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* MEECHANTS' COURTS. 333 MERCIER DE LA RIVIERE. as they could enforce by their decrees. Thesc ju- dicial functions of the guild mercliaut became well establisiied, in some cases at least, as early as the twelftli or thirteenth century; and the nier- ehanls" courts exercised a large influence upon the economic and corporative growth of the municipalities where they existed both in Eng- land and on the Continent. These old courts dis- appeared with the disappearance of the guild mer- chant, which was superseded by the aggregate of the crafts; but the business customs that they recognized and helped to establish became the source of a large |)art of the mercantile usages and laws of to-day. See further under Law JlEKcii.vNT, and consult the authorities there re- ferred to. MERCHANT'S TALE, TuE. One of Chau- cer's Canterbury talcs. The stoiy is the l>e- trayal of an old husband by a young wife. Tynvhitt thinks it was taken from a Latin fable by Adolphe of 1315, but the story with the incident of the pear-tree is found in many sources. It forms the seventh of the "Fables of Alfonce." added by Caxton to his edition of -ilsop, 1484, and is found in "Behar Damish." jfoniposed in ItioO. though the story, evidently of Oriental origin, is far older. Boccaccio and Chaucer may have drawn it from the "Commediii Lydiic." An account of these sources is found in the Chaucer Society publications under "Ori- gins and Analogues" of the Tales. Pope used the talc as a basis for his "January and May." MERCIA, mer'sha. An ancient Anglo-Saxon kingdom, which extended on both sides of the river Trent from the North Sea to Wales. It owed its origin to the fusion of many smaller States, though the chief portion was conquered by An- gles late in the sixth century. The name Jler- cians signifies 'men of the march.' for they were settled along the moorlands, which for centuries remained the borderland between Angle and Welshman. Tiie Kingdom was of little importance until the accession of Penda in 626. who rapidly attained a supremacy over the other kin.gdoms after his victory over the powerful Edwin (q.v. ), the Deiran King, at Hatfield (or Heathfield) in 6.3,3. In fi.'i.5, however, Penda was de- feated and slain by Oswin of Xorthumberland at Winwaed, and for the time being Mercian su- premacy came to an end. It recovered gradually under Wulfhere (6.5S-675), who was the first Christian King of Mercia, and attained its high- est development in the eighth centurv. especially under .Ethelbald (716-7.=)7) and Offa (7.57-796)'. After the death of the latter the Kingdom rapidly declined, and in 828 it was merged in the realm of Egbert (q.v.) of Wessex. Consult Green. The Makuifi of Eiirjhiml (Xew York, 1882). See Heptarchy. MERCIE, mfir'sya'. Antonin (1845—). A French sculptor, liorn at Toulouse. He was a pupil of .Touffroy and Falgui&re. and shows much of his latter master's technical perfection. He won the Prix de Rome in 1868, and sent from Rome his "David Vainqueur" (1872), now in the Luxem- bourg. Other works by this sculptor arc: "Gloria Victis" (1874). now in the Place Mon- tholon: "David avant le combat" (1876) ; "Lo pfnie des arts" (1877), for the entrance to the Tuilerics; the "Quand mCme" (1882), at Bel- fort ; and busts of G.inibetta and Michelet. He erected the tombs of Thiers and :Michelet at Pere-Lacliaise, and the monument to Gounod for the Park Monceau. One of his most celebrated works is the statue of Xajioleon on the VendOme Column. MERCIER, mar'sya', Hoxoifri (1840-94). A Canadian political leader. He was born at Saint Athanase, Quebec; was educated at the Jesuits' College, Montreal; studied law, and in 1867 was admitted to the bar. In 1862-64, as editor of Le Vourrier de Haint-Uyucinthe, he for some time advocated liberal principles. In 1871 he was elected to the Commons from Rouville, in 1879 to the Legislative Assembly, and in the same year became Solicitor-General. In 1883 he was selected to lead the Lil^eral opposition in the Assembly, but later founded a party of his own by combin- ing Liberals and Clericals, and in 1887 became Premier. MERCIER, LouLs Charles Axtoi.xe (1744- 1S12). A French engineer, born at Melun. He entered the French naval service about 1760, but at the outbreak of the American Revolution got I^ermission to join the Patriot forces as a volun- teer, and served under d'Estaing and Lafayette. At the close of the war he reentered the French service, but during the Reign of Terror fled to Lou- isiana, where in 1803 Napoleon employed him to draw up plans for the protection of the Gulf Coast. Later ilercier explored the country as far as Oregon and California. In 1808 he re- turned to France, where he published Mcmoire siir les vapeurs de l' atmosphere le long du cours da ilississi2}pi (1808) ; Carte du bas^in du Mis- sissippi (1808) ; Hijstime hydroyraphique de la Louisiane (1809) ; Carte di(. delta du Mississippi (1810); Etudes iopogrnphiques, georjraphiques, hi/drographiques. geologiques et geodisiques sur la Louisiane (1811) ; and Tahlcau du climat dc la Louisiane, et de son influence sur les Europeens et les Creoles (1812). MERCIER, Louis Si5ba.stien (1740-1814). A French author, born in Paris. At first he wrote novels, some of which, especially L'hmnme saurage (1767), were widely read. After having written some drama.s, which were severely criti- cised, he published an Essai stir I'art dramatique (1773), in which he contended that the dramas of Racine and Corneille had ceased to be of any interest to the French theatre, ilercier wished to see Diderot's theories realized on the boards; he wished to see life portrayed nioi'e faithfully. It was after a prolonged struggle that Mercier had the satisfaction of seeing his dramas, L'hahi- tant de la Guadeloupe, La hrouctte du vinaigrier, and Le deserteur, played on the Parisian stage, where they were enthusiastically received. In his essay L'an J-i'/O. rere s'il fut jamais, pub- lished in 1770. he sketches out a programme of political and social reforms. His Tableau de Paris (1781). in which the vices and lawlessness of the Parisian aristocracy are described, gave so much offense that he was compelled to leave France. His other books include: Le nouveau Paris (1800), and Histoire de France depuis Clovis jusqu'au regne de Louis XYI. (1802). ^lercier was a member of the Convention, in which he voted for the death of Louis XVL, and of the Council of Five Hundred. MERCIER DE LA RIVIERE, mar'syj' de l.-i I'-'vyar', Paul Pierre I 1720-171)4). A French economist. In 1758 he became Intendant of Martinique, where he attempted to apply the