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Edinburgh: One of Scotland's great culture heroes, William Burke, was
hanged to a crowd of 20,000 on 1/28/1829. His partner, William Hare, had
turned him in & got off. (The crime, of course, was at 1st bodysnatching.
Later on, sort of snatching the bodies before they were quite ready for
burial.)
As I get the story, it was Burke's own fault. Seems Burke was spending
some of his earnings on a pretty whore and was caught (non-flagrante) by
his wife. Burke protested that she was only a "client," and the wife
shouldn't be jealous, he was doing nothing wrong. Naturally he had to
follow through and kill her.
The whore was so pretty, however, that she was preserved in whiskey, not
dissected, and rented out by the medical school to artists for life
studies. In all this genius-like behavior, the police eventually got
interested, rattled Hare somewhat who turned in Burke.
All ye that stand around me,
I pray to me attend
Give ear unto my story,
Mark well my wretched end.
There's not a friend around me
For me will shed a tear,
But everyone rejoicing
To see my end so near.
"Burke's Confession", Grieg, F-S of the N-E,
#XXXVI; also see DT "Burke and Hare"
© Abby Sale - all rights reserved
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