180 
expressed suspicion and alarm. He said 
it was very odd that I should come into his 
bed-room first, before going into the 
dining-room below. I answered that I 
had dined in town, and, knowing that the 
family were at dinner down stairs, I had 
come to visithim, Upon this, he made a 
reply which surprised me exceedingly : it 
was to this effect—that I seemed particu- 
larly grave in my manner, and that some- 
thing must have happened amiss, He then 
asked me abruptly whether I had any thing 
unpleasant to tell him? Tanswered, ‘ No; 
‘that [ was surprised at his question, and 
the manner in which it was proposed.’ 
He then said, ‘ the truth was, that he had 
reason to be suspicious in some degree, 
but that he hoped that I would be the last 
person who would engage in any thing that 
would be injurious to him.’ His manner 
of saying this was so unusual and so dis- 
turbed, as to satisfy me that he was, at the 
moment, labouring under mental delusion. 
I entreated him to be very tranquil, and 
prescribed for him some more cooling and 
aperent medicines, confined him to barley- 
water, and allowed him slops only. I re- 
mained with him during Saturday night, 
and till one o’clock on Sunday morning. 
Though his fever was not very high during 
any part of this time, yet the incoherence 
of his speech, and the uncomfortableness 
of his manner, continued unaltered. 
During Sunday I visited him frequently, 
and continued with him in the evening 
tillhalt-past 12 o’clock. I-advised him to 
be as tranquil as possible, and told him that 
I would endeavour to persuade my lady to 
come to bed, I slept in a room very near 
that of his lordship. On Monday morn- 
ing, about 7 o’clock, Mrs. Robinson, my 
Lady Londonderry’s maid, came to my 
room door, and asked if I was dressed, 
telling me, ‘my lord wished to see me by- 
and-bye.’ I answered, that I was ready to 
come that moment; but Mrs. Robinson 
said, that she did not wish me to come 
then, because her ladyship had not left the 
bed-room. In about half an hour, she re- 
turned again, and said, that his lordship 
would be glad to see me immediately, as 
her ladyship was putting on her gown, in 
order to go into her own dressing-room. 
On walking from my own room to Lord 
Londonderry’s bed-room, I observed that 
the door of the latter was open, and could 
perceive that his lordship was not in it. 
In an instant Mrs. Robinson said to me, 
‘His lordship has gone into his dressing- 
room.’ I stepped into his dressing-room, 
and saw him in his dressing-gowu, stand- 
ing with his front towards the windaw, 
which was opposite to the door at which 
Tentered. His face was directed towards 
the ceiling. Without turning his head, on 
the instant he heard my step, he exclaimed, 
“ Bankhead, let me fall upon your arm— lis 
all. over.” As quickly as possible I ran to 
The Marquess of Londonderry. 
[Sept. 1, 
him, thinking he was fainting and going to 
fall. I caught him in my arms as he was 
falling, and perceived that he had a knife 
in his right hand, very firmly clinched, and 
all over bloed. I did not see him use it: 
he must have used it before T came into 
the room. In falling he declined upon one 
side, and the blood burst from him like 
a torrent from a watering-pot. I was 
unable to suppoit him, and he fell ont of 
my arms. I think the wound must have 
been inflicted as soon as I put my foot on 
the threshold of the door, as its nature 
was such that the extinction of life must 
have followed it in the twinkling of an eye. 
I think that not less than two quarts of 
blood flowed from him in one minute. I 
am satisfied that a minute did not elapse 
from the moment of my entering the room 
until he died, and during that time he said 
not a word except that which I have 
already mentioned. It wasimpossible that 
any human being could have inflicted the 
wound but himself. Having known him 
intimately for the last thirty years, I have 
no hesitation in saying that he was per- 
fectly insane when he committed this act. 
I had noticed a great decline in the gene- 
ral habit of his health for some weeks 
prior to his death ; but I was not aware of 
the mental delusion under which he was 
labouring till within three or four days of 
his decease.” Dr. Bankhead also put in 
as evidence the following letter, addressed 
to him on Friday by the Duke of We - 
LINGTON: 
“‘ Dear Sir—I called upon you with the 
intention of talking to you on the subject 
of the health of Lord Londonderry, and to 
request of you that you will call on him. 
I told his lordship that he was unwell, and 
particularly requested him to send for you, 
but, lesthe shouldnot, I sincerely hope that 
you will contrive, by some pretence, to go 
down to his lordship. I have no doubthe 
is very unwell: he appears to me to have 
been exceedingly harassed, much fatigued, 
and over-worked during the late session of 
parliament; and I have no doubt he la- 
bours under mental delirium ; at least, this 
is my impression. I beg you’llnever men- 
tion to any body what J have told you re- 
specting his lordship.” 
The jury, of course, brought in a verdict 
of insanity, and his remains have since been 
interred in Westminster Abbey. In ad- 
dition to these common-place facts, we 
may be permitted, as personal observers 
of the departed minister, and of his mea- 
sures, to state our opinions of his public cha- 
racter. Politics, and public affairs, were 
identified with his existence, and consti- 
tuted at once his business and bis plea- 
sures, and he pursued them with incessant 
and unwearied activity. But, unhappily, 
his industry was directed by none of those 
liberal principles which have been esta- 
blished by reason, philosophy, and the 
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