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The war has considerably lessened the number
of students, as a large portion has entered into
the army.
They do not reside within the uni-
versity, but have private lodgings in different
parts of the city. The education of the females
of the best families is, if possible, still worse.
They are early sent to a convent as pensioners,
and under the care of some of the aged nuns are
instructed in reading, writing, and needle-work,
but especially in the outward forms of religion.
They are usually kept in these houses of seclu-
sion till they arrive at a proper age, and fre-
quently till some matrimonial engagement is
formed. From the retirement of a convent,
with all its uniformity and dulness, they are sud-
denly introduced into circles of gaiety and dissi-
pation, and it is not wonderful that from so vio-
lent a change, and from the example of the
married females, with whom they associate, they
become victims to the dissolute habits of their
country.'

in this capital, and most people, particularly the ladies, have in their apartments the best pictures of the Holy Virgin, or some favorite saint, which their circumstances can afford. To these they are much attached, and retain them with care, even when reduced by poverty to sell every thing else. I was yesterday at the house of a lady, the widow of an officer, to see some pictures which necessity compelled her to sell, but which decent pride forbade her to part with to any except a foreigner. In her chamber was a crucifixion, which I admired, and asked if it were to be sold; No, Senor, lo tengo por mi devocion ;' she then asked with surprise, Are you a Christian?' On my answering Yes, and that I respected the saints, she expressed herself delighted that among the English, whom she had been told were all Protestants, she had found one who was a Catholic; for, though she appeared a woman who had moved in a respectable sphere, she had no conception that Christian and Catholic were not precisely synonymous; and I was too intent on her pictures to find time to correct her vocabulary.

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Of its paintings.-'Few places in Europe, with the exception of London and Paris, contain so many good pictures as are to be found in this city. About 170 years ago some of the best It is scarcely right in relating any thing to painters resided here, especially Murillo, Velas- commence with the best; and perhaps I should quez, Zubaran, Spagnolete, and Cano; and be wiser were I to delay writing about the picsuch was its celebrity, as a school for painting, tures of Murillo, till I had described those of that several eminent masters, from other countries, some inferior artists; but, as it happens, I am resorted hither for improvement in their profes- just returned from inspecting his works in the sion. Spain made considerable progress in the art chapel of St. George, in the Caridad: I shall of painting during the reign of Charles V., and it therefore begin my account with them. The was the general custom among the Spanish pictures of Murillo which have been brought to nobles, who attended that monarch in his visits England are of small size, and generally contain to Italy and the Netherlands, to purchase and few figures, so that you can form but a very imsend home to this city, then the capital of Spain, perfect idea of the powers of this distinguished the best pictures they could procure; some of artist; but the pictures of this painter in the them have been retained by private families, and Caridad, are about eighteen feet in length, and others were given to the different churches and twelve in breadth. One of them, representing the convents. Our unhappy sovereign Charles I.,when queen Isabella attending the sick, and washing the Prince of Wales, contributed to increase the taste wounds on the head of a beggar boy, while a crowd for this art in Spain by the love he manifested for of other invalids, are waiting round in expectation the profession, by the honor he paid to the artists, of similar relief, is considered, and I think justly, and by the liberal price he gave for their works. one of the best compositions of that great master: He purchased some excellent pictures for his the pious countenance of the queen, and the collection, and left directions for some of the anxious looks of the expecting group, are admibest pictures in Madrid to be copied; especially rably depicted. Another painting, by the same the works of Titian in the royal palaces. Mi- master, is the miracle of the loaves and fishes, quel de la Cruz, an artist of considerable eminence in which the figures on the foreground are finely in the court of Philip IV., was occupied several conceived, and the light and shade admirably years in copying the best pictures for our un- managed. The picture of the angels appearing fortunate monarch, which were not all completed to Abraham is finely painted; but as the idea when he met his untimely fate. prevailing in Spain is, that those three angels were the three persons of the Trinity, the artist has thought proper to show the unity in the Trinity by painting all the three angels with exactly the same countenance: notwithstanding this whimsical conceit the picture is a fine one, and the scene of the tent of the Arabian patriarch is most exquisitely painted.

The best ancient pictures are mostly upon subjects connected with religion; some of them are portraits of saints and martyrs, whose names as well as sufferings would perhaps have remained unknown, were they not immortalized by the genius of the artist. A great number of excellent paintings have been accumulated here; and indeed a general taste for the art has been established for ages. Most of the well informed men are connoisseurs, and more especially the priests and monks, who, from habitually contemplating, in their churches, the finest specimens of the art, acquire a correctness in their notions of painting, which renders them good judges of even those paintings that are unconnected with religion. A general fondness for the art prevails

Moses striking the rock is a most wonderful production; the anxious countenances of the Israelites, all eagerly crowding to the water, are exact representations of what might be supposed the expressions of people in such a state: the figure of the mother with an infant, eagerly stretching out her hand to catch a few drops for her child, another lamenting the delay in obtaining a supply, and a boy mounted on a horse, stretching

forward to the stream, are esteemed the best figures, while the countenances of all discover gratitude to God for this unexpected supply. I never felt so much pleasure from the contemplation of any work of art as from this picture; but, notwithstanding the admirable expressions of the countenances, I could not help admiring the shadow of the rock from which the water gushes out. A passage in the sacred writings mentions as a luxury the shadow of a great rock in a desert wilderness; it is here displayed most admirably; the rock is high and large; within its shade the people appear protected from the rays of the sun, which seem to diffuse a burning heat over every other part of the scene.

The Cathedral of Seville contains some paintings by Murillo, but in my judgment very far inferior to those at the Caridad; the best are on the altar of Baptistery; representing St Anthony of Padua, the Baptism of Christ; and the Birth of the Virgin, in the chapel dedicated to St. Paul. Besides these, almost every convent and church in Seville is adorned with some of this master's productions. I have had the good fortune to meet with some of his sketches, and an admirable portrait of his son, which, if I get them to England, will please you, though they give but a very faint idea of his great powers.

'Few pictures have been more praised than those in the church of Santa Cruz, by Pedro de Campana, especially the Descent from the Cross. It is said of this picture, by the learned doctor Francisco Pacheo, that the remaining in this church alone filled him with terror, as he could not divest himself of the idea that the body of Christ was a real object. Two men above are lowering the body to St. John, who receives it with the strongest expression of grief and sensibility. Mary Magdalen kissing the feet, and the Holy Virgin, are admirable figures. The whole piece is an exquisite composition; and, in the judgment of the Spanish connoisseurs, equal to the best productions of Michel Angelo, under whom Campana studied. The picture is about eighteen feet in height and nine in breadth. There are several others in this church by the same master, but this one engrossed my attention too much to allow me to examine the others.'

But we must hasten to conclude our extracts :'The architecture of Seville', adds our author, 'deserves particular notice, as it is the work of different ages, and possesses very distinct characters. The Arabian, the Gothic, and the Greco-Roman styles, all enter into the structure of the cathedral. Its tower, constructed in the year 1000, is of the Arabian architecture, as well as one of the courts, called the Patio de las Narangas. The Gothic style was not introduced into Spain till the twelfth century; and it still retains the more appropriate epithet of Tudesco or German. The greater part of the cathedral, which was begun in 1482 and finished in 1519, is of this species of architecture. The GrecoRoman, used in Spain, is miserable in the distribution of the parts, lavish in the ornaments, and wants elegance in the whole. The royal chapel of the cathedral is in this style of building, though erected at the same period with the Gothic. The length of the church is 398 fect,

and the breadth 290; the choir and the high altar being in the centre, and the whole crowded with chapels, altars, statues, and pictures, it does not appear so large as it is in reality. The inside of the tower has one singularity; it has no steps, but in their stead a road winds to the top, by which it is said the Emperor Charles V. once rode on horseback to the summit. This certainly would not be difficult if the door to the road were larger, but at present it is so narrow that a man can scarcely enter it. The cathedral. contains a fine organ of great power, which is filled with air in a singular manner, by means of a plank placed on the bellows, on which a man walks backwards and forwards, and, as it balances on its centre, his motion fills the organ with air.

'A few days ago, I went, with a small party, to see the convent of the Carthusians. It is situated on the banks of the Guadalquiver, above the city, and we found a boat the cheapest and most agreeable conveyance. The convent is a fine building, and the interior is sumptuously decorated. The monks, who are all descended from good families, live with frugality, or rather austerity, and never leave the convent after they have taken the vows. They are not permiettd to converse, except with each other, and they are allowed only an hour's conversation twice in a week; but, if I may judge from the rubicund faces and portly figures of the superiors, when they arrive at the higher stations, they indulge privately in luxuries beyond the limits of their vows. It is easy to conceive that that fanaticism which can induce gentlemen to enter into this order, and to endure the severities during the year of their noviciate, may, after a time, cease; that the fervor of devotion may subside; that some embers of the feelings and haoits of past life may be rekindled; and that, after they have begun to languish in their piety, they may fall from the grace of celibacy, or exchange their fasts and penances for a luxurious table, generous wines, and an affectionate mistress. We found the prior a good-tempered friendly man; he expressed much regard for Englishmen, but lamented the wickedness and sensuality of Henry VIII., whose unruly passions, he said, had caused that change of religion so unfortunate for our country. I cannot help remarking, in this place, that there is a material difference between the Catholics and Protestants, in the mode of treating each other on religious subjects. The former generally speak of our religion with a sigh: we too frequently speak of theirs with a sneer. am afraid something of this kind escaped me, or my younger companions, as his officious kindness evidently ceased after his remark on Henry VIII.; and, though he behaved with politeness, it was ceremonious, and obviously constrained.

I

The church is very splendid, and elegantly adorned with holy utensils of gold and silver, with some good pictures and statues, and a remarkably fine organ. Among the pictures is the head of John the Baptist and a Salvator Mundi, by Murillo; a St. Peter by Morales, called by way of distinction (as there were several painters of that name) the divine Morales; and, what pleased me more than any others, some fine pieces of Zubaran, an artist whose works are

highly valued in Spain, though they are scarcely known in any other part of Europe. There are three of his productions in the sacristy of this church, with figures as large as life. The subject of one is, St. Bruno conversing with pope Urban II. the saint is seated; his countenance has the expression of benevolence, and that of the pope of piety and submission. The subject of another picture is St. Hugh in the refectory of this convent, eating with the monks; and a third represents our Saviour on foot, conversing with some Carthusians: there is nothing in the stories, but the artist has contrived to make them interesting. Zubaran's manner somewhat resembles that of Caravaggio; his outlines are correct, and his compositions simple; they contain only a few figures, which are arranged in grave and natural attitudes. I have always had a curiosity to see the collections of books in these repositories of idle devotion, but what I saw here were of no greater value than those in convents less richly endowed. The Carthusians are the richest order in Spain, and the estates of this convent are very extensive and valuable; their revenues are all appropriated to determinate purposes, one portion for subsistence another for the repairs and decoration of the church, and others for the relief of the poor, &c.; all of which being badly administered, the society is considerably involved. They cultivate some large farms, and have in their barns and outhouses a good stock of corn, straw, and oil, as well as horses, cows, and mules, which the government have lately found very beneficial; for, in the present exigences of the country, the property of these religious houses has not been exempted from contributions. They have a fine garden, and a summer-house overlooking the river. The consumption of wax for candles is so considerable, that they have in this garden all the necessary conveniences for bleaching it.'

SEVRES, DEPARTMENT OF THE TWo, a department of France, comprising about a third of the old province of Poitou, and bounded by the departments of the Maine and Loire, the Charente, and the Vendée. Its superficial extent is 2450 square miles; watered by the Two Sevres, the Dive, the Loire, the Thoue, and a number of inferior streams. The surface is uneven, being intersected from north-east to south-west by a chain of lofty mountains covered with wood; in the south-west it is marshy, but the soil generally is fertile, and the climate favorable. The products are wheat, barley, rye, oats, buck-wheat, and maize; hops grow wild, particularly in the neighbourhood of Niort. Tobacco is partially cultivated, and chestnuts abound, as well as almonds, in the warmer exposures. The tracts of pasture are considerable, and hence a large proportion of horses, cattle, and sheep. The high grounds afford mines of iron, antimony, saltpetre, also quarries of marble. The manufactures (on a small scale) consist of pottery, saltpetre, leather, woollens, cotton, and paper. This department suffered severely in the Vendean

war.

It is divided into the four arrondissements of Niort, the capital, Bressuire, Parthenay, and Melle. Population 260,000, of whom above 32,000 are Protestants.

SEVUM MINERALE, mineral tallow, a substance somewhat resembling tallow, found on the seacoasts of Finland in 1736. It burns with a blue flame, and smell of grease, leaving a black viscid matter which cannot easily be consumed. It is extremely light; being only of the specific gravity 0-770; whereas tallow is not less than 0.969. It is partly soluble in highly rectified spirit of wine, but entirely so in expressed oils when boiling. It is met with in some of the rocky parts of Persia, but there it appears to be mixed with petroleum. Dr. Herman of Strasburg mentions a spring in the neighbourhood of that city, which contains a substance of this sort diffused through it, separating, and capable of being collected on ebullition. A fat mineral matter resembling butter or tallow has lately been extracted from peat in Lancashire. See PEAT. Lat suo. To alter any thing by

SEW, v. n.

the use of the needle.

My transgression is sealed up in a bag, and thou sewest up mine iniquity.

ment.

Job xiv. 17.

Eccl. iii. 7.

A time to rent and a time to sew. No man seweth a piece of new cloth on an old garMark ii. 21. If ever I said loose-bodied gown sew me up in the skirts of it. Shakspeare. Taming of the Shrew. SEWARD (Thomas), an English divine, born in 1708. He was rector of Eyam in Derbyshire, and prebend of Litchfield. He wrote a work on the Conformity between Popery and Paganism, and published an edition of Beaumont and Fletcher's plays. He was father of the celebrated Miss Anna Seward. He died at Litchfield, in 1790.

SEWARD (William), F. R. S., an ingenious English writer, the son of an eminent brewer in London, born in 1747. He was educated at the Charter-house, and at the university of Oxford, but never took any degree, nor adopted any profession. He had a fine taste for literature; was intimate with the most eminent men of the age; and was chosen fellow of the Royal and Antiquarian Societies. He published Anecdotes of Distinguished Persons, in 5 vols., and a supplement to that work, entitled Biographiana, in 2 vols. He died April 12th, 1799.

SEWARD (Anna), the daughter of the Rev. Thomas Seward, rector of Eyam, Derbyshire, prebendary of Sarum, and canon residentiary of Litchfield, was born in the year 1747. Her father was himself a poet, and seems to have inspired his daughter with a strong predilection for that department of literature, in which her taste was excellent, and her talents considerable. In the Literary Society of Litchfield, where Miss Seward lived, she held a very distinguished place, and her correspondence with learned and distinguished characters was extensive. For a considerable period her poetical effusions were confined to her social circle; the applause of which at length induced her to commit to the press, Elegiac Commemorations of Major André and Captain Cook, which were favorably received by the public. In 1782, besides other occasional pieces, she published a poetical novel, entitled Louisa, which was also favorably received, and passed through several editions. In 1799 she published a collection of original son

sets of considerable merit, with translations from Horace of less value. In 1804 Miss Seward published a Biographical Memoir of Dr. Darwin, the friend of her youth; in which there is much curious and interesting literary anecdote, chiefly of the early part of Dr. Darwin's life, and of the Society of Litchfield, while it was the place of his residence. In 1807 our authoress was engaged in arranging for the press the edition of her poems, which was edited, in 1810, by Walter Scott, esq., in 3 vols., with a sketch of her life by that poet, and extracts from her literary correspondence. To Mr. Scott she bequeathed by letter her literary performances, particularly that which she had been so long preparing for the press. Miss Seward died on the 25th of March 1809, having also bequeathed to Mr. A. Constable twelve quarto volumes of letters, from the year 1784 to the period of her death, for publication. Six volumes of these have been published, containing a vast variety of miscellaneous matter, of which the world will judge variously. That Miss Seward's talents and acquirements were considerable will not be questioned. Her prejudices were also great, and her reflections on many persons and subjects are unnecessarily harsh, and severe. In politics, amidst the ever varying scenes of the French Revolution, and of domestic policy connected with that great event, she cannot be exempted from the charge of rashness, injustice, and inconsistency. Miss Seward was undoubtedly a distinguished person; but she already holds in public estimation a far less eminent place than she fixed for herself. In her conduct she was always respectable

SEWAURY, a Hindoo word, used in Bengal, signifying the train of attendants that accompany

a nabob.

SEWELL (George), an English physician and poet, born at Windsor and educated at Eton School: whence he removed to Peter House, Cambridge. He wrote, 1. The Life of John Philips: 2. A Vindication of the English Stage: 3. Sir Walter Raleigh, a tragedy; which was acted, in 1719, at Lincoln's-Inn-Fields. He died in 1726.

SEWELL (William), a native of Holland, born about 1654. He was bred to surgery, and practised it at Amsterdam. He wrote the History of the Rise and Progress of the People called Quakers; and compiled a Dictionary of the English and Low Dutch Tongues.

SEW'ER, n. s. Fr. escuyer trenchant ; or old Fr. asseour, from asseoir to set down; for those officers set the dishes on the table.-Newton. An officer who serves up a feast.

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Men suffer their private judgment to be drawn into the common sewer or stream of the present vogue. King Charles

As one who long in populous city pent, Where houses thick, and sewers annoy the air, Forth issuing on a summer's morn to breathe Among the pleasant villages and farms Adjoined from each thing met conceives delight.

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Milton. SEWERS, COMMON, in ancient Rome, were executed at a great expense. It was proposed that they should be of sufficient dimensions to admit a waggon loaded with hay. When these common sewers came to be obstructed, or out of repair, under the republic, the censors contracted to pay 1000 talents, or about £193,000 for clearing and repairing them. They were again in disrepair at the accession of Augustus, and the reinstating them is mentioned among the great works of Agrippa. He is said to have turned the course of seven rivers into these subterraneous passages, to have made them navigable, and to have actually passed in barges under the streets and buildings of Rome. These works are still supposed to remain; but, as they exceed the power and resources of the present city to keep them in repair, they are quite concealed, except at one or two places. They were, in the midst of the Roman greatness, and still are, reckoned among the wonders of the world; and yet they are said to have been works of Tarquin I., a prince whose territory did not extend, in any direction, above sixteen miles; and, on this supposition, they must have been made to accommodate a city that was calculated chiefly for the reception of cattle, herdsmen, and banditti. Rude nations sometimes execute works of great magnificence, as fortresses and temples, for the purposes of war and superstition; but seldom palaces, and still more seldom works of mere convenience and cleanliness, in which for the most part they are long defective. It is not un reasonable, therefore, to question the authority of tradition in respect of this singular monument of antiquity, which so greatly exceeds what the best accommodated city of modern Europe could undertake and as those works are still entire, and may continue so for thousands of years, it has been suspected that they were even prior to the settlement of Romulus, and may have been the remains of a more ancient city, on the ruins of which the followers of Romulus settled, as the Arabs now encamp on the ruins of Palmyra and Balbeck. Livy owns that the common sewers were not accommodated to the plan of Rome, as it was laid out in his time; they were carried in directions across the streets, and passed under buildings of the greatest antiquity. This derangement indeed he imputes to the hasty rebuilding of the city after its destruction by the Gauls; but haste, it is probable, would have determined the people to build on their old foundations, or at least not to change them so much as to cross the direction of former streets.

SEWERS, COURT OF COMMISSIONERS OF, a temporary tribunal in England, erected by virtue of a commission under the great seal; which formerly used to be granted pro re nata at the pleasure of the crown, but now at the discretion and nomination of the lord chancellor, lord trea

surer, and chief justices, pursuant to the statute 23 Hen. VIII. c. 5. Their jurisdiction is to overlook the repairs of sea-banks and sea- walls and the cleansing of rivers, public streams, ditches, and other conduits, whereby any waters are carried off; and is confined to such county or particular district as the commission shall expressly name. The commissioners are a court of record, and may fine and imprison for contempts; and in the execution of their duty may proceed by jury, or upon their own view, aud may take order for the removal of any annoyances, or the safeguard and conservation of the sewers within their commission, either according to the laws and customs of Romney-marsh, or otherwise at their own discretion. They may also assess such rates or scots upon the owners of lands within their district as they shall judge necessary; and, if any person refuse to pay them, the commissioners may levy the same by distress of his goods and chattels; or they may, by statute 23 Hen. VIII. c. 5, sell his freehold lands (and by the 7 Ann. c. 10, his copyhold also), in order to pay such scots or assessments. But their conduct is under the control of the court of king'sbench, which will prevent or punish any illegal or tyrannical proceedings. And yet in the reign of king James I. (8th of November 1616) the privy council took upon them to order that no action or complaint should be prosecuted against the commissioners unless before that board; and committed several to prison who had brought such actions at common law, till they should release the same and one of the reasons for discharging Sir Edward Coke from his office of lord chief justice was for countenancing those legal proceedings. The pretence for these arbitrary measures was no other than the tyrant's plea for the necessity of unlimited powers in works of evident utility to the public-the supreme reason above all reasons, which is the salvation of the king's lands and people.' But now it is clearly held that this (as well as all other inferior jurisdictions) is subject to the discretionary coercion of his majesty's court of king's bench.

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SEXACESSES, in Roman antiquity, a coin valued at sixty asses.

SEXAGENARY, or SEXAGESIMAL ARITHMETIC, is a method of computation proceeding by sixties; such is that used in the division of a degree into sixty minutes, of the minute into sixty seconds, of the second into sixty thirds, &c.

SEXAGENARY TABLES are tables of proportional parts, showing the product of two sexagenaries that are to be multiplied, or the quotient of the two that are to be divided.

SEXAGESIMA is the Sunday next to Shrove Sunday, so called as being about the sixtieth day before Easter.

SEXAGESIMALS, or SEXAGESIMAL FRAC

TIONS, fractions whose demoninators proceed in a sexagecuple ratio; that is a prime, or the first minute, a second; a third = Anciently there were no other than sexagesimals used in astronomy; and they are still retained in many cases, though decimal arithmetic begins to grow in use now in astronomical calculation. In these fractions, which some call astronomical fractions, the denominator being always 60, or a multiple thereof, is usually omitted, and th numerator only written down: thus, 4°, 59′, 32" 40", 16"", is to be read, 4 degrees, 59 minutes, 32 seconds, 40 thirds, 16 fourths, &c. SEXAN'GLED, adj. Į From Lat. ser and angulus. Having six

SEXAN'GULAR.

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SEXTANS, SEXTANT, a sixth part of certain things. The Romans having divided their as into twelve unciæ or ounces, the sixth part of that, or two ounces, was the sextans.

SEXTANS was also a measure which contained two ounces of liquor, or two cyathi.

SEXTANS, in astronomy, a constellation of the southern hemisphere, made by Hevelius out of unformed stars. See ASTRONOMY.

SEXTANT, in mathematics, denotes an arch comprehending 60°.

SEXTANT is also particularly used for an astronomical instrument made like a quadrant, excepting that its limb only comprehends 60°. The use and application of the sextant is the same with that of the quadrant. See QUADRANT, and NAVIGATION.

SEXTIE AQUA, an ancient town of Gallia Cisalpina, built by Caius Sextius, a lieutenant of Julius Cæsar, famous for its hot and cold baths. The Cimbri were defeated near it by Marius. (Liv. 61, Vel. Pat. 1. c. 15). It is now called Aix.

SEXTILE, adj. Lat. sertilis. In such a position or aspect of two planets, when at 60° distance, or at the distance of two signs from one another, marked thus *.

Milton.

Planetary motions and aspects, In sextile, square, and trine. The moon receives, the dusky light we discern in its sextile aspect from the earth's benignity.

Glanville.

SEXTILE TWICE, or BIS-SEXTILE, in chronology, the name given by the Romans to the intercalary day which followed the sixth of the kalends of March every leap-year, which is hence still called bissextile.

SEXTILIS (Lat. i. e. the sixth month, from March), in chronology, the name given by the Romans to the month of August, during the whole time of the kingdom and republic, and until the reign of the emperor Augustus, when it was changed in compliment to him, as Quintilis had been previously changed to July in honor of his uncle Julius Cæsar. See ROME.

SEXTIUS (Quintus), a Pythagorean philosopher, who flourished under Augustus. He seemed formed to rise in the republic; but he shrunk from civil honors, and declined accepting the rank of senator when it was offered him by

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