The Express.
London, England, 1853-12-29 00:00:00

SUICIDE OF LIEUT,COLONEL LAYARD.

A very distressing case of suicide took place in
Dublin this mornimir, Lieut.-Colorel Layard, late
11.1'. for the borough of Carlow, having destroyed
himself by cutting his throat in a very frightful
manner with a razor. It appears that come a;arns
was given before the unfortunate gentleman was able
to complete the fatal act, and that his wife, wbo
called two other gentlemen residing in the house to
her aid, rushed into the room, and seized his arms ;
but the efforts of all three to prevent the accomplish-
ment of his purpose were unavailing, and he in-
flicted some *ashes on himself even while his wife
and the gentlemen in question were struggling to
hold him. ►here were seven wounds in all inflicted
on various parts of his throat, sad of these one was
au deep that it reached nearly to the rout of his
tongue. lh,atb ensued in about twenty minutes. It
is mid that depression of mind, arising from matters
of business, was the cause of the fatal deed.
Mr. Hyadmaa held ao inquest on the remains, at
the residence of the deceased, in South Frederick.
street, when the following witnesses came forward :
kin. Elisabeth Layard ',mined—The deteascd was my
Insalmad. I think that during the last three or four meths
he has hem strange in his manner, end subject to fits of
depressive. I never eppreheaded that he would make any
attempt cm his life la the latter part of yesterday be was
mote eseited than sisal, and cont.aued so during the
greater part of the night. I fell asleep about twelve et aim
o'clock. I saw him welkii g vehemently up and dews, sad
elesehiag his bends. It. apprehended that he would he
taken toe luaatic asylum. There was nothintis the Mate
isf his circling:ann. that ought to have &Maid him,
though the diminution of our mesas did prey epos his
wino. When 1 awoke this morning, about eight o'clock,
he seemed very much excited. lie asked me to give barn
some laudasum which I had is my deeming-box. I said
I would net give him any then. as Dr. Carroll would
soon come and set him all right. I west into an ante-room,
sad fearing lest he might prsaa me to give him the lauda-
num, 1 poured it into a basin. After the lapse of about two
minutes 1 returned to the bedroom and saw the bed full of
blood, and then I saw him brandishing • razor and gashing
at himself. I rushed upon him, but I was unable to pre-
vent him, and he kept doing so notwithstanding my exer-
tions. 1 shrieked tar help, sad the people of the house
came and put me out of the room, and did all they could to
get the razor from him. 1 relented to him won after, and
clasping me by the hand, he said something like t. God
bless you." lam confident be was out of his mind. He
was s man of ardent temperament, and authoritative in his
=MM. but very affectionate to us all. He bad beta in
very low spirits for some time.
Dr. J. W. Carroll examined—l have known the deceased
for about eight year,. I was attending him for about three
weeks at &vendee, near Palmentown, for nervousness
and tit account of the state of his mind. I caused him to be
brought into town last Wednesday, end I have men him
twice a day since. On this day week I saw him, sad he
was then complaining of various fanciful diseases. Since
then he has hots very low in spirits and desponding about
hie affairs. I don't thick there was suffitient cause for
this depression. 11. said his circumstances were not so
soodasthcy had been. During the last week or fortnight
Ise frequently said his mind would give way, and that he
would become lunatic. 1 saw him at • quarter before sin
o'clock y sterday evening, "hen he chatted very pleasantly
and wee more cheerful than uimal, but he said his affairs
would be the destruction of him. He stated to me that
Mr. Burke attempted to mesmerise Lim, but could not do
rie. I saw Lim this morning after be had cut Isis throat.
He was then alive, but died in about twenty minutes
afterwards. Before be died I went for Surgeon
Cusack and Surgeon Porter, leasing behind me
Dr. Gordon and Surgeon Willett. He was a man of
very temperate habits. He told me that when he was in
the army he had 800!. a year, but that now he could not
muster up more than 4001. a year. I thought he was
one of the last men that would have committed self-
destruction. He was not threatened with any immediate

Mr. Deniel E. Daly (a gentleman resident in the house)
ezamined-1 did not know the deceased personally. He
came to this house on Wednesday last. Shortly after
eight o'clock this morning, while 1 was in bed, I heard
screaming below stein. I dressed quickly and went
down. I met a servant wom►n, and having asked her what
was the inal ter, she told me the gentleman below was cut-
ting hie throat. I went into the back drawing zoom,
hich the deceased used as a sleeping apartment, and I
saw him sitting up in the bed with a ratir in his right
hand drawing it across his throat. I trashed towards him (or
the purpose of taking the razor from him, whereupon he
held out his hand and desired me to be off; I ran towards
the fire place to look for something to strike the razor from
his hand, ►ut could not find anything. and as I turned
round towards him 1 saw him draw the razor &oda across
his throat I then seized the hand in which he held the
razor and premed it down upon the bed, whereupon he
began kicking with his feet; a gentleman named Barn-
well, who had come into the room, took the as. from him,
threw it on the floor, and twisted me to hold num down till
further as.istante arrived ; while he was struggling with
nee he said he had cut himself twenty times one of the
doctors aired him what caused him to de so, and he replied
" affairs," or something to that effect.
The jury found the following verdict :—'s That Brownlow
Villiers Layard died from having cut his throat this morning
when in a state of temporary derangement of mind."

MORE DEATHS IRON BeRNING.—Last night Mr.
Payee held three inquests at St. Bartholomew's espied,
ea pavane who had hewn accidentally burnt, snaking Dearly
twenty eases breuybt before the vane corona, in the last
fortnight. The brit case was that of a woman named
Virtue Hold, who lived at logal place, Hussey-road. It
seemed t bat last Thursday week, between 9 and 10 in the
morning, &lodger in the same house beard cries wing
from the denased'a teen, and she ran to render usiatanee.
Yeedtng the rose dose fastest d she buret it open, sal
then saw the Waged Fyisit os the Oen with her clothes all
in flames. Site wee usable to remain in the rooms from
smoke, tut she called a policeman and another man to her
aseistasce. The poor wow was dragged out, and'aubse-
quently conveyed to this hospital. She we. subject to fitr,
*ad it was supposed that whilst in one of them
sha bad Idles against the hare. She died on Tuesday
lest. The next cam was measly identical sea its main
intern. la mu that of Elias Lloyd, who lived at No.
SS, Little Entionnreet, C:erketawell. A vetoes is the
bones Magid her anew es Tuesday night, buret open her
room-doev, sad found the deceased on her kner as the
aloe, all in lames. She was subject to fits, and oats
before had lanes into the an. Ebe got ataistanao and the
threw water over ker. She w afterwards takes
to the woe afterwards
where she ',tired as Wednesday morning.
The third cam was that of Joseph Tiller, a boy 8 years of
sq*, liviag with his parents at Chatbasa-gardens, City-reed.
Oe Monday week be was left in bed with two yousgar
children, and dors the temporary absence of the mother
from the nom the went to the fire-p!are, when
has 0.4_6e-clothes naght 6.11. He died is Tuesday OM.
lag. Ttirery, in each esee, retaraed a verdict of " Acci-