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[[start page]] 60
different Provinces.  It was interesting to note that these gentlemen, without exception, had old books and manuscripts in their possession on which they set high value.
[[underline]]MISCHIEF OF DEALERS [[/underline]]
At the time of my visit to Peking the European dealers and their agents were there in force. While several of these men have a really extensive knowledge of Chinese art and its history and do more than scientists can toward disseminating a critical taste among their patrons, I regret that hitherto they have been the cause of much mischief. I refer not only to their instigating ignorant Chinese to mutilate ancient sculptures, ^[[(]]in a European country or in Japan this would make them liable to imprisonment^[[)]], but to the fact that several of their number have made excavations and scattered valuable material without keeping records and photographs of the conditions under which the objects were found. In this manner important sites are disturbed and all evidence concerning them is destroyed.