_Old Mary Haldane--The End of her Debauch--Peggy Haldane in Search of
her Mother--Mother and Daughter United in Death._
But returning to the cases about which more is known than those spoken of
in the last chapter, or which possessed features that have given them a
greater hold on the public mind, the first to call for notice are the
murders of an old woman named Haldane, and her daughter Margaret, which
took place before Burke changed his residence.
Old Mary Haldane, it seems, was called "Mistress" merely out of courtesy,
for she had no claim to the title. A woman of some considerable personal
charms in her youth, she had given way to the deceiver, and at last found
herself on the streets, a drunken, worthless vagrant. She had three
daughters, one of whom married a tinsmith named Clark, carrying on
business in the High Street of Edinburgh; the second, at the time of her
mother's death, was serving a term of fourteen years' transportation for
some offence; while the third was simply following the unfortunate example
of one who should have sheltered her from evil influences. Old Mary was
well-known to Burke and Hare and their wives, having at one time been a
denizen of Log's lodging-house. According to Burke's own admission this
was how the murder was committed:--"She was a lodger of Hare's. She went
into Hare's stable; the door was left open, and she being drunk, and
falling asleep among some straw, Hare and Burke murdered her the same way
as they did the others, and kept the body all night in the stable, and
took her to Dr. Knox's next day. She had but one tooth in her mouth, and
that was a very large one in front." This account, however, hardly agrees
with what was brought out by subsequent inquiries. Burke, it would appear,
had long thought of her as a proper subject for his murdering craft, and
one day, when he felt that something further would have to be done to
renew their exhausted exchequer, he went out to look for Mary. She had
left Hare's lodgings, and was then away on a drunken debauch. His search
was unfruitful at the time, but two days later he saw her standing at the
close leading to the house in which she then resided. She was then in the
condition of the man who said he was "sober and sorry for it," for she
readily agreed to accept the dram Burke offered her if she went along with
him. Mary was well-known in the district, and the _gamins_ regarded her as
a butt for their little practical jokes and coarse fun. They ran after her
as she passed along the Grassmarket towards the West Port, all the more so
as she was in the company of a well-dressed man, because Burke's personal
appearance and habit had been improved by the large sums of money he was
every now and then receiving from Dr. Knox for his ghastly merchandise.
Many persons noticed the strangely assorted couple, and although they
wondered a little at the time to see them going along the street in so
friendly a manner, they soon forgot all about it, until the disclosures of
the trial brought the incident back to their recollections. As Burke and
Mrs. Haldane were on their way along, they met Hare walking in the
opposite direction. Hare, if he were not previously aware of his
colleague's object, now quickly divined it, and stood to speak with them.
Mary agreed to accompany her old landlord to his house in Tanner's Close;
and Burke, having chased away the children who were tormenting the poor
woman, left them to transact some other business. He was not, however,
long behind them in arriving at Hare's house, where the two
women--M'Dougal and Mrs. Hare--had provided whisky for the good of the
company. The bottle was passed round, and Mrs. Haldane partook greedily of
its contents, so greedily, indeed, that in a marvellously short time she
was helplessly intoxicated. Then followed the usual process of "burking,"
and Mary Haldane, unfortunate in life, was equally unfortunate in her
death. Of course the women had retired from the apartment before the last
scene was enacted. Probably they did not care to see the end, for it was
inconvenient if they should be called upon as witnesses, though they must
have known what was being done, as they certainly contributed largely to
bring about the commission of the deed. This was but a part of the method,
and in this, as in other respects, it was carefully carried out. What Dr.
Knox or his assistants gave them for Mary Haldane's body is not known, but
it has been suspected that, providing a regular and good supply, the
conspirators were now receiving twelve or fourteen pounds for every
"subject" they took to Surgeon's Square.
But this was not the end of the Haldane tragedy--there was yet another
victim from that already unfortunate family. Mention has been made of the
daughter Margaret, who was only too closely following in the footsteps of
her wayward mother. Notwithstanding the terrible career of these two
unfortunates, there seems to have been as strong a bond of affection
between them as should always exist between a daughter and a mother.
Margaret, or Peggy, Haldane soon missed her mother, and after the lapse of
a day or two set out to look for her. It was nothing new for the old woman
to be away for a short time, but on this occasion the absence was more
prolonged than usual. She went about asking every one she knew if they had
seen Mary Haldane, and her "begrutten face" and tawdry finery drew
sympathy from many to whom that feeling was an almost total stranger. Many
gave her what help they could to trace her missing mother, but for a time
they were without a clue, until David Rymer, a grocer in Portsburgh,
mentioned to a neighbour that he had seen Mary Haldane in the company of
Hare on the way to his house. The girl felt that her search was now at an
end, and so it was, for she would soon be beside her lost parent. At
Hare's house she called in the full expectation of finding her mother,
perhaps it might be in the midst of a debauch, but that was nothing out of
the way, and surely she would get her home with her. On entering the house
Peggy met Mrs. Hare and Helen M'Dougal, who, to her surprise, denied that
Mary Haldane had recently been with them, and who, in the fear of
discovery, endeavoured to strengthen their repudiation by abusing the old
woman and her daughter. Hare, in an adjoining apartment, heard what was
going on, and set to work to deceive the girl in a much more astute
manner. Blank denial could only send her back to those who had helped her
to trace her mother to his house, suspicion might be raised, and inquiry,
he saw, could only result in complete discovery. He therefore came out of
his den, and, silencing the clamorous tongues of his two female
associates, he assured Peggy that he could give her the explanation of her
mother's disappearance. In his heart he knew no one could throw more light
than he on the matter, but it was his purpose rather to darken than
illuminate the inquiring mind of the poor searcher. He invited her into
the adjoining room to taste the inevitable "dram"--drink and die. She was
not averse to a drop of whisky, and she sat down at the table where her
mother but a few days before had indulged in her last debauch, aye, and
where many before had done the same. Burke had noticed Peggy enter the
house, and he followed soon after her. It was wonderful how readily these
two men closed round their victims. He sat down at the table with Hare and
the girl, and the former began his explanation. He admitted, of course,
that he had seen old Mary, for there was a policy in that, but he added
that she left him to go on a visit to some friends she had at Mid-Calder,
a few miles to the west of Edinburgh. It must have appeared a little
strange to Peggy that her mother should have gone visiting among her
family friends without letting her daughter know of her intention, but
then Mary's ways were somewhat erratic; and the hope that a walk to
Mid-Calder would discover her mother, combined with the benumbing effects
of the whisky she was drinking, quieted her anxieties. The potation
wrought speedily, and the young woman passed from the talkative and merry
state of drunkenness to the dull and stupid, until, at last, she was ready
for the sacrifice. She was so drunk, says Burke, that he did not think she
was sensible of her death, as she made no resistance whatever.
Burke's confession regarding Peggy Haldane's murder has been proven by
inquiry to be inaccurate in some details; but there is no reason to doubt
his account of the manner of it. He says it was committed in Broggan's
house. That was not the case, for the crime occurred in Log's lodging
house, of which Hare was then the landlord. He said, "Hare had no hand in
it," and that "this was the only murder that Burke committed by himself,
but what Hare was connected with;" but this statement is contradicted by
another of Burke's own confessions; and, further, we have seen that if
Hare took no active part in the murder itself, he was at least accessory
to it. However, as to the manner there need be little doubt:--"She was
laid with her face downwards, and he (Burke) pressed her down, and she was
soon suffocated." What a dreadful death! Yet no more dreadful than that
met by all the victims of the soul-hardened conspirators. The body was put
into a tea chest, and taken to the rooms of Dr. Knox. Mary and Peggy
Haldane were again under the same roof: they were again together, but in
Death! Burke acknowledged that he received eight pounds for this victim,
but, as he said, he did not always keep mind of what he got for a subject,
though he had no doubt Dr. Knox's books would show. These books, however,
never saw the light of day.