History of the Connecticut Valley in Massachusetts, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, Vol. II, Part 18

Author: L.H. Everts & Co
Publication date: 1879
Publisher: Philadelphia : Louis H. Everts
Number of Pages: 896


USA > Massachusetts > Franklin County > History of the Connecticut Valley in Massachusetts, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, Vol. II > Part 18


Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).


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* A Scottish religious sect.


Col. John Hawks, son of Eleazer, was born in 1707; he married, in 1730, Elizabeth, daughter of John Nims, an orig- inal proprietor of Keene, N. 11., in 1734. If he settled then, he returned before 1740. He entered the military service on . the opening of the old French war, and was stationed at Fort Massachusetts, near which he was wounded by Indians, May 9, 1746. In August of that year he was sergeant in command of the garrison, when the fort was attacked by De Vaudreuil with 800 French and Indians. After a spirited defense of thirty-six hours, in which his ammunition was nearly ex- hausted, one man killed, and two wounded, the brave sergeant was obliged to surrender, the odds against him being a hun- dred to one; for, of a garrison of 22 men, but 8 were able to do duty, 11 being sick with "bloody flux." Three women and five children in the fort shared the captivity. All were taken to Canada. Sergt. Hawks was redeemed in about a year. In 1748 he was sent to Canada with John Taylor and Mathew Clesson as escort to Sieur Raimbault, a French officer, to negotiate an exchange; returned in April with Nathan Blake, of Keene, and Samuel Allen, of Deerfield. In May he led a scout of 13 men as far as the Dutch settlements, on an alarm of invasion. In the last French war Hawks took an active part ; he was lieutenant in command of the Coleraine fort in 1754, which was his headquarters for three or four years ; in 1756 his command included Northfield ; he was under Abercrombie at the attack on Ticonderoga in 1758, and was a captain under Amherst in 1759. After the fall of "Old Ti," Amherst sent him to eut a military road from Lake Champlain to Charlestown, N. H .; In 1760 he was a major and lieutenant-colonel in the army of conquest. He re- moved from the Street in 1753 to Wisdom, where he built a house. At the close of the war he returned there, where he died in 1784.


Richard Hildreth, historian, statesman, and editor, son of Hosea, was born June 28, 1807. lle graduated at Harvard College in 1826, and was a Fellow of the Massachusetts His- torical Society. Ile married, in 1844, Caroline Negus, of Petersham. He studied law in Newburyport, and practiced in Boston. Ile was editor of the Boston Atlas in 1832-40, and was the author of " Archy Moore, the White Slave," " Theory of Legislation," 1840; " A History of Banks," " Despotism in America," 1840; " Theory of Morals," 1844; "Theory of Politics," 1853; " Japan as it Was and Is," 1855. lle contributed largely to newspapers and magazines, and for several years was an editor of the New York Tribune. His greatest work was a " History of the United States," 6 vols., 1849-56. Ile was United States consul at Trieste in 1861, and died at Florence, Italy, July 11, 1865.


Col. Ebenezer Hinsdale, son of Samnel, was born in 1707. He graduated at Harvard College in 1727. He married, about 1730, Abigail, daughter of Rev. John Williams. He was ordained, at Boston, missionary to the Indians, Dec. 11, 1732, under the auspices of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts. Gov. Belcher, the American agent, stationed him at Fort Dummer, and made him chaplain of the post. In 1742 or '43 he built a fort on the east side of the Connecticut, at a place called " The Cellars." This was the foundation of the town of Hinsdale, N. H. Here he kept up a military establishment through the Indian wars. He also had a residence here, and kept a store on the Ebenezer Hins- dale Williams lot, originally Lot No. 41, drawn by Ens. Daniel Fisher. He rose to the rank of colonel during the wars, and did valuable service. He died at Hinsdale, Jan. 6, 1763.


President Edward Hitchcock, son of Justin, was born in 1793. Ile was a graduate of Deerfield Academy; A.M. of Yale, 1818; LL.D. of Harvard, 1840; D.D. of Middletown, 1846. He married, in 1821, Orra White, of Amherst. Ile was


+ Then called "Number Four."


78


618


HISTORY OF THE CONNECTICUT VALLEY.


.


principal of Deerfield Academy, 1813-19; pastor of a church in Conway, 1821-25, leaving there to accept the professorship of chemistry and natural history at Amherst College. In 1845 he was made president, and held this office and the professor- ship of natural theology and geology until 1854. President Hitchcock's entire school education was obtained in six winter terms of the Deerfield Academy, working on the farm the rest of the year. He was an ardent student, developing that love of the science of nature which marked his future career. Astronomy was a favorite study, in which he was encouraged and directed by his uncle, Gen. Hoyt ; he devised and made astronomical apparatus when that of the academy failed to meet his wants. He published an almanac, 1813-17, in which he corrected, by his own observations, calculations made by European astronomers, thereby entering on a contest with the magnates of that science in the Old World, and coming off conqueror. But for a partial failure of eyesight, our young astronomer would, doubtless, have earned for himself a place by the side of the first men of the world in his favorite field. Other work, however, had been waiting for him for untold ages,-that of interpreting the marks on the sandstone of his native valley. In 1823 he published "The Geology of the Connecticut Valley." He was State geologist of Massachn- setts in 1830, and made reports in 1833, '35, '38, and '41 on the geology of the State. He also published the following : " Report on the Geology of Vermont," 1860, under the direc- tion of that State ; " Surface Geology," 1857; " Elementary Geology," 1840, which had passed through 30 editions in 1856; " Religion of Geology and its Connected Sciences," 1851; " Wreath for the Tomb ;" " Memoir of Mary Lyon ;" and many other volumes. He was also a large contributor to scientific and religious journals. His great work, and the one by which his fame will be the most enduringly established, was the scientific exposition of the fossil foot-prints in the sandstone of the Connecticut Valley. "The Ichnology of New England," 1858, published by the State, fully illus- trates the labors of twenty years on this subject. His views were accepted by the scientists only after a prolonged contest, which gave him a world-wide notoriety. He died Feb. 27, 1864.


Hon. Elihn Hoyt, son of David, was born in 1771. He was a colonel of Massachusetts militia, surveyor, and farmer. He married, in 1794, llannah, daughter of Rev. James Taylor ; was born, lived, and died in the " Old Indian House," which his father received with his wife from the Sheldon family in 17.13. Col. Hoyt was a prominent figure in town and county affairs for many years. He represented the town in the Gen- eral Court twenty-two years, was Senator twelve years, and died in 1833.


Maj .- Gen. Epaphras Hoyt, brother of Elihu, was born in 1765. He was surveyor, student, antiquary, historian. He married, 1792, Experience Harvey. Was first register of deeds for Franklin County, 1811-14; high-sheriff, 1814-31; was deeply interested in military science ; was offered an appoint- ment in the United States army by Washington, which he declined. Published in 1798 a "Treatise on the Military Art," for the use of cavalry. In 1816 a new edition was issued, with instructions in the movement of regiments and armies in actual service, and the higher branches of the art of war. In 1813 he wrote an elaborate article on astronomy, of one hundred pages, as an introduction to Dickinson's " Geog- raphy ;" was a contributor to Silliman's Journal, and other publications. In 1824 he issued his best-known work, “ An- tiquarian Researches." He left an unpublished work on Bur- goyne's campaign, and made copious notes on the French-and- Indian wars,-of which he made an especial study,-which still exist in manuscript, if haply they have escaped the acci- dents of time. Ile died Feb. 7, 1850.


Capt. Joseph Kellogg, son of Martin, born 1791. Feb. 29, 1704, one brother was killed ; his father and four children-of


whom he was one-were taken prisoners to Canada. After one year with the Indians, Joseph spent ten years traveling among them with French traders, and learned the language of all the tribes as well as the French. His brother Martin, who had escaped from captivity, accompanied Capt. Stod- dard and Mr. Williams to Canada in 1714, and persuaded Joseph to return to New England with the promise of en- ployment by the government. He was soon engaged as inter- preter. In 1723 he was lieutenant under Capt. Samuel Bar- nard, and stationed at Northfield. At the close of this war the authorities of New York made him liberal offers to enter their service. He was put in charge of Fort Dummer, as truck- master, with a salary of £100. This post was left for a wider field of usefulness as general interpreter to the Indian tribes in 1740, continuing in this service until his death, at Schenec- tady, in 1756.


Capt. Martin Kellogg, brother of Joseph, born in 1686 ; es- caped from Canada, May, 1705, with three others, reaching home in June in a starving condition. He was taken again in August, 1708, while on a scout up the lakes ; carried to Canada, where he remained several years, and became well acquainted with the French and Indian languages. He acted as interpreter on Capt. Stoddard's journey in 1714, and con- tinued in public service in that capacity. He married Doro- thy Chester, and settled in Newington, Conn. There he took charge of 12 Indian boys of the Hollis School, giving them instruction for about three years. He died in 1753.


Rebecca Kellogg, sister of Martin, captured in 1704, prob- ably returned with her brothers in 1714. Their sister, Joanna, married an Indian chief at Cagnawaga, and never came back. Rebecca married Capt. Benjamin Ashley, of Westfield, and both were employed in the Indian school at Stockbridge,-she as interpreter. She was also employed in this capacity else- where, and died while on a mission to the Susquehanna River with Rev. Gideon Hawley, in 1757.


Hon. David Saxton was born in Somers, Conn., in 1734. Ile married, in 1759, Rebecca Barnard. He kept a tavern where Robert Childs lives. He was prominent in town affairs for a generation ; an active and influential Whig, and repre- sentative of the town during nearly the whole period of the Revolution. He was State Senator for thirteen years, during the formation-period of the government. He died in 1800. Gen. Rufus Saxton of the United States army is a great-grand- son.


Hon. James Whitney, son of Stephen, was born in 1811. He removed to Conway, where he was in trade, and organized the Conway Mutual Fire Insurance Company. He was early interested in the militia, and was brigadier-general in 1863. He was sheriff of Franklin County in 1853-54; representative 1851, '54; delegate to the Constitutional Convention, 1853 ; superintendent of the United States armory at Springfield for five years ; collector for the port of Boston, 1860-61; State Senator, 1872; president of Boston Water-Power Company ; Presidential elector, 1852, '56, '60. He has been many years a leading politieian in the Democratic party. He died in Boston, Oct. 24, 1878.


Maj. Elijah Williams, son of Rev. John, was born in 1712. He graduated at llarvard College in 1732; A.M., 1758. Ile married, in 1736, Lydia Dwight, of Hatfield ; (2d) 1750, Mar- garet Pynchon, of Springfield. He was a man of decided ability and activity ; was a civil engineer ; town clerk twenty- five years ; selectman twenty-five years ; representative seven- teen years. He lived on his father's homestead, and went into trade in a building on the south west corner of it, in 1742. This building, with additions, was known to this generation as the Ware store. It was removed in 1877, to make way for the Dickinson Academy. Maj. Williams took a prominent part in the French-and-Indian-wars; was captain of snow-shoe men in 1743, and controlled the military operations in this region through the war. He was four or five years in trade in En-


James Childs


JAMES CHILDS was born in Wapping, Deerfield, Mass., July 31, 1813. His parents, Erastus and Merey (Hawks) Childs, were both natives of that town. The former was born. Oct. 31, 1783, and died in 1858. The latter was born in June, 1794, and died in 1854.


James Childs, the subject of this biography, was the second of a family of seven children. He spent his minority upon his father's farm. During this time he attended the common school, and also for a number of terms the Deerfield Academy. At the age of twenty-one he went to Wilmington, Vt., and engaged as a clerk in a store, where he remained but a few months. Returning to Deer- field, he entered a store in the same eapaeity, and remained four years. He then went to Hatfield, and engaged in the mercantile business upon his own account. At the expiration of a year he dis- posed of his interest aud returned to Wapping,


Deerfield, where he has sinee resided. He has been assessor of Deerfield eleven years, and is a deacon in the Congregational Church, of which he has been a member a number of years. In polities he is a Republican, but chooses rather to be a worker for the sueeess of others than a seeker of office for himself. As a man he is well and favor- ably known in the town in which he has spent the greater part of his life, and he is respected and esteemed by all his associates.


He was united in marriage, May 22, 1844, to Maronette Pease, who was born in Ashfield, Nov. 20, 1813. They have one child, a son, George H. Childs (residing with his father), who, although very young, enlisted in the Union army in 1863, and re- mained until the elose of the war. In 1864 he was severely wounded; but his life, which was so precious to those at home, was spared, and at the elose of the war he returned honorably discharged.


1


GEORGE A. WILLIAMS was born Jan. 6, 1810, at Williams' Landing, Taunton, Mass. His ancestor Richard Williams, and Frances Dighton, his wife, settled at that place in 1638, and the estate always has been and is still in the possession of the Williams family, with the excep- tion of the part recently devoted to the Taunton Water- Works.


Francis Williams, father of the subject of this biog- raphy, was born in Raynham, Mass., Nov. 12, 17.9. He married Louisa Gilmore, of Raynham, who was born in 1782. He settled upon the family estate, where he reared a family of ten children,-seven sons and three daughters. Of these, George A. is the fourth son and child. Theirs was a busy household, for his father recognized no eight or ten hours as a day's work, but worked with a steady hand from earliest morn until dark.


The district schools of that day were vastly inferior to those of the present, and in the district in which he lived the term consisted of from eight to twelve weeks during the year. These were the only advantages he received until he attained his seventeenth year. At that time, as his capacity for manual labor was somewhat impaired by illness, he was set to studying Greek and Latin, and prepared for college.


Equal rights and striet justice were strong points in his father's character, and while George was pursuing his studies and preparing to enter the ministry he deemed it but just to the other sons to charge him with what he might have earned by his labor until he became of age. At the age of twenty-five, therefore, lack of wages and charges for board, tuition, and other expenses stood against him. Dividends were made by the paternal hand to other members of the family at various times, and an equal amount was accredited to him, so that the accounts were at length liquidated, and a fragment remained to him at the settlement of the paternal estate. As the period drew near when he was to make a


choice of occupation, the Congregationalists were strongly excited upon points of doctrine, and, as religious matters had attracted his attention, he direeted his reading that way. His road to school led him past the house of an ardent Calvinist who often sought to discuss religious matters, and although they might agree on Biblical authority, they differed widely on Biblical interpretation, and their tilts ended as such contests usually do,-in both claiming the advantage.


In the discussion which sent the body of the Congrega- tional Church into the Trinitarian and Unitarian sects, he stood upon the Unitarian side, and on the 3d of March, 1836, he was ordained over the second parish in Saco, Me., where he preached three years. At the expiration of that time an extended call was made, but his eyesight was so impaired that he was obliged to decline its acceptance. His profession then eame nominally to an end, although he sub- sequently preached for a short period in Chelmsford, East Bridgewater, and Mayland. The " barrel of sermons" had been left unfilled, the barrel-head was now replaced, and the remaining parchments consigned to the garret. Other means of procuring a livelihood must then be found, and a favorable opportunity presenting, he entered the manufac- ture of chemicals in Cambridge, Mass., in which he remained about five years. In May, 1855, he removed to Deerfield, where he has since resided, devoting a part of his time to farming. lle has won the respect and confidence of all with whom he has been associated.


He was married, Oet. 27, 1839, to Sarah, second daughter of Dr. Ezra Dean, of Biddeford, Me. By this union he had two children : Gorham D., born June 10, 1842, at- torney-at-law, living in Greenfield ; and Lucia Greene, born Oct. 26, 1846.


Sept. 2, 1860, he married his second wife, Jane Dickin- son, daughter of Rev. Rodolphus Dickinson, of Deerfield.


619


HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY.


field, Conn. In the last French war he was commissary, with the rank of major, and did excellent service. He was a justice, and did considerable business as a magistrate. Ile died in 1771.


Hon. Ephraim Williams, son of Dr. Thomas, was born in 1760. He received the honorary degree of A.M. from Wil- liams College in 1795. Ile married Emily Woodbridge. lle studied law with Judge Sedgwick, of Stockbridge, and prac- ticed in partnership with him at the Berkshire Bar. When unjustly reproved by the judge one day in court, and ordered to take his seat, he replied : "1 will not sit down, but I will leave the Bar forever," and was as good as his word. He came baek, and spent his days here. He was eminent in his profes- sion ; was first reporter for the Supreme Court ; representative in 1806-7; Senator in 1816. Ile died Dec. 27, 1835. Bishop John Williams, of Connecticut, is his only son.


John Williams, Esq., son of Maj. Elijah, was born in 1751. He graduated at Harvard College in 1769, and began to prac- tice law in Salem in 1772. He married, in 1774, Elizabeth Orne, of Salem, and returned to the old homestead and his father's store. Here he continued in trade many years, mean- while doing a large outside business, domestic and foreign. He was a loyalist in the Revolution, and indicted for sedition in 1783; chosen representative in 1783; was refused a seat on account of his Toryism at the May session. Re-elected for the next session, he was again rejected. In 1784 he was arraigned on the indictment, but, pleading the sixth article of the treaty of peace with Great Britain, he was discharged; representative 1785-86 ; register of deeds for Northern Hampshire 1787; Presidential elector 1792; as a magistrate his business was enormous ; was prominent in founding Deerfield Academy, and left it the bulk of his estate at his death. He was fellow of the Massachusetts Historical Society. He died July 27, 1816, the last of his father's family, leaving no descendants.


Dr. Stephen W. Williams, son of Dr. William S., was born in 1790. He received the degree of A.M. at Williams College in 1824; honorary member of the New York Historical So- ciety and the Connecticut Medical Society. He married, in 1818, Harriet T., daughter of Dr. Joseph Goodhne ; was pro- fessor and medical lecturer in Berkshire Medical Institute, Dartmouth College, and several other institutions. Author of " American Medical Biography," 8vo, 1845; " Memoirs of Rev. John Williams," 1837 ; " Genealogy of the Williams Family," 1847; " Indigenous Medical Botany of Massachu- setts," Svo; "Catechism of Medical Jurisprudence," 1835; " Medical History of Franklin County." In 1853 he published a newedition of the "Redeemed Captive," with an "appendix and notes," containing an article on the claims of Eleazer Williams to be the " dauphin of France." Dr. Williams was a graduate of Berkshire Medical Institute, and had an extensive practice in his native town and county ; was a volu- minous contributor to the medical and seientific journals. He removed to Laona, Ill., in 1853, where he died July 5, 1855.


Dr. Thomas Williams, son of Col. Ephraim, from Newton and Stockbridge, was born in 1718. He received the degree of A.M. from Yale College, in 1738. He married, in 1740, Anna, daughter of Timothy Childs, and was again married, in 1749, to Esther, daughter of Rev. William Williams, of Weston. He settled here in the practice of his profession in 1739, where he was the first male physician. He had a large practice ; was a surgeon in the expedition toward Canada in 1743, and of the chain of forts on our northern frontier. He left Fort Massachusetts only two days before its surrender, in '1746. In the last French war he was surgeon under Sir Wil- liam Johnson. He was at the battle of Lake George, Sept. 8, 1755, and dressed the wounds of Baron Dieskau, the unfor- tunate commander of the French army. Col. Ephraim Wil- liams, his brother, the founder of Williams College, was killed the same day. In the campaign of 1756 he was lieu- tenant-colonel. He was judge of the court of Common Pleas,


judge of Probate, representative seventeen years, town-clerk, and useful in all local affairs. He died Sept. 28, 1775.


Notes on many others worthy of notice are omitted for lack of space in this brief abstraet of our history.


CIVIL LIST.


DEERFIELD STATE SENATORS.


David Saxton, 1786-91, 1794-1800, thirteen years; Ephraim Williams, 1816 ; Elihu Hoyt, 1817-19, 1821-23, 1827-32, twelve years; Robert Crawford, 1863 ; Christopher A. Stebbins, 1867; George Sheldon, 1872.


COUNTY COMMISSIONERS.


Rufus Saxton, Richard C. Arms.


REPRESENTATIVES TO GENERAL COURT.


1688-89, Lieut. Thomas Wells; 1692-98, Capt. Jonathan Wells; 1716, John Wells; 1717-19, Thomas Wells ; 1720-21, Samuel Barnard; 1724-26, 1734, Capt Thomas Wells; 1737-38, Thomas Wells; 1740, Ebenezer Hinsdale ; 1741-45, Eli- jah Williams; 1746, Thomas Wells ; 1747, David Field; 1749-50, Ebenezer Hins- dale ; 1752-55, Elijah Williams; 1756, Joseph Barnard ; 1757-58, Elijah Williams: 1759, Thomas Williams; 1760-61, Elijah Williams; 1762-63, Jonathan Ashley, Jr. ; 1764, Elijah Williams : 1765, Jonathan Ashley, Jr .; 1766-67, Elijah Williams; 1768, Jonathan Ashley, Jr. ; 1769, Elijah Williams ; 1770, David Field; 1771-72, Samuel Hinsdale (Greenfield) ; 1773-74, Samuel Field; 1775, Samuel Hinsdale ; 1776-78, David Saxton.


Down to this period the territory covered by the original Deerfield was a single district, with but one representative.


REPRESENTATIVES AFTER THE REVOLUTION.


1781, David Saxton ; 1783-86, John Williams; 1787, Jonathan Hoyt; 1788-89, John Bardwell; 1790, Seth Catlin ; 1791, Samuel Field; 1792-93, Jona. Hoyt; 1794, David Saxton; 1795-96, Seth Catlin; 1797, David Saxton; 1798, John Wil- liams; 1799-1800, David Saxton; 1801, Jona. Hoyt; 1802-3, John Williams; 1804-5, Elihn Hoyt; 1806-7, Ephraim Williams; 1808, Ebenezer H. Williams; 1809-11, Elihu Hoyt; 1810-19, Asa Stebbins; 1815, Augustus Lymau ; 1816, Elihu Hoyt; 1817, Ebenezer Newcomb; 1819, Orlando Ware; 1820, Elihu Hoyt; 1821, Rufus Saxtou ; 1822-27, Elihu Hoyt; 1830, Rufus Saxton, Elihu Hoyt; 183}, Rufus Saxton, Stephen Whitney; 1832-36, Rufus Saxton, Elihu Hoyt; 1837, Rufus Saxton, Amos Russell; 1838, Rufns Saxton; 1839, Amos Russell, Asa Stebbins ; 1840, George Dickinson ; 1841, Orlando Ware; 1842, Howland Cowing; 1843, Ira Abercrombie; 1844, Zebediah Graves; 1845-46, Rufus Saxton ; 1847, Sumner Dunlap; 1848, Rufus Saxton ; 1850, Ira Abercrombie; 1851, Cephas Clapp; 1852-53, Asa Stebbins ; 1855, Luther B. Lincoln ; 1856, Edward W. Stebbins; 1857, Moses Stebbins; 1858, Horatio Hawks; 1801, Ira Abercrombie; 1863, Cyrus A. Stowell; 1864, C. A. Stebbins; 1866, David A. Strong; 1867, George Sheldon ; 1870, Il. A. Warriner; 1871, Martin Severance ; 1873, G. W. Bardwell ; 1875, G, W. Jones; 1877, P. D. Bridges ; 1878-79, C. P. Aldrich.


TOWN OFFICERS.


In addition to those usually chosen, we have, as occasion demanded, deer-reeves, wardens, cullers of brick, sealers of leather, packers, cullers of timber, surveyors of wheat and · flour, surveyors of clapboards and shingles, measurer, clerk of the market, deer-inspectors, surveyor of hemp and flax, tith- ingmen, men-seaters.


TOWN CLERKS.


Joseph Barnard, appointed by the committee, Dec. 20, 1687, with the consent of the town; he held the office until he was killed by Indians, 1695; Thomas French, 1696-1703, when he was captured by Indians and carried to Canada; Edward Allen, 1704-12; Samuel Williams, 1713; John Catliu, 1715-16; Thomas French, 1717-19; Thomas French, Jr., 1720-32; Elijah Williams, 1733-47 ; Thos. Williams, 1748-51 ; Elijah Williams, 1752-61; Thomas Williams 1762-74; David Dickinson, 1775-78; Justin Hitchcock, 1779-81, 1804, 1813-21 ; John Williams, 1782; Sammel Barnard, Jr., 1783-87; John Williams, 1788-90; Samuel Field, 1791; John Williams, 1792; Wm. S. Williams, 1793-1803, 1805-12; Augustus Ly- man, 1822-27; Charles Williams, 1828-31; Edwin Nims, 1832-34; Charles Williams, 1835-70; Elisha Wells, 1871-79.




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