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ple, and in 1831 returned to England, publishing a remarkable work entitled "Observations on European Turkey," in which he attempted to prove that the Russian politics tended to the destruction of Turkey and the enfeeblement of other powers, especially of England, and that Turkey had within itself the elements of resistance and progress. Immediately afterward he made a long journey in Germany, Turkey, Persia, and other portions of Asia, with a view of studying the political and commercial influence of Russia. While in the East he published "Turkey and its Resources," and pamphlets entitled "England and Russia," "The Sultan Mahmoud," and "Mehemed Ali Pasha," which excited much attention by their asserted exposure of the designs of Russia. Returning to England, he labored constantly to impress his views both upon the king and the people, and in 1835 was made by Lord Palmerston secretary of legation to Constantinople. In consequence of differences of opinion with Lord Ponsonby, the British ambassador, he resigned and returned to England in 1836, and began a system of attacks upon Palmerston, whom he accused of a betrayal of British interests, and of Russian tendencies. During the following year he published "Spirit of the East" (London, 1838), "Exposition of the Affairs of Central Asia" (London, 1840), “Exposition of the Boundary Differences between Great Britain and the United States" (Glasgow, 1840), and other writings of temporary interest. When the oriental question threatened a breach between England and France, he went to Paris, and in the daily press constantly attacked the policy of the British minister, a course which injured him in his own country. While in Paris he published La crise, ou la France devant les quatre puissances (1840). Returning to England, he labored for some time ineffectually to get into parliament, but in 1847 was elected for Stafford. The political agitations which shortly afterward followed throughout Europe preventing any consideration of eastern questions, he undertook in 1848 a journey to Spain and northern Africa, and on his return published "The Pillars of Hercules, a Narrative of Travels in Spain and Morocco" (2 vols., London, 1850). In 1852 he was not reelected, but continued to labor none the less earnestly to diffuse his ideas that the English ministry had a secret understanding with Russia, and was bent upon the ruin of Turkey; and his conduct became so extravagant, that he was considered monomaniac. His partisans are now very fe, and he rarely appears in public life. His lat st works are: "Progress of Russia in the We. t, South, and North" (1853), and "Recent Events in the East" (1854).

URQUIZA, JUSTO JOSÉ DE, ex-president of the Argentine Confederation, born in the state of Entre Rios about 1800. He is of mixed Spanish and Indian blood, and during the war which raged in I Plata attached himself to the party of Rosas, r sing to the rank of general VOL. XV.-54

of division. In 1840 he commanded the Argentine army which Rosas sent against Uruguay, from which his friend Oribe had been driven by Rivero. The latter finally suffered a complete defeat from Urquiza on March 28, 1845, in the battle of India Muerte, and the victorious general was rewarded with the governorship of Entre Rios. When in 1851 Rosas pretended to lay down the supreme power, Urquiza took him at his word, and a war was the consequence. The latter allied himself with Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay, assembled an army of 30,000 men, crossed the Parana in Jan. 1852, routed the Argentine army at Monte Caseros Feb. 3, and by a coup d'état made himself provisional dictator of the Argentine republic. He called a new congress at Santa Fé in August, which was to take definite steps for the settlement of the country. A revolution in Buenos Ayres in the mean time was succeeded by a counter revolution, with the aid of which he began the siege of Buenos Ayres. The defence was maintained with vigor, and by the desertion of the squadron enforcing the blockade, he was at last forced to retire. In March, 1854, he was elected for 6 years president of the 13 other states composing the union; and he employed his power in an enlightened manner, reestablishing commerce and navigation, and declaring the Parana, the Paraguay, and the Plata free to foreign powers. The war against Buenos Ayres was continued. In 1859 he mediated between the United States and the republic of Paraguay, on occasion of the La Plata naval expedition, and toward the close of that year also succeeded in bringing back the state of Buenos Ayres into the Argentine Confederation. In the following year he was succeeded in the presidency by Dr. Santiago Derqui, under whom he is now (1862) honorary commander-in-chief of the army and navy. URSA MAJOR. See BEAR, GREAT.

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URSINUS, FULVIUS, an Italian scholar, born Rome, Dec. 2, 1529, died there, May 18, 1600. He was an illegitimate son of a commander of the order of Malta, and rose to be a canon in the church of St. John Lateran. He was librarian successively to Cardinal Rainutius and Cardinal Alexander Farnese, and received an annual pension of 200 ducats. His works are very numerous, and consist of commentaries on and editions of the ancient writers, and dissertations on antiquarian subjects.

URSINUS, ZACHARIAS, a German theologian, born in Breslau, July 18, 1534, died in Neustadt, March 6, 1583. He was educated at Wittenberg, early gained the friendship of Melanchthon, went with him to Worms, and after studying at Paris returned to Wittenberg, where in 1558 he was rector of the Elizabeth gymnasium. On account of his views in regard to baptism and the Lord's supper, he became involved in controversies with the Lutheran divines, and was called the sacramentarian. In 1560 he resigned on account of these disputes, and went to Zürich, and thence

to Heidelberg, where he became a professor in the collegium sapientiæ. In 1562, by order of the elector palatine, he drew up the celebrated Heidelberg catechism, which the German Calvinists afterward adopted as the exposition of their creed. Ursinus was forced to write two defences of it, one against the Lutheran divines, and the other against the representations of the princes of the empire. He was subsequently employed in various offices by the elector, which he was obliged to give up on the death of the latter in 1577, the new elector being a strong Lutheran. He then retired to Neustadt, and taught theology and logic in the gymnasium of that city. Some of his works were translated into English. The best edition is that of Heidelberg (3 vols. fol., 1612).

URSULA, a saint of the Roman Catholic church, and, according to the legend, a daughter of a Christian prince of Britain. Having been demanded in marriage by a pagan prince, and fearing by a refusal to bring ruin upon her parents and country, she seemingly consented, but obtained a delay of 3 years, and a grant of 11 triremes and 10 noble companions, each as well as herself attended by 1,000 virgins. She passed the 3 years with her virgins in nautical exercises; and when the day fixed for her marriage arrived, a sudden wind arose at their prayer, and wafted them to the mouth of the Rhine, and thence to Basel. Here they left their vessels, and made on foot a pilgrimage to Rome. On their return they fell in unexpectedly at Cologne with an army of Huns, by whom they were massacred, Ursula having refused an offer of marriage from the prince. Their corpses were buried by the people of Cologne, and a church was afterward erected in their honor, in which bones supposed to be those of Ursula and her companions are still exhibited. The first traces of this legend, which was gradually enlarged, are met with in the 9th century.

URSULINES, a monastic order in the Roman Catholic church, founded in 1537 by Angela Merici of Brescia (canonized May 24, 1807). The foundress designed it to be only a religious association or sisterhood for nursing the sick, supporting the poor, and gratuitously instructing poor girls. Every member of the association was to be permitted to remain in the bosom of her family, and the rule might be changed according to the exigency of circumstances. Soon after the death of Angela Merici the wearing of a common dress was introduced, and 30 years later the association began to spread beyond the diocese of Brescia into other parts of Italy. Gradually the members began in many places to live together in one house, to choose superiors, and to take simple vows; in this case they assumed the name of Congregate Ursulines. The order of "Ursuline nuns," which adopted the rule of St. Augustine, and took solemn vows, was first organized in 1604 by Madeleine de Ste. Beuve at Paris, and confirmed by the pope and king in 1612. In a short time this congrega

tion of Paris counted in France 45 houses. Other French congregations were founded at Bordeaux (1617), Dijon (1619), Lyons (1620), and elsewhere. All the Ursuline convents are placed under the jurisdiction of the diocesan bishop, and their mutual coherence is so loose, that many convents do not even know to which of the numerous congregations they belong. They have not abandoned the primary object of the original association, the nursing of the sick and the poor; but they are now mainly devoted to the instruction of girls. In 1860 they had 16 houses in Italy, 410 in France, 21 in Belgium and Holland, 37 in Germany, 2 in Switzerland, 8 in Hungary and Transylvania, 1 in Greece, 7 in the British islands, 2 in Spain, 1 in Prussian Poland, 1 in Algeria, 1 in Guiana, and 17 in North America, viz.: at Morrisania, near New York; Cleveland, Toledo, Fayetteville, and Ohio City, O.; Springfield and Alton, Ill.; Columbia, S. C.; Savannah and Augusta, Ga.; New Orleans, La.; San Antonio and Galveston, Tex.; Louisville, Ky.; St. Louis, Mo.; and at Quebec and Trois Rivières, Canada.

URUGUAY, or BANDA ORIEntal del UruGUAY, a republic of South America, bounded N. and N. E. by Brazil, E. and S. E. by the Atlantic ocean, S. by the Rio de la Plata, and W. by the Uruguay, these two rivers separating it from the Argentine Confederation. It lies between lat. 30° 5' and 34° 56′ S., and long. 53° 10' and 58° 20′ W.; extreme length 350 m., breadth 320 m.; area, 72,000 sq. m.; pop. in 1859, 217,429. It is divided into 13 departments, viz., Montevideo, Guadalupe (formerly Canelones), San José, Florida, Colonia del Sacramento, Soriano, Paysandu, Salto, Tacuarembo, Cerro Largo, Maldonado, Minas, and Durazno. The chief towns are Montevideo, the capital, Maldonado, and Colonia del Santo Sacramento. To the N. of Cape Santa Maria the coast is low and sandy, but S. and W. of it and on the estuary of the Rio de la Plata it is more bold and broken, having several fine bays and harbors. A few small islands lie off the shore, the largest of which is about 2 m. in circumference. The most important streams of the interior are the Rio Negro and its numerous tributaries, and the Arapey, Daiman, Yaguaron, and Sebollati. In the E. part of the country there are two lakes, the largest of which lies partly in Brazil. In the neighborhood of these lakes a low sandy tract extends inland for about 50 m.; but the greater part of the surface consists of an elevated table land penetrated by many fertile valleys along the S. coast. The surface of this table land consists of extensive plains traversed by occasional ranges of low hills, the whole being almost destitute of trees. Potters' earth and umber are found, copper ore is procured near Cape Maria, and mines of gold and silver are said to have been formerly worked. The climate is remarkably mild and healthy, but during the winter months a good deal of rain falls in the

lower part of the country. Severe frosts occasionally occur on the table land, but very little snow falls, and cattle are consequently enabled to find subsistence at all seasons. A great deal of the land is rich and fertile, but agriculture is much neglected. Wheat, maize, barley, rice, peas, beans, flax, hemp, and cotton are all raised; and the vine, peach, sugar cane, and numerous kinds of fruit trees thrive remarkably well. Timber is only found on the banks of the principal rivers. The pastures are excellent, and the wealth of the inhabitants consists in their flocks and herds. Great numbers of horses and horned cattle run wild on the plains, and large flocks of sheep are kept, the wool of which is of superior quality. Among the wild animals are included the tapir, deer, ounce, monkey, paca, rabbit, and fox; and large packs of wild dogs frequent the plains. There are many kinds of birds, and water fowl frequent the lakes. The manufactures are of little importance, being confined to a few coarse articles for domestic use. The commerce of the country is also comparatively insignificant, few of the natural products finding their way abroad. The exports consist of jerked and salted beef, tallow, hides, horns, and hair; and the imports of manufactured articles, lumber, flour, sugar, cordage, and agricultural implements from the United States. During the year 1858, 936 vessels of an aggregate of 186,699 tons entered, and 922 vessels of an aggregate of 183,230 tons cleared from the ports of the republic. In the same year the value of the exports to the principal countries with which trade is carried on was as follows: Great Britain and her colonies, $1,176,375; France, $1,018,340; Brazil, $981,330; Sardinia, $714,425; United States, $650,115; Spain, $501,700; and Buenos Ayres, $272,340.-In theory the government of Uruguay resembles that of the United States, but in practice it has degenerated into a mere military despotism, and the president, who is usually some successful general, in reality possesses absolute power. According to the budget for 1860, the revenues and expenditures for 18 months were each estimated at $3,579,802. The total public debt in the same year amounted to about $25,000,000.-The territory included in the republic of Uruguay was originally settled by a Spanish colony from Buenos Ayres, but the possession of it afterward caused a war between Spain and Portugal, during which it was in turn several times occupied by both. The contest was finally decided in favor of Spain, and the country attached to the viceroyalty of Buenos Ayres, and known as the district of Banda Oriental. When the war of independence began, Banda Oriental took the side of Buenos Ayres, but shortly afterward separated from that republic. The Brazilians, seeing the country in an unsettled state, and fearing lest its revolutionary doctrines should spread into their territory, took possession of it in 1821. Buenos Ayres protested against this proceeding, but war did not actually break

out with Brazil till 1826. A treaty of peace was concluded in 1828, through the intervention of Great Britain, by which the N. part of the country, known as the Seven Missions, was ceded to Brazil, and the S. portion was declared an independent state, under the title of Republica del Uruguay Oriental. Internal dissensions soon broke out, and Rosas, the president of Buenos Ayres, was asked for assistance by Oribe, one of the unsuccessful candidates for the presidency of Uruguay. Some troops were sent, and the war continued for a long time with very little advantage on either side. Brazil, being at last induced to interfere, sent to the governments of England and France to request their help in compelling the combatants to lay down their arms. Both these powers sent some ships of war to the Rio de la Plata in 1845, and blockaded Montevideo, the former till 1848 and the latter till 1849, when they made treaties with the ruler of Buenos Ayres. The Argentine provinces of Corrientes and Entre Rios joined Rosas, and the war continued till 1851, when Oribe was defeated and his patron shortly afterward deposed. Peace was now secured, and treaties were entered into with foreign states, one concluded in Jan. 1859 with Brazil and the Argentine Confederation securing the independence and neutrality of the state; but internal discord still prevailed, and has kept the affairs of the country in a most disorganized condition down to the present time. Bernardo Prudencio Berro is now president, having been elected for 4 years in March, 1860.

URUGUAY, a river of South America, which rises on the W. slope of a range of hills in the N. part of the province of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, about lat. 28° S., long. 50° W. After flowing N. W. for about 100 m., it is joined on the right by the Pelotas, by which name it is sometimes known in this part of its course, and' then assumes a W. direction until it is joined from the N. by the Repiri, which separates Brazil from the state of Corrientes in the Argentine Confederation. Its course is now S. S. W. for perhaps 250 m., during which it receives the Ibicui, Arapey, and other important affluents, and separates Brazil and Uruguay on the left from the Argentine Confederation on the right. From the town of Belen in Uruguay, at the mouth of the Arroyo-Arapey, its direction is almost due S. for 400 m., when it unites with the Parana to form the Rio de la Plata, in lat. 34° S., long. 61° 40′ W. The most considerable of all its tributaries is the Rio Negro, which joins it from Uruguay, 50 m. above its mouth. Its whole length is 800 m. It is navigable by sailing barks to a point 40 m. below the Ibicui, the N. boundary of the republic of Uruguay. There is here a cataract, above which the river is navigable by large canoes to the mouth of the Pelotas. Its banks are extremely fertile, and produce cotton and maté or Paraguay tea, but they are little cultivated.

USBECKS. See TURKS.

USES. The word usus was employed in the Roman civil law, and there meant a right to take so much of the fruit or profit of a thing as was needed for sustenance; while usufructus had a larger meaning, including a qualified right of possession. In the law of England and the United States, the word use has a precise meaning, which is similar to that of the fidei commissum of the Roman law. It means a confidence reposed in one who has the property (or to whom it is given) in possession, that he will hold it for the use or benefit of another, who is called in Norman French the cestuy que use. A Roman magistrate (a prætor) was charged with the enforcement of these fidei commissa, and was called commissarius. When uses became common in England, the chancellor, under whose jurisdiction they passed, had much the same duty to perform as the Roman commissarius; and indeed Lord Bacon calls this magistrate a Roman chancellor.-Uses were invented in England to avoid and defeat the statutes of mortmain (see TRUST); and to protect those statutes against uses, the statute of 27 Henry VIII., commonly called the statute of uses, was enacted. This statute provided that any person or corporation entitled to a use in fee simple, fee tail, or otherwise, should stand seized and possessed of the land itself, in the like estate which they had in the use; the intention being to subject a conveyance to the use of any one, and the property and the cestuy que use, to the same legal restraints and liabilities as if the conveyance had been made directly to the cestuy que use. This statute was said, in legal phraseology, "to execute the use." It was intended to prevent conveyances to use, by making them of no effect where they violated the statutes of mortmain, and of no more effect than a direct conveyance where they did not. Still such uses as the law permitted, or as courts of equity could protect, were found to be exceedingly convenient, and became common; and courts of equity retained their hold upon them, the person to whom the conveyance was made being considered as having the legal estate, subject to the rules of law and the jurisdiction of courts of law, while the cestuy que use has an equitable estate subject to the rules and the courts of equity. This is now the prevailing condition of the law of uses in England and in the United States. But the whole system of law and of equity in regard to uses has become as intricate and extensive as it is important. Here we can do no more than indicate the principal rules of this system. There can be no use, unless: 1, there is a person capable in law of taking it; 2, a person capable in law of being seized of the property to the use of the other; 3, an express declaration of use, or a consideration and a transfer or contract from which the court will imply a use; and 4, sufficient estate or property or interest to sustain a use. Then, if a use exists which the courts can recognize, it is descendible, or heritable, or devisable, or transferable accord

ing to the rules of law or equity, in conformity with the provisions in the instrument creating the use. If the cestuy que use of land be married, his widow has no dower, nor the husband of a cestuy que use a tenancy by courtesy, because the cestuy que use has no seisin, nor can he bring an action at law respecting it. The seisin is in the feoffee-to-use, and while his legal estate is subject to all legal incidents at law, equity will subject all these legal incidents to the equitable requirements of the use.-Trusts and uses are often spoken of together, and from the article on TRUSTS their similarity, or analogy, will be seen. They are however different in important particulars; but the rules of law which define this difference are so nice and technical, and still open to so much question, that our space does not permit us to present them with sufficient fulness to be useful.

USHANT (Fr. Ouessant), the chief island of a cluster of 7, known collectively as îles d'Ouessant, situated about 15 m. from the coast of France, off the W. coast of the department of Finistère, of which they form a canton, and 28 m. W. N. W. from Brest; extreme length 5 m., breadth 3 m.; pop. 2,271. The shores of Ushant are bold and rocky, and landing is only practicable in a few places. The formation is almost entirely granitic, and the soil is fertile, the surface being covered with excellent meadows and pasture lands, upon which horses and sheep are reared. The inhabitants are principally occupied in fishing, and paganism was said to linger among them till the 17th century. The lighthouse on Ushant is situated in lat. 48° 28' N., long. 5° 3′ W. Off Ushant the British fleet under Sir Edward Hawkes gained a complete victory over the French under Admiral Conflans in 1759; and an indecisive action took place between the English under Admiral Keppel and the French under Count d'Orvilliers in 1778.

USHER (Fr. huissier), a public officer having charge of the door of a court or hall, and hence one whose business it is to introduce strangers and perform other similar duties. There are various officers of this kind attached to the royal household in England, including the gentleman usher of the black rod, who attends in the house of peers during the sessions of parlia ment, and 12 or more gentleman ushers. There is also an usher of the exchequer, who attends the barons and other officers of that court. The term is also applied to an under or assistant master in a school.

USHER, JAMES, an Irish prelate, born in Dublin, Jan. 4, 1580, died in Reigate, Surrey, March 21, 1656. He was educated at Trinity college, Dublin, being one of the first 3 students admitted. He began the study of theology in 1598, took the degree of M.A. in 1600, was ordained priest in 1601, and soon after received the appointment of "Sunday afternoon preacher before the state" in Christ church, Dublin. He was chosen professor of divinity in his college in 1607, and in the same year was made chancellor of the cathedral of St. Patrick. In 1620

King James nominated him to the see of Meath; in 1623 he was made a member of the Irish privy council; and in Jan. 1624, he was raised to the archbishopric of Armagh and the primacy of the Irish church. In 1640 he visited England, and during his absence his house at Armagh was destroyed by the rebels (1641), and with it he lost nearly every thing he possessed. In the state of the country it was thought needless to return to his archbishopric, and Charles I. conferred upon him the bishopric of Carlisle, to be held in commendam. In 1647 he was chosen preacher to the society of Lincoln's Inn, and preached regularly in the chapel during term time for nearly 8 years. He was buried in Westminster abbey by order of Cromwell. His principal works are: De Ecclesiarum Christianarum Successione et Statu (London, 1613); "Emanuel, or a Treatise on the Incarnation of the Son of God" (Dublin, 1638); Britannicarum Ecclesiarum Antiquitates (Dublin, 1639); De Romanæ Ecclesia Symbolo (London, 1647); Dissertatio de Macedonum et Asianorum Anno Solari (1648); Annales Veteris et Novi Testamenti (2 vols. fol., 1650-'54); Epistola ad Ludovicum Capellum de Variantibus Textus Hebraici Lectionibus (1652); "The Reduction of Episcopacy to the Form of the Synodical Government in the Ancient Church" (1658); and Chronologia Sacra (1660). A complete edition of his works has been published by the Dublin university in 17 vols.

USQUEBAUGH (Irish, uisge, water, and bagh, life), the Irish name for distilled spirit, whence the modern word whiskey. It is now applied to a liquor compounded of brandy, raisins, cinnamon, and other spices.

USUMASINTA RIVER. See GUATEMALA. USURY. Originally this word meant any taking of money for the use of money; and he was therefore a usurer who, lending money, required in repayment any thing more than the amount which he lent. This was once considered a great moral wrong, and the greater the more was taken. For many ages, however, this opinion, if it has not ceased to exist, has lost much of its practical or legal force. It is no longer deemed more wrong to take pay for the use of money than for the use of a house, or a horse, or any other property. But the lingering influence of the former opinion, together with the fact that the nature of money makes it easier for the lender to oppress the borrower, has caused nearly all Christian nations to fix by law the rate of compensation for the use of money. If compensation be taken within this limitation of law, it is called interest; but if more be taken than the law allows, this is, in the present meaning of the word, usury. (See INTEREST.) The opinion that money should be borrowed and repaid, or bought and sold, upon whatever terms the parties should agree to, like any other property, has of late years gained ground almost everywhere; and where usury laws are in force, this opinion has perhaps exerted some influence upon adjudication. In

England, in the reign of Henry VIII., interest at 10 per cent. was made lawful; in the time of James I. it was reduced to 8 per cent.; during the commonwealth it was 6 per cent., and this was again enacted by 12 Charles II.; the statute of 12 Anne reduced it to 5 per cent. The act 3 and 4 William IV. exempted from the operation of the usury laws bills having more than 3 months to run. After several modifications in the reign of Victoria, the act 17 and 18 Victoria, ch. 90, repealed all laws then in force relating to usury; providing only that the rights and remedies of persons in respect to acts previously done, should not be affected by the statute. In the United States, the usury laws differ in different states, and are not perhaps precisely the same in any two. In Louisiana 5 per cent. is the legal rate; in New York, South Carolina, Georgia, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota, it is 7 per cent.; in Alabama, Florida, and Texas, 8 per cent.; in California, Kansas, and Oregon, 10 per cent.; in all the other states it is 6 per cent. But the statutes vary exceedingly as to the legal effects of usury. In some, the parties may agree on what rate they will, and the legal rate takes effect only in the absence of agreement; in others, the whole contract is avoided by a reservation or agreement for more than the legal rate. Regarding these as extremes, in much the greater number the penalty for usury lies between them. In some states the legal rate takes effect when there is no agreement, but the parties may agree for more up to a certain definite limit.-There are many ways in which the usury laws may be evaded, and courts watch contracts liable to this abuse with great strictness. Some principles may be gathered from the adjudications, which may be regarded as prevalent, if not universal. Thus, to constitute usury, there must be substantially a loan, and a usurious intent in both parties, in one to give and in the other to take usurious interest. But the contract need not be, in form, a loan; and whether it is so in fact, is a question for a jury. Property may be sold for whatever price the parties agree upon; but if the sale be in fact a mere cover for the usury, it does not protect it. Negotiable paper may be sold like other paper. The cases on this subject are numerous, nice, and perhaps conflicting; but it may be stated as a general rule, that if it is in fact the promissor who sells, and the buyer buys even through an agent, but with knowledge that he buys of the promissor, it is in fact and in law a loan from the buyer, and may therefore be usurious. Even if a statute declares a usurious contract "void," in the most emphatic language, the law looks upon it rather as "voidable;" and therefore no one can make the objection of usury but the borrower and the parties in privity of interest and contract with him. So, if one borrows stock, agreeing to replace it with the dividends received in the mean time, or if he agrees to replace it, or the money it sells for, with interest

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