USA > Georgia > Memoirs of Georgia; containing historical accounts of the state's civil, military, industrial and professional interests, and personal sketches of many of its people. Vol. II > Part 2
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Sibley, William C. 811
Sikes, Simeon. 579
Sikes, William L. 1057
Simmons, Andrew J 425
Simmons, John F .. 681
Simpson, Robert A 335
Simpson, William T 697
Simpson, James C .. 891
Sims, Redding. 335
336
Sims, Stephen.
491 Tarver, William B 945
Sims, G. S ..
461 Tate, Samuel. 682
Sims, James L 927
Sims, John I ... 927
Sims, Jones C.
928
Sims, Josiah G.
928
Taylor, J. W 522
Taylor, Eden. 564
Taylor, Columbus 767
Whitaker, S. T. 693
White, Samuel G .. 242
1025 White, J. F .. 483
Thomas, James G 238 White, John T. 932
Thomas, Daniel R. 414 Whitehead, A. G .. 373 Whiteside, George B 636
Sloan, Benjamin J. 1058
Smith, Robert M. 231
Smith, James M. 344
Thomas, Bryan M ...
1044
Wilheit, Kimble A. 1059
Smith, Wilbur B. 345
Thomason, Gideon B 532
Wilkes, Butler 862
827
Wade, J. M .. 844
Walker, P. G. 593
Walker, John Evans 635
Walker, Daniel J 688 Walker, James L. 718
Walker, N. S. 737
Walker, James P 1026
Wall, Jesse M. 580
Walsh, Patrick 816
Walton, T. E. 566 Walton, Peter W 593
Warren, George W. 440 Waters, George W 827
Waters, Thomas L. 868
Watkins, E. H. 594
Watson, Brad. 998
Watts, Van L 606
Watts, R. F .. 844
Wells, Benjamin S 416
Wells, William D .. 457
Wells, Lovick W 635
West, Charles N. 310
West, John T .. 497 Westberry, John H. 1058 Westberry, Josiah S. 1058 Westmoreland, W. F 240
Whaley, W. J. T .. 769
Whaley, H. W. 1016
Whatley, George B. 418 Wheaton, John F 418 Wheeler, John T .. 468 Whelpley, Wilbur P. 999
Sims, W. J .. 1023
Singletary, Henry H 823
Sketoe, L .. 449
Slade, L. C. 736
Slappey, John G .. 943
Slappey, Robert R. 944
Slaton, Henry T. 336 Slaton, Frank P. 336 Thomas, J. M. 565
997
Swift, George P. 633
Sword, A. J .. 975
Taliaferro, Valentine H .. 236
Tate, Stephen C. 683
Tate, William 683
Tatum, Seth 930
652 998
Sweat, Daniel B.
Sweat, J. L.
651
Starr, T. A .. 652
Starr, Elijah F 1030
Steiner, H. H. 231
Stephens, William 955
Stevens, John T. 764
Stevenson, N. W 461
Stewart, W. W .. 632
Stewart, Daniel R. 766
Stewart, John
823
Stone, William D 563
Storey, S. B .. 492
Strickland, Thomas L. 997
Studdard, Augustus 592
Sullivan, Patrick J. 814
Suttle, James T 962
763
Stapleton, James R. 1024
Starr, Silas H.
Speer, A. M .. 591
Spence, William N 547
Spengler, N. R. 901
Stafford, E. O. 605
Stafford, J. A .. .692
Standridge, Howell C. 910
Stanford, Frank A. 235
875
Smith, Rufus W 928
Smith, B. R .. 974
Trippe, J. F 768
Tucker, H. H.
312
Tucker, John J ..
Turner, Benjamin E 524
363 Turner, Lewis T .. 416
Turner, Albert L. 684 Turner, Joseph S
Tuten, J. G .. 736
.1016
Twitty, P. S. 768
Underwood, Abner F. .1031 Underwood, John L .. 548 Varnadoe, James E. 467 Vaughn, John S ... 946 Verdery, James P. 816
Wade, D. R. 843
Wade, Jesse T
Stanford, J. W
Snyder, William S. 909
Solomon, William L. 944
Spann, William H. 1024
Spear, Thomas S .. 632
Spears, Joseph H. 813
Smith, Jeremiah T 812 Timberlake, F. A. 814 Tinsley, Austin S 815
Smith, Sheldon P. 860
Smith, Caleb W. 861
Tipton, James H .. 1058
Smith, M. A ... 861
Smith, Thomas J
Smith, Hardy .. 452
Robertson, Snowden. 673
Rockmore, J. P. 974
Smith, Critton J. 491
Tigner, Benson F 523
Tigner, Hope .. 523
Roberts, James H. 521 Roberts, Agrippa P. 1041
Smith, Leonidas 450
Smith, Robert J. 450
Thomas, Benjamin F. 592 Thomas, Grigsby E .. 633 Whitlock, Josiah. 595 Whitney, Seymour M 819
Taylor, Charles A. 823 Whitaker, Oroon D 932
Teague, Newton A. 814
Tharp,
Swann, T. C ..
Sims, Frank D
Tomlinson, Augustus G .. 697 Trammel, J. W. 525 Traylor, John H. 931
X
INDEX.
1
Page.
Page.
Page.
Williams, John G. 364
Wilson, A. W. N. 526
Worley, William J 475
Williams, Jesse P
417
Wilson, William. .1000
Worrill, J. H.
639
Williams, John T. 451 Wilson, Leon A. 1001
Williams, John H. 525 Wilson, William M. 1001
Williams, S. R .. 526
Wilson, Rosser A .. .1051
Williams, R. L. 566
Wimberly, Frederick D .. 946
Williams, Charles L. 636
Wimberly, Henry S 947
Williams, A. C .. 933 Wimberly, J. R 946
Williams, Allen J 956
Wimbish, William A.
637
Wyatt, I. T.
435
Yopp, Samuel W
947
Williams, Benjamin F 999
Wolfe, John B. 453
Young, John R ...
419
Williams, Joseph S .. 1000
Wood, John T 596
Young, Alexander C 640
Williams, Edwin P. 1032
Wood, John G. 676
Young, James 698
Young, James C. 934
Zellers, J. N 462
Zellers, John. 462
Zellner, B. H .. 567
Woodward, J. C .. 324 Zellner, William J 569
INDEX TO ILLUSTRATIONS.
Page.
Page.
Page.
Beckwith, Bishop J. W ... 376
Hillhouse, J. H.
984
O'Connor, P. J ..
404
Bird, R. P ..
979
Hyers, Henry.
686
Pinkston, G. W. 519
Bush, Isaac.
527
Johnson, L ...
985
Reed, Wallace P 17
Bush, E. B 528
Jordan, G. Gunby
618
Richardson, B. H 630
Cary, H. H.
914
Kendrick, W. C. 879
Ryals, G. M .. 408
Clark, W. B .. 504
Lee, W. W. 881
Shaver, A. H. 1042
Crawford, W. D.
310
Little, W. A .. 620
Sikes, William L. 1957
Du Bignon, F. G .. 384
Smith, R. W
928
Flournoy, J. F 612
Lunday, W. E.
883
Tate, S.
682
Foster, Eugene. 92
683
Gustin, G. W. 306
Taylor, J. W
522
Hamilton, W. D. 983
MacIntyre, A. T. Sr. 897
Tucker, H. H. 312
Hardeman, R. U 644
McLain, Duncan P 884
West, Charles N 243
Harden, W. D. 390
Main, H. K. 1037
Wilson, A. W. N 526
Harris, John F. 1036
Mercer, George A. 402 Wilson, William .. 1000
-
Wright, James K. 595
Wright, William J 654
Wright, Benjamin. 698
Wright, Thomas R 819
Wright, Boykin. 819
Wright, J. Fletcher 1027
Williams, E. G. C .. 956
Wimpy, Archibald G. 474
Williams, E. H. 1051
Williford, George W. 845
Wood, William E. 1046
Williford, J. H. 893
Willson, Pleasant. 653
Wilson, Stephen A .. 426
Wilson, Gustavus J. N ... 432
Wood, James A 1006
Woodruff, Charles B .. 638
Woodruff, Henry L. 639
Lovell, Edward. 397
McDonough, H. A. 687 McGee, E. S .. 688
Tate, S. C ..
WALLACE P. REED.
MEMOIRS OF GEORGIA.
CHAPTER IV.
BY WALLACE PUTNAM REED.
LITERATURE AND JOURNALISM-AUGUSTUS BALDWIN LONGSTREET-RICH- ARD HENRY WILDE-OCTAVIA WALTON LE VERT-FRANCIS R. GOULDING -MIRABEAU LAMAR-PAUL HAMILTON HAYNE-RICHARD MALCOLM JOHNSTON-JOHN AND JOSEPH LE CONTE-ANDREW ADGATE LIPSCOMB- CHARLES COLCOCK JONES-FATHER ABRAM J. RYAN-ALEXANDER HAMIL- TON STEPHENS-THOMAS R. R. COBB-HENRY R. JACKSON-SIDNEY LANIER -ABSALOM CHAPPELL-AUGUSTA EVANS WILSON-HARRY STILLWELL EDWARDS-MISS MATT CRIM-ELIZA FRANCES ANDREWS-WILLIAM H. HAYNE-CHARLES W. HUBNER-JAMES R. RANDALL-HENRY LYNDEN FLASH-ORELIA KEY BELL-FRANK L. STANTON-MARIA LOUISE EVE- LOLLIE BELLE WYLIE-MONTGOMERY M. FOLSOM-J. L. M. CURRY, D. D., LL. D .- ATTICUS GREEN HAYGOOD-"BILL ARP"-WALTER LE CONTE STEVENS-WILLIAM LOUIS JONES, M. D .- JOEL CHANDLER HARRIS-MARY E. BRYAN-PROF. WILLIAM HENRY PECK-JAMES MAURICE THOMPSON- BENJAMIN HARVEY HILL-ISAAC W. AVERY-JAMES W. LEE-WILLIAM. T. THOMPSON-HENRY CLAY FAIRMAN-HENRY D. CAPERS-HENRY W. HIL- LIARD-OTHER WRITERS-EARLY NEWSPAPERS-DAILIES-WEEKLY PRESS -RELIGIOUS PUBLICATIONS-HENRY W. GRADY.
L L ITERATURE in all countries has preceded journalism, and the colonists of Georgia produced a crude literature before they had a newspaper of their own. The sturdy pioneers who came over with Oglethorpe were few in number, and during the first generation they were engaged in solving the more serious problem of existence. With a small and scattered population, a few fortified villages, and a hostile environment, there was no field and no demand for newspapers. But it was an era of great literary activity, and the founder of the colony was a favorite figure in a circle composed of Johnson, Goldsmith, Burke, Wharton, Burton, Mrs. Garrick, Mrs. More and others. He was pronounced by Burke the most extraordinary man of his day, and the frequent references made to him in Boswell's Life of Johnson make it evident that some of the most famous men of letters in England regarded him as their peer. Pope, Thomson, and other poets sung his praises, and grave theologians paid him high tribute. It is II-2
18
MEMOIRS OF GEORGIA.
probable that Oglethorpe and a few of the more prosperous colonists brought with them small libraries, but there was little opportunity for literary culture while the newcomers were negotiating treaties with savage tribes, felling forests, building cabins, and defending their homes against the Spaniards. The writings of the founder and the trustees contain only the merest outline of the history of the early settlers and cannot be regarded as literature.
JOHN WESLEY.
During the first two years of its existence the colony received from England over 2,600 Bibles, Testaments and religious books in addition to about 1,000 vol- umes of the same class which came over with the first ship load of emigrants. It is not strange, therefore, that the first literature of the colony was of a religious character, and it is not too much to say that the Rev. John Wesley was the first writer of any fame in the community. His sermons, journal and pamphlets made a deep and lasting impression on the public mind in this country and in England. In 1736 a parish library was started in Savannah. Books were donated in England, and the trustees purchased a few volumes, ordering among others, Plato's works in Greek and Latin and his Republic in French. With preachers, pedagogues and soldiers controlling their affairs, it is not surprising that literature was at a low ebb in the colonies.
GEN. OGLETHORPE.
Oglethorpe wrote a sketch of the colonies of South Carolina and Georgia, but it was a plain and business-like document, without any graces of style to recom- mend it. He left nothing behind him in the shape of printed matter or manuscript that would compare in interest and value with the book of travel written by one of his successors, Gov. Henry Ellis. There were governors and other officials and citizens who wrote vigorous political letters, addresses and appeals during the revolutionary era, but we look in vain among them for anything that is note- worthy enough for preservation on account of its literary merit. The colony pro- duced no Junius, no Joel Barlow, no Jefferson, no Franklin and no historian. Its leaders were so busy making history that they had no time to write it.
In his New and Accurate Account of the Provinces of South Carolina and Georgia, Gen. Oglethorpe wrote: "Let us in the meantime cast our eyes on the multitude of unfortunate people in the kingdom, of reputable families, and of liberal or, at least, easy education; some undone by guardians, some by law suits, some by accidents in commerce, some by stocks and bubbles, and some by surety- ship. But all agree in this one circumstance that they must either be burthensome to their relations or betake themselves to little ships for sustenance which ('tis IO to I) do not answer their purposes, and to which a well educated mind descends with the utmost constraint. What various misfortunes may reduce the rich, the industrious, to the danger of a prison, to a moral certainty of starving! These are the people that may relieve themselves and strengthen Georgia by resorting thither, and Great Britain by their departure. I appeal to the recollection of the reader (tho' he be opulent, tho' he be noble) does not his own sphere of acquaint- ance (I may venture to ask), does not even his own blood, his set of near rela- tions furnish him with some instances of such persons as here described? Must they starve? What honest mind can bear to think of it? Must they be fed by the contributions of others? Certainly they must, rather than suffer to perish. Are these wealth to the nation? Are they not a burthen to themselves, a burthen to their kindred and acquaintances, a burthen to the whole community?
19
LITERATURE AND JOURNALISM.
"I have heard it said (and 'tis easy to say so) let them learn to work; let them subdue their pride and descend to mean employments, keep ale houses, or coffee houses, even sell fruit, or clean shoes for an honest livelihood. But, alas! these occupations, and many more like them, are overstocked already by people who know better how to follow them than do they whom we have been talking of. Half of those who are bred in low life and well versed in such shifts and expedients, find but a very narrow maintenance by them. As for laboring, I could almost wish that the gentleman or merchant who thinks that another gentleman or mer- chant in want can thresh or dig to the value of subsistence for his family or even for himself, I say I could wish the person who thinks so were obliged to make trial of it for a week, or (not to be too severe) for only a day. He would find hin- self to be less than the fourth part of a laborer, and that the fourth part of a laborer's wages could not maintain him. I have heard it said that a man may learn to labor by practice; 'tis admitted. But it must also be admitted that before he can learn he may starve. Suppose a gentleman were this day to begin, and with grievous toil found himself able to earn three pence, how many days or months are necessary to form him that he may deserve a shilling per diem? Men whose wants are important must try such experiments as will give immediate relief. 'Tis too late for them to begin to learn a trade when they have pressing necessities called for the exercise of it.
"Having thus described (very too truly) the pitiable condition of the better sort of the indigent, an objection arises against their removal upon what is stated of their inability for drudgery. It may be asked if they can't get bread here for their labor, how will their condition be mended in Georgia? The answer is easy. Part of it is well attested, and part self evident. They have land there for nothing, and that land is so fertile that (as is said before) they receive an hundredfold increase for taking very little pains.
"Give here in England ten acres of good land to one of these helpless persons and I doubt not his ability to make it sustain him, and this by his own culture without letting it to another. But the difference between no rent and rack rent is the difference between eating and starving. If I make but £20 on the produce of a field, and am to pay £20 for it, 'tis plain I must perish if I have not another fund to support me. But if I pay no rent the produce of that field will supply the merest necessities of life.
"With a view to the relief of people in the condition I have described, his majesty has this present year incorporated a considerable number of persons of quality and distinction, and vested a large tract of South Carolina in them, by the name of Georgia, in trust to be distributed among the necessitous. These trustees not only give land to the unhappy who go thither, but are also impowered to receive the voluntary contributions of charitable persons to enable them to furnish the poor adventurers with all necessaries for the expense of the voyage, occupying the land, and supporting them until they find themselves comfortably settled. So that now the unfortunate will not be obliged to bind themselves to a long servi- tude to pay for their passage, for they may be carried gratis into a land of liberty and plenty, where they immediately find themselves in possession of a competent estate, in a happier climate than they knew before, and they are unfortunate indeed if here they cannot forget their sorrows."
BENJAMIN MARTYN.
Benjamin Martyn, the secretary of the trustees, was a man of considerable liter- ary reputation. He wrote a pamphlet on Georgia, in the early days of the colonies,
20
MEMOIRS OF GEORGIA.
from which the following is an extract: "As the Mind of Man cannot form a more exaulted Pleasure than what arises from the Reflexion of having relieved the Distressed; let the Man of Benevolence, whose Substance enables him to con- tribute towards this Undertaking give a Loose rein for a little to his Imag- ination, pass over a few Years of his Life, and think himself on a Visit to Georgia. Let him see those who are now a Prey to all the Calamities of Want, who are starving with Hunger and seeing their Wives and Children in the same Distress; expecting likewise every Moment to be thrown into a Dungeon with the cutting Anguish that they leave their Families expos'd to the Utmost Ne- cessity and Despair: Let him, I say, see these living under a sober and orderly Government, settled in Towns, which are rising at Distances along navigable Rivers; Flocks and Herds in the neighboring Pastures, and adjoining to them Plantations of regular Rows of Mulberry Trees entwin'd with Vines, the Branches of which are loaded with Grapes; let him see Orchards of Oranges, Pomegranates and Olives; in other Places, extended fields of Corn or Flax and Hemp. In short, the whole Face of the County chang'd by Agriculture and Plenty in Part of it. Let him see the People all in Employment of various Kinds, Women and Children feeding and nursing the Silk worm, winding off the Silk, or gather- ing the Olives; the Men plowing and planting their Lands, tending their Cattle, or felling the Forest, which they burn for potashes, or square for the Builder : let him see these in Content and Affluence, and Masters of little Possessions which they can leave to their Children; and then let him think if they are not happier than those supported by Charity in Idleness. Let him reflect that the Produce of their Labour will be so much new Wealth for this Country, and then let him ask himself Whether he would exchange the Satisfaction of having contributed to this, for all the trifling, the Pleasures, the Money which he has given, would have purchas'd.
"Of all publick-spirited Actions, perhaps none can claim a Preference to the Settling of Colonies, as none are in the End more useful. ... Whoever, then, is a Lover of Liberty will be pleas'd with an Attempt to recover his Fellow Subjects from a State of Misery and Oppression, and fix them in Happiness and Freedom.
"Whoever is a Lover of his Country will approve of a Method for the Employment of her Poor, and the Increase of her People and her Trade. Whoever is a lover of Mankind will join his wishes to the success of a design so plainly calculated for their Good: Undertaken and conducted with so much Disinter- estedness.
"Few arguments are requisite to excite the Generous to exert themselves on this Occasion. To consult the Welfare of Mankind regardless of any private Views is the Perfection of Virtue; as the Accomplishing and Consciousness of it is the Perfection of Happiness."
AUGUSTUS BALDWIN LONGSTREET.
The student of Georgia's literature will find nothing that will interest him until he reaches the present century. Indeed, the first Georgian whose writing attracted wide-spread attention was Augustus Baldwin Longstreet, who was born in Augusta in 1790. Longstreet was descended from a sturdy Dutch and Norman stock, and he was fortunate enough to enjoy the best educational advantages of his time. He graduated at Yale, studied law in Litchfield, Conn., and commenced the prac- tice of his profession in Georgia in 1815. His genius was soon recognized, and he achieved fame as a lawyer, judge, writer, divine, and college president. While he was still a young man his fame filled the state. He had a lively sense of humor, and he was one of the first southern dialect writers. His descriptions of
21
LITERATURE AND JOURNALISM.
"cracker" and country life in Georgia Scenes have amused three generations of Americans, and many editions of the book have been sold. Bishop O. P. Fitz- gerald in his life of Judge Longstreet speaks of him always as "the typical Geor- gian." He says that "he was a Georgian all over, all through, and all the time. He was the father of its humorists, and his humor was of a peculiar kind, unlike any other. He impressed his political opinions on the youth who were destined to shape the future policy of this state. He was one, and not the least, of a class of great teachers whose genius and piety have left upon its people an impress as lasting as eternity. He was an educator, who, bursting traditionary fetters, did much toward the emancipation of learning from its false methods and aims." A congressional reminiscence describes the happy effect produced by one of the Georgia Scenes many years after it was written. There had been a long and bitter sectional debate in the house, and when a measure full of material for passion and war resentments came up the democratic members agreed upon keeping quiet. A leading member of the republican side, representing a New England state, and noted for his virulent attacks on the south, made a violent assault on the demo- crats, charging them with cowardice, and in his excitement ran up and down the aisles shaking his fists and challenging the democrats to come to the front and show their colors and stand up for what they maintained. Hon. S. S. Cox, of New York, asked permission to interrupt this speaker, who with emphasis replied, "With great pleasure; I will be glad to hear from you." Mr. Cox sent to the clerk's desk a volume of Georgia Scenes, and the clerk read the following sketch:
A Lincoln County Rehearsal .- If my memory fails me not, June 10, 1809, found me at about II o'clock a. m. ascending a long and gentle slope in what was called the "dark corner" of Lincoln. I believed it took its name from the moral dark- ness which reigned over that part of the county at the time of which I am speaking. In this point of view, if it was but a shade darker than the rest of the county, it was inconceivable dark. If any man can name a trick or sin which had not been committed at the time of which I am speaking in the very focus of all the county's illumination (Lincolnton) he must himself be the most inventive of the tricky and the very Judas of sinners. Since that time, however (all humor aside), Lincoln has become a living proof that "light shineth in darkness." Could I venture to mingle the solemn with the ludicrous, even for the purposes of honorable contact, I could adduce from this county instances of the most numerous and wonderful transitions from vice and folly to virtue and holiness which have ever, perhaps, been witnessed since the days of the Apostolic ministry. So much, lest it should be thought by some that what I am about to relate is characteristic of the county in which it occurred.
Whatever may be said of the moral condition of the "dark corner" at the time just mentioned, its natural condition was anything but dark; it smiled in all the charms of spring, and spring borrowed a new charm from its undulating grounds, its luxuriant woodlands, its sportive streams, its vocal birds, and its blushing flowers.
Rapt with the enchantment of the season and the scenery around me, I was slowly rising the slope when I was startled by loud, profane and boisterous voices which seemed to proceed from a thick covert of undergrowth about 200 yards in advance of me and about 100 to the right of the road.
"You kin, kin you?"
"Yes, I kin, and am able to do it! Boo-oo-oo! O, wake snakes, and walk your chalks! Brimstone and - fire! Don't hold me, Nick Stovall! The fight's made up, and let's go at it. - my soul if I don't jump down his throat and gallop every chitterling out of him before you can say 'quit'!"
22
MEMOIRS OF GEORGIA.
"Now, Nick, don't hold him! Jist let the wildcat come, and I'll tame him. Ned'll see me a fair fight, won't you, Ned?"
"Oh, yes; I'll see you a fair fight, blast my old shoes if I don't."
"That's sufficient, as Tom Haynes said when he saw the elephant; now let him come."
Thus they went on, with countless oaths interspersed which I dare not even hint at, and with much that I could not distinctly hear.
"In mercy's name," thought I, "what band of ruffians has selected this holy season and this heavenly retreat for such pandemonian riots? I quickened my gait, and had come nearly opposite the thick grove whence the noise proceeded when my eye caught indistinctly and at intervals through the foliage of the dwarf oaks and hickories which intervened glimpses of a man or men who seemed to be in a violent struggle, and I could occasionally catch those deep-drawn, emphatic oaths which men in conflict utter when they deal blows. I dismounted and hurried to the spot with all speed. I had overcome about half the space which separated it from me when I saw the combatants come to the ground, and after a short struggle I saw the uppermost one (for I could not see the other) make a heavy plunge with both his thumbs, and at the same instant I heard a cry in the accent of keenest torture: "Enough! My eye's out!"
I was so completely horror-struck that I stood transfixed for a moment to the spot where the cry met me. The accomplices in the hellish deed which had been perpetrated had all fled at my approach; at least I supposed so, for they were not to be seen.
"Now, blast your corn-shucking soul," said the victor (a youth about eighteen years old) as he rose from the ground, "come cutt'n' your shines 'bout me ag'in next time I come to the court-house, will you! Get your owl-eye in ag'in if you can!"
At this moment he saw me for the first time. He looked excessively embar- rassed, and was moving off when I called to him in a tone emboldened by the sacredness of my office and the iniquity of his crime, "Come back, you brute, and assist me in relieving your fellow-mortal whom you have ruined forever."
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