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THE CHURCH MISSIONARY GLEANER.

little we can know of the times and the seasons' which are in His power alone! But to return to our present difficulties. What would you say to proposing a meeting of workers to see if we cannot set some matters straight by talking over them a little together?

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"And oh, Mrs. Weston," added Rose," could not we get Miss Thornley to come down? the lady, you know, Miss S-, who taught me how to write Hindustani texts. My sister writes word that she is coming to stay with some friends at M--; that is not far off, and if we could induce her to come and hold a drawing-room meeting here, she might just be the person to fan up the dying flame. I never heard anything more stirring than her accounts, and she seems to know all about everything-connected with Indian mission work, I mean."

All agreed gladly, and the result was, first an invitation to Miss Thornley to come for a day or two to the Rectory, and then a summons to all the auxiliary collectors and former members of working parties and some of their immediate friends, to come to a gathering at the Rectory to hear that lady give some account of her experiences in missionary life abroad.

A LADY'S THOUSAND-MILE JOURNEY WITH

INDIANS.

T will be remembered that when Bishop Bompas returned to his great northern diocese after his consecration in May, 1874, he took Mrs. Bompas with him. She has braved with him the hardships of the inhospitable regions of Athabasca since then, but this year she has been compelled to seek renewed health in a milder climate, and has therefore come down to Manitoba, leaving the Bishop to continue his long journeys over the snow alone. The distance from Fort Chipewyan, Lake Athabasca, to Mrs. Bompas does Red River is more than a thousand miles. not say how long it took her to traverse this distance, but when her husband came to England in 1872 to be consecrated, he was nearly three months doing that part of the journey, in boats and on foot. Her letter is another testimony to the happy results of the preaching of the Gospel in those vast territories:

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I am very thankful to have come to the end of my long journey from Athabasca, which, by God's mercy, I accomplished with less fatigue than I anticipated. I met with much kindness on my way at the various mission stations, and also at the Company's Forts, and I visited many Indian camps, where one seldom fails to meet with a hearty welcome. Sometimes I had prayers with some of the women and children in my tent. They seem to like to come, and enjoy singing hymns. Mr. Mackay has translated "Hold the Fort," and "The sweet by and bye," and "I am going home," into Cree, and they are great favourites, as are also " Nearer my God to Thee" and "Jerusalem the Golden." I was much interested in the Indians at Stanley Mission. There are about 500 there. My boat's crew from Isle á la Crosse to Cumberland was composed of Stanley men, and a more orderly, well conducted set I never saw. They had a nice little service every morning and evening among themselves, which I almost always attended; it consisted of a hymn (beautifully sung in parts), a few words of Scripture, and a few of the Church prayers. Some days the poor men were quite worn out with hard work at the portages, and for two days their provisions ran short, and they were nearly starving, but they sang their hymn and had prayers without fail, and when relief came, in the shape of two canoes bringing bags of flour and pemmican, their shout of delight, I think, must almost have reached Salisbury Square!

I spent a very happy Sunday at the Cumberland Mission. Mr. B. McKenzie, you know, is in charge there; he is a most intrepid and devoted worker, and has accomplished more in the fourteen months he has been there than any one would think possible; a good-sized house is built, and a school-room and temporary church nearly finished, and he has already quite a large congregation of Indians; he speaks to them through an interpreter, but he conducts the service in Cree, and even reads the lessons from the syllabics! He was (amid all his hard work) very short of supplies last winter, and it seems that the Cumberland Indians, fearing the same might occur again, subscribed together a sum of £22, and presented it to him.

I came with the Governor-General from the Grand Rapids. His Excellency and Lady Dufferin were kind enough to invite me to join their party, as they heard that I was anxious to get on.

I am thankful to find all my powers gradually returning, and the state of woful emaciation to which I was reduced giving way under the influences of milk and other luxuries, of which I was deprived at Athabasca. I deplore my having to leave my work so soon, but I earnestly trust in God's mercy to bring me back to it again in the early spring.

FORTY DIFFERENT CASTES. RAVANCORE is a strip of country in the south-west of India, between the Ghaut mountains and the sea. It is an independent Native State under British protection, and has a population of 2,300,000, about two-thirds that of Scotland. Two or three years ago, the Maharajah took a census of his people, and among the facts ascertained by it was the astonishing one that there are among them no less than 420 separate castes; and though most of these are not easy to distinguish, seventy-five of them really mark separate classes of society. In the remarkable picture on the following page, engraved from a photograph kindly lent us by the Rev. W. Johnson of Alleppey, about forty of these are represented, almost all the figures being of different castes. It is a wonder how the group was collected We are indebted also to together to be photographed.

Mr. Johnson for the following interesting notes:

1. A cobbler. A well-known man in Alleppey, who is Priest of his caste, and who once professed his willingness to become a Christian.

2. A Syrian widow woman belonging to the St. Thomas' Christians of Travancore. One who has been employed as mission servant to the school children at Alleppey.

The first of his caste

3. A Cunnar Pullayan of the name of Paul. who joined the Church of England in Travancore. The women of his The account of his concaste wear long dried grass instead of clothes. version was given in the C.M.S. Record for April, 1875.

4. A man of the Carpenter caste showing his trade tools, which produce such wondrous carving, &c.

5. A Parsee Priest. He is paid to keep alive the fire in the Temple. There are no Parsees in the town, but the Temple being built the fire must be kept alive.

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6. A Pandee Pillai. A boy in the school of the Travancore GovernEducated Native," or one ment, and one who rejoices in the title of an who can read, write, and talk English. 7. A Protestant Syrian woman, the wife of the Anglo-Vernacular Schoolmaster. Her father and mother firm members of our Church. 8. A convert girl of the Fisher caste with a grinding-stone, used for He is an old mission 9. A Pattanee, a caste of Mohammedans. preparing curry for the meals. servant, who in heart believes the Gospel, but fears to confess Christ. 10. Á Sudra of the Nunganard caste, many of whom are employed as writers in the service of the Maharajah of Travancore.

11. A Nair, of Travancore Sudra caste, who holds office as Saur Natha pillay (a post of trust) under the Travancore Government. 12. A Nunganard Sudra, of not quite the same social position as

No. 10.

13. Another caste among the Western Coast Mohammedans. A Cutch boy, or the child of a Mohammedan who originally came from the Run of Cutch

14 A Protestant school-girl, whose father and mother were Christians. With a broom made from the hard part of the cocoa-nut leaf, and used by natives generally for domestic purposes. To be beaten by a broom is considered a great indignity.

15. A Jonagan, or Hindu, who has become a prevert to Mohammedanism.

16. A Maratha Brahmin, holding an important post as Sheristadah to the Government of the Rajah of Travancore.

17. A Protestant school-girl, the grand-daughter of the first convert in the Alleppey district.

18. A man of the Cutch merchant caste, a well-known horse-dealer. 19., A Peon, or policeman, employed by the Travancore Government. 20. A Syrian Protestant schoolmaster, the husband of figure No. 14, educated in the Cottayam Mission College.

21. A Subadah, or inferior officer in the troop known as the Nair Brigade of the Maharajah of Travancore. The whole regiment is formed of Nairs or Sudras commanded by English officers. 22. A Drummer in the Nair Brigade.

23. A Cosarmee, or Hindoo mendicant and vegetarian.

24. A Protestant convert from the Aaryain or Fisher caste in Travancore, who was brought to the truth by the late Rev. J. Peet. 25. One of the line in the Nair Brigade of the Maharajah.

26. Rama Swami, or a man of the Eastern Coast Brahmins. A man who knows English, and who has been instructed in the truth, but who cannot openly confess Christ.

27. An Aaryan caste man, one whose whole time is taken up in fishing and rowing. Only one or two families have embraced Christianity. 28. A Cosarmee, or Holy Mendicant of the Maratah caste.

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29. A Protestant school-boy whose parents were the converts of the late Rev. T. Norton, who laboured for 23 years in Alleppey.

30. A Chatryan caste man. He is manager of the large properties belonging to the Parsee Temple at Alleppey. The members of his caste are not very numerous in Travancore. 31. A full private " in the Nair Brigade. 32. A Vallarien, or Eastern Coast Sudra.

The postman of the
town of Alleppey.
33. A Nair woman,
a trained nurse in the
Government Hospital
at Alleppey.

34. A Pandee Pariah girl of the lowest caste,

a grass-cutter.

35. An Aaryan, a
sea-coast fisherman.
36. A Cosarmee, or

Holy Mendicant of
another order.
37. A Mohammedan
of the lowest order of
Moslems.

38. A Chogan, or Cocoa-nut tree climb

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ing caste.

woman.

42. A holy beggar 43. A man of the "Washerman caste." A caste very well known and universally disliked by Europeans,

as they destroy the English clothes more by their washing than their owners do by wearing them.

44. A school-girl in the Mission school, with a native wickerwork tray, used to sift rice from the husk.

In the articles on the Religions of India, begun in our present number, the subject of Caste will be referred to, and our readers will be able to appreciate the enormous obstacle its bondage presents to the spread of that Gos

pel which makes all

men one in Christ Jesus.

INDIA AND THE

C.M.S.

1T is a constant perplexity how to divide the narrow space afforded by the twelve monthly pages of the GLEANER among the various Missions of the C.M.S.; and certainly INDIA has not of late Last had its fair share. year, China and Africa between them occupied almost half our whole space. This year we must do India a little more justice.

For India absorbs a large part of the Society's enerWe gies and resources.

have there 73 stations, 120 European missionaries, 95 Native clergy, 2,400 Native teachers, 1,070 schools, 43,000 scholars, 78,000 Native Christians. year there were 1,230 adult The work is. baptisms.

Last

carried on in twelve or fourteen different languages. Nearly half of the Society's foreign expenditure is devoted to its Indian Missions; and considerable sums beyond this are contributed on the spot by the English officers and civilians resident in the country. And although the progress of the work seems slow to us, Sir Bartle Frere has said that "the teaching of Christianity in India is effecting changes-moral, social, and political-which for extent and rapidity are far more extraordinary than anything that has been witnessed in modern Europe."

to preWe hope this year sent a large number of pictures from India; and three of the series of articles announced, two of which are begun in this number, deal To with Indian Missions. illustrate the first chapter of one of them, which will be found on the next page, we annex a picture exemplifying the ancient sacred architecture of the Hindus. It represents the ruined portico of one of the temples of Siva at Conjeveram, fortyfive miles from Madras.

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TEMPLE OF SIVA AT CONJEVERAM.

THE TRIDENT, THE CRESCENT, AND THE CROSS. Gleanings from Vaughan's Religious History of India.

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ONTH after month we have to use in the pages of the GLEANER words which can have but a very doubtful meaning for very many of its tens of thousands of readers. We speak of Moslem, and Buddhist, and Hindu, of Brahmin and Sudra, of high-caste, low-caste, and out-caste; and it is impossible, every time these are referred to, to stop and explain the exact meaning of the terms; and yet it is certain that they convey to many people who are not at all ignorant, very vague ideas indeed. Let the reader of these lines just ask himself what he would say if he had to answer such questions as, What is a Buddhist? What is a Brahmin ? What is caste?

We propose, in the present series of articles, to provide simple answers to these and similar questions. But the articles have other designs besides this. For one thing, we wish to introduce to such of our readers as may be able and desirous to go further into the subject, a valuable book published last year, The Trident, the Crescent, and the Cross, by the Rev. James Vaughan, C.M.S. missionary in Bengal. Our plan is just to take this book as our guide, and endeavour to put into simple language its more simple parts. It is " a View of the Religious History of India during the Hindu, Buddhist, Mohammedan, and Christian Periods; and its title, which we borrow as a title for our papers, is explained by the fact that the Trident, the three-pronged fork, which appears upon every Siva temple in India, is the symbol of Hinduism, the Crescent of Mohammedanism, and the Cross of Christianity. Buddhism has no symbol, but Mr. Vaughan gives reasons for including it under the Trident.

Another object we have in view is to call forth sympathy in behalf of our Indian fellow-subjects. England has just raised a noble sum for the relief of their bodily needs; but they are suffering, and have been suffering for centuries, from a far more terrible famine than that of which we have lately heard so much, even the hunger of the soul. We may truly say of them that they have been in the "far country," away from the Father's Home, and, in a spiritual sense, would fain have filled their bellies with the husks that the swine did eat; and no man gave unto them." The history of their searchings after a religion that would satisfy them is inexpressibly touching. May this attempt to tell the mournful story lead many who have themselves fed upon the Bread of Life to hear and obey the Lord's command,

Give them to eat! ye

I. THE EARLY HINDUS.

What is a Hindu? Most people would reply, a native of India. But that is not at all a correct answer. India was inhabited by several races before the Hindus appeared there, and many millions of souls belonging to those races still dwell in the hills and in the south. Ages ago, perhaps as far back as the time of Abraham, a mighty host came over the mountains from Central Asia down into the plains of India, and, driving the previous inhabitants before them, took possession of the land. They called themselves Arya, "noble," and were a part of what is known as the Aryan family of mankind, the same family to which belong almost all the nations of Europe, but not the Turks, nor the Jews, nor the Negroes, nor the Chinese, nor the Red Indians of America.

Crossing the great river Indus to enter India, they took from it a new name, Hindus (sometimes spelt Hindoos). But in course of time the word Hindu came to mean any one who professed the Hindu religion, and no one else. Many of the Hindu race have (as we shall see) become Mohammedans, and not a few of them have become Christians; and by so doing they cease to be Hindus, in the common meaning of the word;

just as a convert from Judaism is not usually still called a Jew, although of the Jewish race. On the other hand, the greater part of the nations that were in India before the Aryans came in adopted the Hindu religion, and are accordingly reckoned among the Hindus, though not of the Aryan family. Most of the Native Christians in Tinnevelly, for instance, are not Hindus by race, though they (or their parents) were once Hindus by religion.

"God

The common origin of the European nations (including ourselves) and the Aryan invaders of India, can be traced in their languages. Thus, in Sanscrit (the ancient Hindu language) is Deva; in Latin it is Deus, in Greek Theos, in French Dieu; and we English have the words Deity, Divine, &c. But this interesting subject is too large to enter upon now. Can we ascertain what kind of people these early Hindus There still exist were, and what was their religion? We can. some ancient writings called the Vedas, written in Sanscrit, the old sacred language of India. The first of these, the Rig-Veda, is believed to have been written before the time of Samuel, and if so, is the oldest book in the world, except the Five Books of Moses. (The Chaldean tablets lately discovered can scarcely be called books.) The word Veda simply means knowledge; and the name was given to the writings as being the storehouse of sacred knowledge which had before been unwritten. They contain hymns and prayers, which had no doubt been in use long before they were thus written down; directions about worship, like rubrics; and some teaching in prose, of a very mystical character. There are 1,017 prayers and hymns in the Rig-Veda alone. Then, at a much later date, come certain law-books, the principal of which is called the Institutes of Manu, and which tell us much about the family and social life of the early Hindus; and then later still, perhaps about the time of Daniel or Ezra, come the famous epic poems called the Ramayan and the Mahabharat. These law-books and poems are the Shasters, so often spoken of in connection with the religions of India.

The Hindus, from first to last, have been a peculiarly religious people. Religion with them is a real thing, a thing of daily life. In their eyes the ordinary Englishman is a most irreligious being, not because he has a faith different from theirs, but because he seems to them to have none at all. And, sad to say, they have had only too much cause to think so of many of the Englishmen who have lived among them. It is interesting to examine the belief, the worship, the rules of life of such a people. It is especially instructive to trace out, in the hoary records of the past, the purer religion of their earlier days. It is saddening to observe the downward course they have been taking all through these thousands of years. And it is a joyful thing to find some of them now beginning to find in the religion of the Cross a power and a peace which neither the Trident nor the Crescent has been able to give them.

"Could we," says Mr. Vaughan, "carry our researches backward to the time when the great Aryan family dwelt together in unbroken fellowship and primitive simplicity, we should probably find them in some sort worshipping the one true and living God." But they quickly lost the recollection of the God of Abel and Enoch and Noah; they had no Divine revelation to guide them; they looked up to the heavenly bodies, and saw in them, as they thought, the representatives of their Maker; and though at first they no doubt "looked through Nature up to Nature's God," they soon began to "worship the creature more than the Creator," and at last fell into the grossest idolatry. Yet God" left not Himself without witness amongst them. Fragments of the old truth remained. 'Through their whole religious history," says Mr. Vaughan, a voice which they could not silence seems to have ever cried, 'Though we may make gods many and lords many, yet God is one!' Even at the present day a Hindu, while acknowledging that India has

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330 millions of gods, always speaks of the great God as One; though he does not think of a personal Being, but will add, "and there is nothing else "-confounding God with the mateNo other heathen religion, again, has so profound rial universe. a sense of sin, and of the need of atonement; and the Hindus firmly believe that sacrifices are of Divine origin. In one case Hinduism seems to have a glimpse of one of the deepest truths of Christianity. One of the Vedas thus addresses Agni, the god of fire :

"One in thy essence, but to mortals three."

The "Trident" or three-pronged fork already referred to, is the And, as we shall see hereafter, if symbol of three in one. Christianity has a Trinity, Hinduism has a "Triad." The Rev. Professor Banerjea, of Calcutta, perhaps the very ablest of the Native Christians of India, believes (says Mr. Vaughan) these to be foreshadowings of the great Christian doctrine.

This chapter is but introductory. In our next we will look a little more closely at the early Hindus.

NEW YEAR'S DAY AT PALAMCOTTAH.

From a Letter from Bishop Sargent.

HIS day, January 1st, 1877, is set apart by royal proclamaThere were tion in honour of Queen Victoria, Empress of India. I had Tamil service this morning at 7.30. 892 persons in church. Then, at 10.30, began our several companies of visitors and congratulations. The number of visitors in various companies must have amounted to above 1,000. Very many bring a lime or two, which they put into our hand. The great majority of our visitors are Christians, but several heathen also called, but only from the higher classes and men in authority. Besides presenting limes or small lemons, they (the higher classes) place a garland of flowers on the neck. Sometimes these garlands are presented in such rapid succession that I have had as many as three or four on at Imagine each garland made up of flowers, chiefly the chrysanthemum, all strung as close together as possible, looking as thick as a lady's boa. I took the smallest of the sixteen garlands that were given us, called two of the schoolboys, told them to unravel it, and then count the number of flowers that had been employed. There were 273therefore, as the other garlands were larger a great deal than this, there could not have been less than 5,000 full-blown chrysanthemums expended on me alone. You may imagine how interesting I must have looked with three or four chrysanthemum boas at the same time around my neck. I have had the limes counted; there were above 900, with several oranges.

once.

All this scene is transacted in the large hall of my house. They expect me, as a minister of religion and an old man, to give them some word of advice and blessing; and I endeavour now and then to put in a word for the Master.

FROM LONDON TO METLAKAHTLA.

AST summer the Society sent out the Rev. A. J. Hall
to reinforce Mr. Duncan's Mission at Metlakahtla.
The following letter describes his journey, and what
There is of course
he saw when he got there.

nothing very new in it, but we think its pleasant account of the voyage, and of Niagara, and the other scenes en route, as well as of his first impressions of Metlakahtla itself, will interest our readers generally.

ACROSS THE ATLANTIC.

Here I am safe and sound, about 6,000 miles from my old home. I crossed the Atlantic without even a tendency to sea-sickness. I made four good meals every day, and slept well on the whole. I walked several miles each day round and round my floating palace. We had moonlight nights and splendid sunsets. This made the scene on deck very grand every evening. I often paced the deck till eleven P.M., and obtained the name of "peripatetic philosopher."

NEW YORK.

We arrived at New York Harbour about 5 P.M. on June 26th. The Every spot was clothed with bright scenery on the bank is lovely.

to gaze on the green islands and banks of the river.
foliage; after being out of sight of land for eight days, it was refreshing

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I stayed in this city three days; it was no use hurrying through to San Francisco, because my vessel did not sail thence till the 10th July. This gave me a week to spend on my way. The principal buildings of the city are very handsome-one is built entirely of marble. The atmosphere is very dry, and this makes the bricks retain their red colour and the stone buildings appear white and clean. One day I went up the Hudson River for 60 miles, returning the same day. The scenery here is said to be the finest in the world, and perhaps it is. For some distance perpendicular rocks called palisades rise 250 feet from the water, very imposing in their appearance-then we passed very large hills, in which were nestled large mansions and hotels, the summer abodes of the Americans.

NIAGARA.

On Saturday I reached Niagara Falls-how shall I describe the sight? I expected something grand, but they eclipsed all my anticipations. There are two islands in the river, and they divide the current of water into three parts and form three falls-The Horse Shoe, The American, The Bridal Veil. In the first place I got on to these islands, and then Twenty feet of solid water falls the falls were on each side of me. continuously, i.e., the water is 20 feet deep at the top of the falls, and it falls from 170 to 200 feet. The colours of the water as it falls have different shades of green and mauve, very brilliant. The setting sun was at my back, and this caused an immense rainbow to stretch Oh, it was really grand! I shall never across the foaming waters. I stood for nearly four hours gazing at the sight. If forget the scene. you followed the water down with your eye, it looked like a pillar of crystal. The spray gave an additional fringe to this massive column. I obtained this effect by my constant gazing. The water for some distance below the falls looked like boiling milk. And still I gazed at the tumbling mass of waters, but as the hymn says, "still there's more to follow," and I left the scene, and suppose the waters are rolling down yet. I obtained a ferry-boat, and crossed the river below the fallshere I had the best view of all; I could look up at the water and see all There was a strong wind on and I was drenched by three falls at once. the falling spray, but the sun quickly dried my clothing.

ACROSS THE WESTERN STATES.

At Chicago we waited three hours. Mr. Moody was away, so I did not see him. I went to his tabernacle, but it was closed, and I hurried back to my train. On we sped at 30 miles per hour. The waters of Lake crossed the dirty waters of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. Michigan for some distance were on our right, and before evening we Indian Corn was growing in large fields on each side of us. Millions of acres are grown in the States.

Tuesday, July 3rd.-Reached Omaha, 1,500 miles from New York. I was astonished to find the men very tall. The climate is healthy, and they live in the open air. I suppose this is the reason. Numbers of them are quite six feet in height, some taller. Another thing is, everybody here respects England and Englishmen. All the passengers were very kindof course they as a nation stood first, and England second. If you tell them they look and talk like Englishmen, you flatter them very much. They wanted me to pay 30 dollars at Omaha for excess of luggage. I told the station-master I was a missionary, and he kindly reduced it to 15 dollars, i.e., £3. (See picture on next page.)

July 4th.-Anniversary of American Independence. Fireworks and bonfires were displayed at all the stations, and the engines of the trains were gaily decorated with stars and stripes. I saw my first Red-skins I thought I to-day. A number of them were filed up as we passed by. There seemed written over their foreheads the words "Nobody cares." loved them as I looked at them-I felt they were peculiarly mine, and I afterwards met numbers of them I would gladly have spoken to them.

at the stations-they came to beg, and the squaws show their papouses, i.e., infants, to the ladies for money.

We now passed through large prairies. In all directions the ground Thousands of horned was as level as a table; not a bush was to be seen anywhere. The sun went down just as I had seen it set on the calm ocean. Men on horseback, with long whips, were encircling them. Droves of cattle were here grazing; I think I saw as many as 50,000 in one herd. horses almost as large were also being driven to the Eastern States.

On the 6th and 7th July, when passing through the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California, the scenery was beyond description. Snow-capped mountains were above us-verdant valleys and pleasant rivers below us at one time I could gaze into a valley 1,700 feet beneath me, and at another at red granite rocks 2,000 feet above, so that my neck ached with looking upwards.

(From San Francisco Mr. Hall went by steamer to Victoria, Vancouver's Island, and thence by another steamer to the Skeena River.)

CANOE VOYAGE TO METLAKAHTLA.

I landed at the mouth of the Skeena River early on Monday morning, August 6th. The Indians were expecting me, and soon had a large

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