Glasgow Courier. — 1847-10-28 (Glasgow, Strathclyde, Scotland)

SUICIDE OF PROFESSOR M'CULLAGH. With inexpressible pain and sorrow (says the Dublin Evening Mail) we have to communicate the death of Professor 3PCuliagh; of Trinity College, Dublin, under circumstances the most aflliether to all his friends, and must deeply to be deplored throughout fir. civilised world, to no part of which his celebrity had not reached. The fatal event took place on Sunday evening, at his chambers tl College. At two o'clock on Monday, Dr. Kirwan, one of ihe city coroners, proceeded to hold an inquest on the body. The tint witness examined was an old woman, named Margaret Iletly, who was in the service of the deceased, but her evidence threw little light upon the melancholy event. Rev. Samuel Bendier examined—l live in College; I was a particular friend of the d'ceased; a few minutes before eleven o'clock I was going to when I was called and desired to come over instantly to FCC Mr, M'Cullagh ; I came over with great haste; I came into the 1,, droom, and saw the body lying between the bed and the e the head towards the top of the bed; I raised him; there et,. a large pool of blood in the corner; he was quite deal; tlt.• e.z was on the floor; the porter came in, looked for the in-tro: and found the razor in the blood; he was quite dead, nearly this was at eleven o'clock; I am not aware that it was one Te- T!... razors he was in the habit of using; with the assistance of n: . of the porters I raised him and put him into the bed in the pe!•...,:i in which the body now lies; the razor was further from the ea!, than the body; I saw him last alive upon Sunday at eleven ifcloe:: he has been in low spirits for the last week, at least since -Mea; day; he was not more desponding and low spirited on :1-..enTal than on the previous days; I dou't know that [can use tee TT ord desponding; I will say low spirits; he appeared to be ioniew cited in his mind; he was often low spirited; I do not know if any reason for his low spirits; I cannot tell that the late College _ tion hail any effect upon him • he had a constitutional tete:esce to melancholy; he was a delicate man and worked very hard ; 1 am not aware that persons who pursue mathematical studies aro t,uhject to melancholy; it wasgenerally retnarked in College that he n-,s gloomy the last week; he was subject to gloom ;.I do not think the bed was tossed as if it had been lain in; had a conversation with bine he laboured under an impression that there were statements in circulation respecting him; he thought there was some charge again,. him. Dr. Stokes, who said deceased was one of his oldest and demi sz friends, was next examined. Ile said deceased was a man of strictly temperate habits. Witness had called on him by ineitation to breakfast on Sunday morning. Be acknowledged that he. ' had been ill—that he had been in a dreamy state, but he felt the illness was passing or had passed away; as far as! could ase• mein about his depression, it was that his manner had excited sespieian that he was not right in his mind, and that this would go out and damage his character and prospects; I assured him that his illness arose from physical causes, and that his depression Wag merely the result of those causes; he said that medical Men !night think as I did, but that others would misinterpret it into ne mai illness; there was nothing extraordinary in his state; the °aly thing unusual in his case was that lie had improved so much, and then relapsed; I think that his former hallucination returned stronger than it had been; upon the Thursday he said to toe that try servant thinks me very ill, and that she watches toe; upon one occasion he went to the door and shut it, and said that she 5,:5 listening; I think his disease was melaneholim, arising from dyspepsia, which originated from over application of mind to a difficult mathematical problem, while he neglected his bowels, and was drinking strong tea; I believe him to have been a vet"' religious man ,• on Sunday morning I found him reading Butler's Sermons, which he said it was his habit to read; lie asked me if I had ever read them; I said I had not, and he said, tapping ate on the shoulder—My dear friend, I could not recommend you a better book; he often seemed labouring under despondency; but I never saw him in such health and spirits as he was in since tha College election; I heard that two years ago he had an ulcer en , his leg; I don't think that the stoppage of that ulcer affected his ! mind, because he was in excellent health; he stated in his conversation that his object was to bring a still stronger bearing between sacred and revealed religion. One or two other witnesses were examined, after which the Coroner briefly addressed the jury, who retired, and returned in a few minutes with the following verdict :—We fiud that Professor James M'Cullagli died of wounds inflicted upon himself while labouring under temporary Insanity.