Richard Savage, who claimed to be the son of the fourth Earl Rivers and the Countess of Macclesfield, lived a precarious existence for the greater part of his life. From time to time he was assisted by various friends (among whom Alexander Pope was one of the most patient and persistent); but his improvidence and his quickness to take offence defeated their attempts to help him. In his Life of Mr. Richard Savage, Johnson described the final effort made to provide for Savage, and its inevitable failure.
Note from Richard Savage, from Literary Anecdotes