Page:Dictionary of National Biography volume 50.djvu/187

  of Ireland, which he enjoyed until his death on 30 June 1723. Sir William, who was a capable official, was succeeded in the title by his nephew, also Sir William, on whose son's death in 1795 the baronetcy became extinct.



ST. VICTOR, RICHARD (d. 1173?), theologian. [See .]

ST. VINCENT,. [See, 1735-1823.]

SAKER, EDWARD (1831–1883), actor and theatrical manager, son of W. Saker, a well-known low comedian at the London minor theatres, was born in London in 1831. He was placed with a firm of architects, but early showed a strong taste for a theatrical career, which he adopted when about twenty-five years of age. In 1857 he joined the Edinburgh company, then under the management of Robert H. Wyndham, his brother-in-law. It was in this excellent school that he learnt his profession, and soon became a clever member of the company. In addition he filled the post of treasurer for several years. He made a tour in Scotland with Henry Irving, when the latter played Robert Macaire to Saker's Jacques Strop. With Lionel Brough he also gave an entertainment, under the name of the ‘So-Amuse Twins,’ which is said to have been exceedingly amusing. He first attempted management during a summer season in 1862, when he rented the Edinburgh Royal from Wyndham, and opened with the ‘Lady of the Lake.’ In 1865 he removed to Liverpool. After remaining as an actor there for two years he became manager of the Alexandra Theatre in December 1867, and carried on the enterprise till his death on 29 March 1883.

As an actor Saker had much talent, and was most successful in parts requiring drollery and facial expression. His Shakespearean clowns were wonderful exhibitions of low-comedy acting. As a manager, however, he made his chief reputation. His period of management at the Alexandra, Liverpool, was rendered notable by a series of splendid revivals of Shakespearean plays, including ‘A Winter's Tale,’ ‘Much Ado about Nothing,’ ‘A Midsummer Night's Dream,’ and the ‘Comedy of Errors.’ In all his undertakings he was ably assisted by his wife, who survived him.

Saker's elder brother, (fl. 1850), joined the Royal, Edinburgh, in 1850, when it was under  [q. v.] He also played low comedy. His farewell benefit was on 30 Aug. 1852 at the Adelphi, Edinburgh, after which he went to the Princess's, London, where he remained till his death. He never gained the front rank in his profession, but possessed a great fund of original humour, and was the father of several clever sons, who adopted the stage as a profession.



SALA, GEORGE AUGUSTUS HENRY (1828–1896), journalist, born in New Street, Manchester Square, London, on 24 Nov. 1828, was youngest child of Augustus John James Sala (1792–1828). His grandfather, Claudio Sebastiano Sala, a citizen of Rome, came to England about 1776 to assist his godfather, Sir John Gallini [see ], in arranging ballets at the King's Theatre and the Haymarket. His mother, Henrietta Catherina Florentina Simon (1789–1860), was daughter of a well-to-do planter in Demerara. In 1827 she made her first public appearance as a singer at Covent Garden Theatre under Charles Campbell's management, as Countess Almaviva in Bishop's version of Mozart's ‘Marriage of Figaro.’ A crayon portrait of her was published in the ‘Lady's Museum’ in the same year. Subsequently she mainly supported herself and five surviving children, (four boys and a girl) by teaching singing and giving annual concerts, both in London and Brighton. Occasionally she diversified her labours by accepting a theatrical engagement. In the autumn season of 1836 and 1837 she was ‘actress of all work’ at the St. James's Theatre under Braham. She died at Brighton on 10 April 1860, and was buried in Kensal Green (cf. Gent. Mag. 1860, i. 533). An elder son, Charles Kerrison Sala (1823–1857), who was educated at Christ's Hospital, resigned a clerkship in the tithes commissioners' office to become an actor; he acquired a reputation as a member of Macready's company at the Princess's Theatre, and made some efforts as a dramatist (cf. Gent. Mag. 1857, i. 375).

The youngest child, George Augustus, displayed unusual precocity. Having learned French from his mother, he wrote a French tragedy called ‘Fredegonde’ before he was ten. From 1839 to 1842 he was at a school in Paris, where the younger Alexandre Dumas was a fellow-pupil. Subsequently he spent a few months at a Pestalozzian school at Turnham Green. He there showed an aptitude for drawing, and his mother trans-