Sentence:  Finding that I could not get an answer to my request from the trustees of the British Museum, I have come to the conclusion that these gentlemen did a great injustice in selling my collection at public auction, which was done for no other purpose than that of throwing my valuable specimens into the hands of some of their friends, in order to purchase it <WSD>secondhanded</WSD> from them. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  In a used condition.