non, which he did. From that time his individuality is lost in that of the admiral, except that, as chief of Lyons's staff, he had the direction of many points of detail on which much depended. By far the most important of these were the embarkation of the troops at Varna and the subsequent landing of them in the Crimea on 14 Sept. The whole thing was admirably done without a hitch and without loss; and though, to the world at large, it appeared to be done by Lyons, Lyons himself and the navy fully recognised that the credit belonged to Mends.
In February 1855 Lyons moved his flag to the Royal Albert, Mends accompanying him. In all the operations of the year he had his full share; he was nominated a C.B. on 5 July; and in December was ordered to take the ship to Malta, the admiral remaining in the Black Sea with his flag in the Caradoc. While crossing the Sea of Marmora the stern-gland the metal bearing of the screw-shaft as it passes through the stern-post gave way, and an alarming rush of water followed. During the next day the ship pursued her voyage, the engines pumping the water out; but on 28 Dec. Mends decided that it was necessary to beach the ship, which was cleverly done in Port Nicolo, in the island of Zea. There a cofferdam was built inside round the hole, and, the ship's safety being thus secured, she proceeded to Malta under sail, and arrived there on 7 Jan. 1856. Mends continued in command of the Royal Albert till March 1857, when he was appointed to the Hastings, guardship in the Mersey, from which, four years later, he was appointed deputy-controller-general of the coast-guard at the admiralty. He held this office for about a year, and in May 1862 was appointed director of transports, with the duty of organising and administering the transport department of the admiralty. Here he remained for more than twenty years, during which period there were several exceptional calls on his office, which were answered in a manner that testified to the thorough working order in which things were kept. On 1 Jan. 1869 he became a rear-admiral, on 20 May 1871 a K.C.B., vice-admiral on 1 Jan. 1874, admiral on 15 June 1879, and on 24 Nov. 1882 was nominated a G.C.B., with especial reference to his work in connection with the expedition to Egypt.
In February 1883 he retired and settled down at Alverstoke, within easy distance of his many old friends at Portsmouth. Here he lived peacefully for the next twelve years. In July 1894 his wife died after an illness of days, and the blow ' practically killed him,' though he survived for three years. He died on 26 June 1897, the day of the great naval review in commemoration of the queen's diamond jubilee. Mends married, at Malta in December 1837, Melita, daughter of Dr. Stilon, a Neapolitan by birth, who had served as a medical officer in the French army at Maida, and been sent as a prisoner to England, where he married, entered the navy, and some years later settled in private practice at Malta. The 'Life' of Mends (1899) which was written by his son, Bowen Stilon Mends, formerly a surgeon in the navy, is largely made up of extracts from Mends's letters and journals. It has thus a considerable historical value, especially as to the Russian war, being the strictly synchronous opinions of a man who, from his official position and his personal relations with Sir Edmund (afterwards Lord) Lyons, had very good opportunities of knowing what was being done or not done; at the same time the factor of Lyons's personality is to be allowed for.
[The Life by his son, just mentioned (with portraits); Eardley Wilmot's Life of Lord Lyons.]
MERCIER, HONORÉ (1840–1894), premier of Quebec, was born on 15 Oct. 1840 at Ste.-Athanase in Lower Canada, where his father had been an early settler. Educated at the Jesuit College, Montreal, he entered the office of Messrs. Laframboise & Papineau and began the study of law in 1860. In 1862 he abandoned law for a time and undertook the editorship of 'Le Courier' to support the Macdonald-Sicotte ministry. He took an active part in founding the parti national of that time, and vigorously opposed confederation. When it seemed inevitable he finished his course in law and was called to the Montreal bar in 1867. Practising first at Ste.-Hyacinthe, and later in Montreal, he attained a fair standing in his profession.
Mercier was elected to the House of Commons in 1872 as opposition member for Rouville in the province of Quebec. He was not a candidate at the following elections, and, being unsuccessful in the campaign of 1878, retired from dominion politics. Thereupon (Sir) Henry Gustave Joly, premier of Quebec, offered the post of solicitor-general to Mercier, who accepted the office and held it till the cabinet resigned in October 1879. Mr. Joly retired from the leadership in 1883, whereupon Mercier became liberal leader in the local house, his constituency being Ste.-Hyacinthe. Seeing that his party could not make head against the ecclesiastical
