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Letter #32

The news from Matsuki is certainly exciting to the last degree! I can hardly believe it. It was a whirlwind campaign, and I think you showed good generalship in your management of it. It is a good thing that there are men of the energy, interest, and even wildness of Matsuki; for they "do things", though they are untrustworthy and hard to manage. I congratulate you most heartily on the acquirement of this Kakei treasure, which can be of [[strikethrough]] only [[/strikethrough]] secondary importance to the Ririomins alone. Those two head the two greatest schools of Chinese art. 

Kobayashi must have had quite an experience with the wreck of the "Mongolia". Doubtless he has many treasures in his trunks with him, and must have been very anxious. I can see by the photos which you sent that the three "Takuma" pictures are modern and poor. The so-called Kawanari is what we used to call "Tempei", but a late phase of it overlapping Kobo Daishi's return from China. It has no relation to Kawanari, and has evidently, as you say, best much worn and re-touched. It is of course older in style than any Japanese Buddhist painting you have. I cannot judge from the photograph whether the defects are so grave as to make it ineligible, but should rather think so. 

It will be very interesting to have the Havemeyers with you next week, to see your collection. I think it will make H.O.[[p]]H.'s few hairs stand up, to see it! It's a charitable thing to keep him in mind that people do exist who know something, besides himself. Should my name be mentioned, I should be glad to have you tell him of my prospective book, if you care to. Doubtless you will want to show him the Ririomins; and so I write for more minute instructions. If it happens that we cannot finish by Friday, then it lies thus. On Saturday the storehouse is open only from 9 to 12, practically precluding work. Sunday it is shut. We should therefore have to finish, if at all, on the early days of the following week. Now, would you be willing that we break the rule of night-returning for the one case of Saturday and Sunday, so that we could work on those days?