def _escape(text)
    text.gsub(/[^-\w\d\/\n\r _:;+=.\@*,()#]/) do |x|
      case x
        when '"' : '"'
        when '\'' : '''
        when '<' : '<'
        when '>' : '>'
        when '&' : '&'
        else
            #"&##{x[0]};"   # this seemed to cause weird chars
            x
      end
    end
  end