From Agnes Taylor 20 March [1882]1
8 Rue Croix de Marbre | Au 2me. | Nice | France
20th. March
Sir,
I beg to apologize for troubling you, but I feel sure you will excuse me when I tell you I am writing on behalf of the Widow of the late Dr. Charles Beke, whose sad case, & claims are so well known. & for whom much sympathy has been expressed. Her trials & troubles for the past 8 years since the death of her husband have indeed been very great, & to add to them she has of late partially lost her sight, so that she has been, & is quite unable to pursue her Literary occupations, & her home has had to be broken up.2 The many powerfully signed Memorials which have been presented, amply testify that it is the sincere wish of all her Patrons & friends, that she should obtain the continuation of her Husband’s “Civil List Pension” but in this she has not been successful, so that her extreme need of help, makes me the more urgent in trying to get her a Permanent Annuity of not less than £50.
Towards this object I will gladly contribute £300 myself provided she can succeed in getting the remaining £500. necessary to effect this object. the value of which Annuity is about £800. I am happy to say from a letter received from the Premier I have reason to hope for assistance from “Royal Bounty Funds” so soon as I am able to submit to the Premier the amount I have collected.3 The proposal happily meets with the entire approval of the following Noblemen & Gentlemen who have promised me their assistance & support. As of course I shall have a great deal to do to get up the money—I shall be most thankful if you will benevolently send me a kind contribution out of sympathy for the Widow of one, whose Public Services in respect of Abyssinia, as well as his Literary, Scientific & Philanthropic Labours in which his wife so ably assisted him claim your sympathy & support.
I am, Sir, | Yrs. very faithfully | Agnes Taylor
Contributions Received
The Duke of Wellington4 £10.
The Earl of Malmesbury5 £5
———–
Contributions Promised
Myself——————–£300
Sir David L Salomons6 5
The Duke of Devonshire7 ?——–
The Duke of Bedford8 ?———–
P.S. | Permit me to beg that contributions be sent direct to Mrs. Beke’s account with
Messrs. Hammond & Co.
Canterbury Bank
Canterbury
Footnotes
Bibliography
Beke, Charles Tilstone. 1878. The late Dr. Charles Beke’s discoveries of Sinai in Arabia and of Midian. Edited by Emily Alston Beke. London: Trübner & Co.
Correspondence: The correspondence of Charles Darwin. Edited by Frederick Burkhardt et al. 29 vols to date. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1985–.
Summary
Seeking contributions to assist the widow of C. T. Beke.
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-13730
- From
- Agnes Taylor
- To
- Charles Robert Darwin
- Sent from
- Nice
- Source of text
- DAR 178: 52
- Physical description
- ALS 6pp
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 13730,” accessed on 18 April 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-13730.xml