The Court of Cacus; Or, The Story of Burke and HareLeighton, Alexander
History
The Court of Cacus; Or, The Story of Burke and Hare
Leighton, Alexander
Body snatching; Burke, William, 1792-1829; Hare, William, 1792?-1870?
When they were satisfied that the act had been accomplished, the women
returned from the dark passage; whereupon Burke--it was now about
twelve--went to the residence of Dr Knox's curator of the rooms, who lived
near by, and bringing him along with him, pointed to the straw, and said,
"There is a subject for you, which will be ready in the morning." After
the departure of the curator, the party sat down to begin again their
debauch, in the course of which they were joined by a young man called
Broggan, when the revelry being continued, was carried on till four or
five in the morning, at which time the two women lay down in bed, with
Broggan alongside of them. Next morning, and after Hare and his wife had
left for their own house, Mr Gray and his wife, who had slept there during
the night, returned to Burke's, in consequence of an invitation given them
by him to come to breakfast. On entering the house, they looked for the
little old woman, and were surprised that she was not to be seen.
Thereafter Mrs Gray having, during a search for her child's stockings,
approached the bundle of straw, was met by Burke coming forward and
intercepting her, by crying, "Keep out there!" with a _nod_. Broggan was
then requested by Burke to sit on a chair so situated as to guard the
straw, and prevent an approach; but during the day he deserted his post,
and Mrs Gray, still more satisfied that there was something to be
discovered, took the earliest opportunity of a search. The dissipation had
driven all the actors right and left, so that at length the coast was
clear. Assisted by her husband, she began to remove the straw, and the
first thing she touched was the arm of the dead woman. They then examined
the body, which was entirely naked, and discovered that the mouth and a
part of the face were covered with blood. They had seen enough, and
thought it high time to get out of that house--a purpose they were in the
course of executing when they met Helen M'Dougal on the stair. Gray
immediately told her he had seen the dead body, whereupon she got alarmed,
implored him to hold his tongue, and said that if he did it would be worth
ten pounds a week to him; but the man was honest, and replied, "God forbid
that I should have that on my conscience!"[10]
Now, at last, the great secret had got into a mind true to God and nature;
and here you have to mark, with gratitude to Him who takes His own time to
bring evil to light and crime to retribution, the beginning of the end of
all these terrible evils.
The Discovery.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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