been criticized by British and American scholars for his stilted prose and for the many cuts and omitted details that blemish his translations. In view of his desperate financial situation it has been conjectured that the deletions could have been dictated by his editors at Sampson Low; however no hard evidence has been found to support this surmise. It is equally likely that he worked fast simply to get paid fast. Mercier was forced to resign his position at the Foundling Hospital by the Governing Board in early 1873 after troubles arose over his supervision of the schools, and he died on Tuesday, 2 November 1875, the date his semi-annual payment of £15 to Lord Leigh was due. Affair of Stephan Poles and the British Museum In 1874 the Polish expatriate, revolutionary, member of the Paris commune, American war correspondent, and author Stephan Poles (1847–1875) published a pamphlet denouncing in strong language the secretary and chief librarian of the British Museum, John Winter Jones. The pamphlet entitled The actual condition of the British Museum, a literary expostulation was sold on Russell Street in front of the building by a sandwich man. Some of the Museum officials furnished information for the compilation of the pamphlet. Mercier apparently read this pamphlet and published his rebuttal The British Museum. An impartial statement, in answer to a pamphlet by Stephan Poles under the pseudonym "M.A." (i.e. Master of Arts). Both of these pamphlets are available in British depositary libraries. Stefan Poles died on 22 November 1875 only a few weeks after the death of Mercier. Other works Mercier also translated The Wreck of the Hansa (The German Arctic expedition of 1869-70), as well as publishing several religious works and instructional materials for teachers of Greek and Latin listed below: A Manual of Greek Prosody. Mercier, Lewis Page, 12 vo, Glasgow, 1843. Selections from Æsop, Xenophon, and Anacreon, for the use of junior forms in schools. Mercier, Lewis Page, 12 vo, London, 1851. The Present European Crisis viewed in its relation to Prophecy; a sermon [on Rev. xxii. 10], etc. Mercier, Lewis Page, 8 vo, London, 1853. The Principles of Christian Charity derived from the example of our Saviour and His Apostles. Mercier, Lewis Page, 8 vo, London, 1855. Considerations respecting a future state, an essay. Mercier, Lewis Page, 8 vo, London, Oxford, 1858 "The Christian and the Harvest." A sermon [on Matt. iv. 4],