair the progress of the sound. Saxhorns have great powers, more especially the contra bassos in E and B flat; the latter of which has 48 feet of development in its tube. SAXIFRAGA, in botany, saxifrage, the typical genus of Saxifragacese. Per- ennial plants, rarely herbs, with white or yellow, or rarely red or purple, cy- mose inflorescence. Known species, 160.
