322 THE ESSEX NATURALIST
savings collapsed. The worry caused by his desperate financial
position, following on several years of indifferent health, led in the
year 1871 to a nervous breakdown, and the first few months of
that year were spent in the Quaker Mental Hospital, the "Re-
treat", at York. The tiny Quaker meeting at Epping paid the
cost of his treatment there and other friends assisted him
financially. Despite this help, it became clear that it would be
necessary for his property to be sold to reach a settlement with
his creditors, and while he was in hospital some friends decided
to form a Trust to purchase on his behalf his books and insects,
for they realised what a terrible blow to Doubleday it would be
if they were lost to him. His old friend Edward Newman was
the prime mover in this, and the Trustees appointed were George
Stacey Gibson of Saffron Walden, Joseph Gurney Barclay of
Lombard Street, London, and James Hack Tuke of Hitchin, all
men of known integrity.
His books and insects were duly purchased, and besides,
enough money was raised by Newman and his friends to give
Doubleday, for the rest of his life, a quarterly allowance sufficient
for his maintenance in the simple manner to which he had been
accustomed.
The remainder of Doubleday's property, consisting mainly of
English and foreign birds, and shells and fossils was sold by
auction at the Cock Hotel, Epping, on August 23rd, 1871, and
many of the birds bought at this sale eventually found a home
in our Museum, notably those purchased by Arthur Lister of
Leytonstone and A. H. Smee. There were 173 lots of birds, some
540 specimens in all, contained in 288 cases, and included were
such interesting specimens as the first recorded English Blue-
headed Wagtail, a White-winged Crossbill, and a Parrot-Crossbill,
which were both shot at Epping, 2 Fork-tailed Petrels from
Epping, and a Bittern from Coopersale, near Epping.
Despite, however, Doubleday's apparently complete recovery,
his health broke down again a few years later, and he died at
Epping on 29th June 1875. Newman wrote to a friend on the
day after his death:
"Our poor friend Doubleday is dead. He died yesterday
morning at 7 o'clock, and without much suffering; for the
last few days there had been no prospect of his recovery.
With him has died a larger amount of natural history
knowledge than has ever been possessed by any one of our
countrymen. What a pity that it should be lost forever!
He was so reluctant to write that I believe he has left no
documents behind him that will bear any evidence of the
amount of his knowledge".
His funeral was, like his life, simple and strictly after the
manner of Friends—and the headstone, mellowed with age,
marking his last resting place, can be seen in the grass-covered
burial ground behind the Quaker Meeting House at Epping.