Dear Sir,

Under an impression that this note—as being written in a hand unknown to you and signed by an equally unknown name—might be consigned to the wastepaper basket before it has been read—I may assure you at once that it is not a circular, a begging letter, an appeal for testimonials, &c &c &c but a simple matter of business in which you are yourself concerned. And this it is. The recent death of my brother, and of a nephew, the last of three children of an only sister, has left myself and her the sole survivors of our family; and to myself the ownership of some real property not altogether inconsiderable in value.¹ I have bequeathed the reversion of this to you;² because I consider that you, more than any man now living, have extended the boundaries of human knowledge, by surpassing genius, long years of persistent labour, unendowed, and in a worldly sense unremunerative; and because it affords me an opportunity of giving effect to a sentiment which I have long entertained and frequently expressed, that under circumstances like my own the first to be remembered should be those whose abilities and exertions have been devoted bravely and boldly and persistently for the benefit of all mankind instead of their own immediate advantage.

I have thought it best to break through ceremony, and address you directly and at once, rather than leave my intentions to come out as a surprise after my decease, for reasons which are obvious when one has to deal with real estate. And if you will oblige me wi1th a line to let me know that these lines have come into your hands and been read by yourself, I will in return make you acquainted with the nature and value of the property, and all the details which it will be advisable for you to know.

I am, dear Sir | Your obliged & obed^t. Serv^t. | Anthony Rich

Charles Darwin Esq^re | &c &c &c