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[[start page]] months in Peking, and do a certain amount of travelling to other points in China. He spoke, as had M. Chavannes, of [[underlined]] SCARCITY OF [[/underlined]] the increasing rarity of the class of books [[underlined]]CHINESE BOOKS [[/underlined]] most needed by us, and advised an immediate move on our part to obtain them. [[underlined]] LIBRARY [[/underlined]] In this connection, he suggested that the [[underlined]] COLLECTOR [[/underlined]] French school in Hanoi might spare us the services of a member of its staff who had acquired much experience in collecting for the Hanoi library, and was familiar with the whereabouts of native collections and the prices which should be paid for them. M. Pelliot was engaged on the text for his report on the frescoes discovered by him at T'ung Huan, of which he showed me the illustrations. [[underlined]] NEED OF [[/underlined]] In the course of conversation he inquired [[underlined]] EXPERT [[/underlined]] whether the American School would be prepared to [[underlined]] COPYIST [[/underlined]] share expenses with the French government in sending an artist to China to make copies of such fresco painting as could not be removed and was liable to destruction. I told him that I could, no doubt, secure for him the services of an American, Mr. Joseph Lindon Smith, whose work of this sort in Egypt with Dr. Reisner had proved of real arch^[[a]]eological importance. I further said that I would mention the subject in this report, though matters had not yet gone far enough with the foundation of the American School to be able to predict what should be our early activities. In my recommendations I mention the possibility of obtaining accurate copies of early wall paintings, but do not consider [[end page]]