James Wedderburn  


THE TIMES
Monday Aug 17, 1840

IRELAND
Dublin, August 14,
Awfully Sudden Death of Sir J. W. Wedderburne, Bart

  It is our painful duty to have to record the demise of the above-named baronet, which took place a few minutes to 11 o'clock last night, under the following most distressing circumstances.   It appeared that the deceased had been stopping for some time in this city, at Eldvige's Hotel, Kildare-street.   He had dined and spent the evening of yesterday at the house of a friend in Harcourt-street.   Between 9 and 10 o'clock he left, taking a car, and called at one or two shops in Sackville-street, at which, having transacted some business, he desired the driver of the vehicle to wait for him at the corner of the same street, turning into Upper Abbey-street.   Some time afterwards, between 10 or 12 minutes to 11 o'clock, he went into the public house, 77 Abbey-street.   He was accompanied by two females, and was shown up to the front drawing-room.   There he seated himself on a box in a recess of one of the windows, and ordered the waiter to bring up two glasses of punch for his companions.   One of the latter however declined drinking punch, and in it's stead a glass of lemonade was ordered.   The waiter was in the act of having the beverage prepared at the bar below, when a fall, as if some heavy substance, was heard on the floor of the drawing room immediately over head.   He stopped till the drink was got ready, and he proceeded with it upstairs.   There on entering the apartment, he beheld the deceased extended on the boards all but a lifeless corpse, breathing convulsively but without the slightest motion of the body or limbs, the females still seated, and looking upon the awful scene before them apparently with about as much emotion as they would regard the shivering of a drinking-glass, for the payment of which they might be held responsible.
 
  The waiter hurried off immediately for medical assistance.   Dr. Heron, of Sackville-street, was most promptly in attendance, a vein was opened in one of the temples, but all was over - the vital spark had fled forever.   Notice of the melancholy event was, without loss of time, communicated to the police by the inmates of the house.   Mr. Inspector Dunden went to the place.   The two women in question were interrogated, and their account was, that the deceased had met and invited them to take a glass of punch; they, of course, consented; after he had ordered the drink, and the waiter had left the room, they observed him to suddenly laugh loudly, and then a change at once seemed to come over him.   He begged of them to not feel alarmed, that he was subject to fits of weakness, and that was one of them, but he would recover in a few minutes.   In a moment, and almost as he spoke, he fell from the box on which he had been sitting, they occupying chairs on either side of him.   He did not utter a word afterwards.   He had not the slightest appearance of drink whatever on him when he entered the house, nor had he then ordered any for himself.
  The officer having given the women in custody to some of his men, proceeded to examine the deceased's pockets.   A gold watch, some money, amounting to between 5l. and 6l., a ticket from one of the steam packet offices, by which it appeared that he had paid his passage to England for the following (this) day, his card, and some other matters, were found on him.
  A policeman was left in charge of the mortal remains of the ill-fated gentleman until a coroner's inquest shall be held on them this day.
  Deceased appeared to be upwards of 50 years of age, of handsome countenance, but rather corpulent in person.   In his walk he halted considerably, as if suffering from paralytic affection. ?