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                                                                Exhibit 10(xxvi)
 
                                FIRST AMENDMENT
                                       TO
                              THE MEAD CORPORATION
                     THE CORPORATE LONG TERM INCENTIVE PLAN
                                      1998

          WHEREAS The Mead Corporation ("Mead") heretofore established The Mead
Corporation The Corporate Long Term Incentive Plan 1998 (the "Plan"); and

          WHEREAS Mead desires to amend the Plan pursuant to the power reserved
in the last section of the Plan;

          NOW, THEREFORE, the Plan is hereby amended, effective as of June 24,
1998, as follows:

          1. The following two new sections are added at the end of the Plan:

     "EFFECT OF CHANGE IN CONTROL
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     "Notwithstanding any foregoing Plan provision to the contrary (and
     notwithstanding any lack of satisfaction of any condition or requirement
     which would otherwise apply to an award), immediately upon the occurrence
     of a Change in Control (as defined in the next section hereof), (i) if the
     Change in Control occurs after the completion of the performance period
     ending December 31, 1998 (the "Performance Period"), any award with
     respect to the Performance Period which has already been determined, but
     has not yet been paid or deferred, shall be immediately paid in full in
     cash to the respective Participant, (ii) if the Change in Control occurs
     after the completion of the Performance Period, if no awards have been
     determined with respect to the Performance Period, the amount (if any) of
     each such award shall be immediately determined in accordance with the
     provisions of the Plan and shall be immediately paid in full in cash to the
     respective Participant, and (iii) if the Change in Control occurs during
     the Performance Period (the 'Change-in-Control Performance Period'), each
     Participant shall immediately be paid a pro-rata award for the Performance
     Period, the amount of which shall equal the product of multiplying the
     Participant's individual long term incentive target by a fraction, the
     numerator of which shall be the number of days in the Change-in-Control
     Performance Period which have elapsed as of the date of the Change in
     Control, and the denominator of which shall be 730.

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     Notwithstanding the immediately preceding sentence, no amounts shall be
     paid pursuant thereto which would, in the opinion of counsel selected by
     Mead's independent auditors, constitute 'parachute payments' within the
     meaning of Section 280G(b)(2)(A) of the Internal Revenue Code (the 'Code')
     and, when added to any other 'parachute payments' which would be received
     by the Participant pursuant to the terms of any other plan, arrangement or
     agreement with Mead, any person whose actions result in a change in control
     of Mead or any person affiliated with Mead or such person, would be subject
     to the tax imposed by Section 4999 of the Code.

     "Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary in the Plan, upon and after
     the occurrence of a Change in Control, (i) the Compensation Committee shall
     have no power to cause a Participant's award to be paid in any manner other
     than as a cash lump-sum, (ii) the Board of Directors shall have no power to
     require a mandatory deferral of all or any portion of the award, and (iii)
     neither the Compensation Committee, the Board of Directors nor any other
     person or entity shall have the right to terminate or amend the Plan in any
     manner which would adversely affect the rights or expectancies of a 
     Participant with respect to payment of an award pursuant to this section,
     as in effect immediately before the Change in Control.

     "DEFINITION OF CHANGE IN CONTROL 
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     "A 'Change in Control' shall be deemed to have occurred if an event set
     forth in any one of the following paragraphs shall have occurred:

               "(i) date of expiration of a Tender Offer (as defined below),
     other than an offer by Mead, if the offeror acquires Shares (as defined
     below) pursuant to such Tender Offer;

               "(ii) the date of approval by the shareholders of Mead of a
     definitive agreement: (x) for the merger or consolidation of Mead or any
     direct or indirect subsidiary of Mead into or with another corporation,
     other than (1) a merger or consolidation which would result in the voting
     securities of Mead outstanding immediately prior thereto continuing to
     represent ((i) in the case of a merger or consolidation of Mead, either by
     remaining outstanding or by being converted into voting securities of the
     surviving entity or any parent thereof, or (ii) in the case of a merger or
     consolidation of any direct or indirect subsidiary of Mead, either by
     remaining outstanding if Mead continues as a parent of the merged or
     consolidated subsidiary or by being

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     converted into voting securities of the surviving entity or any parent
     thereof) at least 51% of the combined voting power of the voting securities
     of Mead or such surviving or parent entity outstanding immediately after
     such merger or consolidation, or (2) a merger or consolidation effected to
     implement a recapitalization of Mead (or similar transaction) in which no
     Person (as defined below) is or becomes the Beneficial Owner (as defined
     below), directly or indirectly, of securities of Mead (not including in the
     securities Beneficially Owned by such Person any securities acquired
     directly from Mead or its Affiliates) representing 25% or more of the
     combined voting power of Mead's then outstanding securities, or (y) for the
     sale or disposition of all or substantially all of the assets of Mead,
     other than a sale or disposition by Mead of all or substantially all of
     Mead's assets to an entity, at least 51% of the combined voting power of
     the voting securities of which are owned (directly or indirectly) by
     shareholders of Mead in substantially the same proportions as their
     ownership of Mead immediately prior to such sale or disposition;

               "(iii) (x) any Person is or becomes the Beneficial Owner of 25%
     or more of the voting power of the then outstanding securities of Mead (not
     including in the securities beneficially owned by such Person any 
     securities acquired directly from Mead or its affiliates), excluding any
     Person who becomes such a Beneficial Owner in connection with a transaction
     described in clause (x)(l) of paragraph (ii) above or (y) the date of
     authorization, by both a majority of the voting power of Mead and a
     majority of the portion of such voting power excluding the voting power of
     interested Shares, of a control share acquisition (as such term is defined
     in Chapter 1701 of the Ohio Revised Code); and

               "(iv) a change in the composition of the Board of Directors such
     that individuals who were members of the Board of Directors on the date two
     years prior to such change (and any new directors (other than a director
     whose initial assumption of office is in connection with an actual or
     threatened election contest, including but not limited to a consent
     solicitation, relating to the election of directors of Mead) who were
     elected, or were nominated for election, by Mead's shareholders with the
     affirmative vote of at least two-thirds of the directors then still in
     office who either were directors at the beginning of such two year period
     or whose election or nomination for election was previously so approved) no
     longer constitute a majority of the Board of Directors.

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     "Notwithstanding the foregoing, a 'Change in Control' shall not be deemed
     to have occurred by virtue of the consummation of any transaction or series
     of integrated transactions immediately following which the record holders
     of the common stock of Mead immediately prior to such transaction or series
     of transactions continue to have substantially the same proportionate
     ownership in an entity which owns all or substantially all of the assets of
     Mead immediately following such transaction or series of transactions.

     "'Affiliate' shall have the meaning set forth in Rule 12b-2 promulgated
     under Section 12 of the Exchange Act.

     "'Beneficial Owner' shall have the meaning defined in Rule 13d-3 under the
     Exchange Act.

     "'Exchange Act' shall mean the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended
     from time to time.

     "'Person' shall have the meaning given in Section 3(a)(9) of the Exchange
     Act, as modified and used in Sections 13(d) and 14(d) thereof, except that
     such term shall not include (i) Mead or any of its subsidiaries, (ii) a
     trustee or other fiduciary holding securities under an employee benefit
     plan of Mead or any of its Affiliates, (iii) an underwriter temporarily
     holding securities pursuant to an offering of such securities, or (iv) a
     corporation owned, directly or indirectly, by the shareholders of Mead in
     substantially the same proportions as their ownership of stock of Mead.

     "'Shares' shall mean shares of common stock, without par value, of The Mead
     Corporation.

     "'Tender Offer' shall mean a tender offer or a request or invitation for
     tenders or an exchange offer subject to regulation under Section 14(d) of
     the Exchange Act and the rules and regulations thereunder, as the same may
     be amended, modified or superseded from time to time."
 
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