The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1876-09-07
A HEROINE OUT or LUCK,
Career Of wealthy, Romantic ana
HOmely male.
New York Times.


MAJOR MARY HlkcI, VI hHlcIlChI lhlIlcj
| nor the American princes Salm-Salm who
| bcfricndcd the Hapsburg emperor Of
| Mexico. The new heroine is Mile, Mer-
cus, a young lady Of Dutch birth, who
| has been playing the mixed part of Joan
Of Arc and Florence Nightingale in the
Scryian war. The exccntric young per-
son is said TO have been endowed with Il
large fortune, the accumulated savings
Of the thrifty H0llanders, her ancestors,
Most likely, in some Dutch boarding
school she read the life and adventures
Of La Pucellc, or she may have read
Bcadle'S dime novels, surrcptitiously con
yQycd TO her under cover Of her bread
and butter, or in her weekly washing;
such, we believe, being the custom with
all ill-rcgulatcd female students. Fired
by the example Of the Maid Of Orleans,
intoxicated by visions ofgIory which the
careers of the empress Helena and Flor
cncc Nightingale brought into her imagi-
nation, Mile. Mcrcus made up her mind
to strike for liberty and a career. No
sooner was she cmancipatcd from the re-
straints of Il boarding.schOol and the
thraldom Of pantalcttcs than she started
out, as we should say in America, son
her own hook" Here, at least was
one woman who not only had romance
and opportunities butpIenty oimoncy,
The first duty of Mile, Mcrcus was to
build a temple at Jerusalem, This vo
tiycofcring was probably intended to i'm
part a sort Of religious tone to her future
career, and earn for her the reverence of
the christian world. The temple, which
is still cxtant, is dcscrib d as being
something unique in architecture. 1t
was designed and executed by some Bel
gian (but not prOianc) Mullett. 1t was
ERECTED near the monument which marks
the spot where our SaviOr's tomb is sup
pose to have been. At an age when most
girls are flirting in the surf, or prinking
before Il mirror, Mcrcus was up to her
eyes in mortar and masonry ut Jerusa-
lem. This pious work cost her about
$4,000, but it failed to awaken for her
that holy enthusiasm which she had eX-
pectcd. Not long after this the troubles
in France engaged her attention and she
threw her wOmanly influence as well us
her cash, ON the side Of the communists.
She wore a ~phrygian cap on special occa-
SiOns, and was quite IA ready to play
the part Of the goddess of reason as she
had been to be offered up a sacrifice to
MOslcm hate, if the Turks had regarded
her with other feelings than those of
blank amaaemcnts. She approved, IN Il
judiciaIIy bIoodthirsty way, of the muir
der of the hostages, and thought the
sacrifice of the archbishop of Paris n very
proper act. 1t is hardly necessary to add
that this portion of her career has
made enemies for her in Paris. And the
gossips Of that wicked city do not hest
tate to say that Mcrcus is more like Lola
Montcz than the maid Of Orleans, except
that Mercus does not pretend to be adam
ScuSe.
Various other dreams of fame absorbed
the energies and dollars of this extraOrdi-
nary young woman, but her taste for
glory and %gunpowdcr usually led her to
the devious verge of battle fought wher-
ever there was a spcck Of war. When
the llcrzcgovinians broke into hostilities,
she cmulatcd the example Of Il we'll
known American female, and aspircd to
the command of n military force. She
promised to raise Il battery for the insur-
gents, ana lntrnSlcd twelve hundred
pounds to a gentleman Tor the purchase
OF guns. This person, with the hcartIcss
duPllclty OF The Sterner sex, put the
money IN ms pocket, n went ona pleas
'lrc excursion, from winch ne mad not,
at last accounts returned. Nile Mercus
was not discouraged, ana she yet possess
ca nan IL million dollars The Serylan
INVASION promised more excitement than
Ihr iicrZcgOVihlah ailalr besides, she
Jailed to get her artillery command.
Nnr punt a hospital atShabatz, forty-tour
miles west OF belgrade, and went into the
Nightingale ana Geneva Gross business
WIN great spirit. she seems to have
combined political instruction with nurs-
Ing and medical attention. While
she bound up the broken heads of
0crvlan soldiers, she preached republl
The variety OF repubIlcanism
which Mercus brought from the Paris
commune is not fashionable in Scrvia,
where the ruler, though not a full-lledged
sovereign, is nevertheless Il prince of the
blood royal a cable dispatch tells us
lhat inns modern ana revised edition OF
Joan Oh arc mas peeh taken TO Belgrade
to such an exceedingly lively career,
Doubtless the young Iady would nrefer
a littIy romantic martyrdom. inst now
for the sake of kccpins M appearauces
to the end, But the jays of bIlrninr ,t |
the stake, like the dovs of cbivoIrv ore
now no more. The most that thr Scr
Wan government could do for her would
10 to conduct her to tbe frontier ar to
swear her and LET her ro,n rs we should
ave done under similar warIike circum.
tanccs. Upbappily. the lady, thourh
Is she Is small and dark-iaced, 1t is not
lKeiy that she could coax a JOB out OF
N American congress, or wheedle an aged
,hIianchroplst INTO posing Tor his statue,
| She should choose art rather than war
N "A nnII nj 1INnntnrn No NAV VynH |