Page:Men of the Time, eleventh edition.djvu/981

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964

SAl^ABOW— SANDERSON.

plays given during the Easter holi- days in the school where he was educated, with such rare ability that his father determined to devote him to the stage. For this purpose he placed him under the tuition of the great Gustavo Modena. Before he was thirteen years old Salvini had already won a kind of renown in juvenile characters. At fifteen he lost both his parents, and the bereavement so preyed upon his spirits that he was obliged to aban- don his career for two years, and returned once more under the tuition of Modena. When he a^ain emerged from retirement he joined the ^stori troupe, and shared with that great actress many a triumph. In 1849, Salvini entered the army of Italian independence, and fought valiantly for the defence of his country, receiving in recognition of his services several medals of honour. Peace being proclaimed, he again appeared upon the stage in a company directed by Signor Cesare Dondini. He played in the Edipo of Nicolini — a tragedy writ- ten expressly for him — and achieved a great success. Next he appeared in Alfieri's " Saul," and then all Italy declared that Modena's mantle had fallen on worthy shoulders. His fame was now prodigious, and wherever he went he was received with boundless enthusiasm. He visited Paris, where he played Orasmane, Orestes, Saul, and Othello. On his return to Florence, he was hospitably entertained by the Marquis of Normanby, then English ambassador to the Court of Tuscany. In 1865 occurred the sixth centenary of Dante's birthday, and the four greatest Italian actors were invited to perform in Silvio Pellico's tragedy of "Prancesca di Rimini," which is foimded on an episode in the "DivinaCommedia." The cast originally stood on the play-bills thus : Francesca, Signora Eistori ; Lancelotto, Signor Rossi ; Paulo, Signor Salvani ; and Guido, Signor Majeroni. It happened.

however, that Rossi, who was un- accustomed to play the part of Lancelotto, felt timid at appearing in a chara^cter so little suited to him. Hearing this. Signor Salvini, with exquisite politeness and good- nature, volunteered to take the insignificant part, relinquishing the grand r6le of Paulo to his junior in the profession. He created by the force of his genius, an impression in the minor part which is still vivid in the minds of all who wit- nessed the performance. The go- vernment of Florence, grateful for his, urbanity, presented him with a statuette of Dante, and King Victor Emmanuel rewarded him with the tiUe of Knight of the Order of SS. Maurice and Lazarus. Later he received from the same monarch a diamond ring, with the rank of officer in the Order of the Crown of Italy. In 1868. Signor Salvini visited Madrid, where his acting of the death of Conrad in •* La Mort* Civile'* produced such an impres- sion that the easily excited Ma- drilese rushed upon the stage to ascertain whether the death was actual or fictitious. The queen, Isabella II., conferred upon the great actor many marks of favour, and so shortly afterward.*^ did King Luis of Portugal, who frequently entertained him at the royal palace of Lisbon. Signor Salvini visited America, in 1874, and England in 1875, and his triumphs are still fresh in the memory of the public^ He made his first appearance in Brussels, as Othello, Dec. 25, 1877. He gave a series of performances in the United States in 1881.

SAMAROW, Gbbgor. (See Medino, Oskae.)

SANDERSON, John Soott Bitr- DON, M.D., LL.D. Edin., F.R.S., was born at Newcastle-on-Tyne, in Dec., 1828, and educated at the University of Edinburgh. He was Medical Officer of Health for Pad- dington, 1856-67 ; has been Physi- cian to the Middlesex Hospital and the Hospital for Consumplioa,