_Dr. Knox's Connection with Burke and Hare--His Egotism--Knox's
Criticism of Liston and his Assistants--Hanging Knox's Effigy--Popular
Tumults--Demand that he should be Put on Trial._
As yet Dr. Knox had done nothing to allay the irritation which existed
towards him in the public mind. In the eyes of many he seemed a greater
criminal than even Burke and Hare, and outspoken and unthinking people
went the length of declaring that these misguided men were but instruments
in his hands, obeying his behests, and receiving pay for what their master
knew to be murderous work. This was certainly much too harsh a judgment,
but the doctor was, unfortunately, a man of such peculiar temperament,
that a large section of the people was willing to give credence to any
kind of story, however serious, regarding him. And it must be confessed
that this dislike towards him was shared in by not a few of his
professional brethren, who had suffered from his overweening self-conceit
and pride, and who felt that the exposure of the resurrectionist system,
with which they were all more or less forced, through the scarcity of
subjects, to be connected, could not have happened in relation to a more
suitable man. Even while Knox was alive, spending the last years of his
life in London, Leighton writes of him in terms far from complimentary.
Having referred to the professional, and even personal, jealousy that
existed between the rival teachers of anatomy in Edinburgh, and their
students, Leighton says:--"Unfortunately the characters of the leaders,
with the exception of Monro, were not calculated to temper this zeal with
discretion, or throw a veil of decency over the transactions of low men,
which, however justified, as many said, by the necessities of science,
were hostile to the instincts of nature, and fearfully resented by the
feelings of relatives. Liston was accused, whether justly or not, of
wiling patients from the Infirmary, to set off by his brilliant operations
the imperfections of the regular surgeons of that institution; and great
as he was in his profession, it is certain that he wanted that simplicity
and dignity of character necessary to secure to him respect in proportion
to the admiration due to his powers. But Knox was a man of a far more
complex organisation, if it was indeed possible to analyse him. A despair
to the physiognomist who contemplated his rough irregular countenance,
with a blind eye resembling a grape, he was not less a difficulty to the
psychologist. There seemed to be no principle whereby you could think of
binding him down to a line of duty, and a universal sneer, not limited to
mundane powers, formed that contrast to an imputed self-perfection, not
without the evidence of very great scientific accomplishments." Having
told of an unscrupulous practical joke played by Knox on Prof. Jameson,
Leighton proceeds:--"Even the bitterness of soul towards competitors was
not sufficiently gratified by the pouring forth of the toffana-spirit of
his sarcasm. He behoved to hold the phial with refined fingers, and rub
the liquid into the 'raw' with the soft touch of love. The affected
attenuation of voice and forced _retinu_ of feeling, sometimes
degenerating into a puppy's simper, bore such a contrast to the acerbity
of the matter, that the effect, though often ludicrous, was increased
tenfold."
Here are two samples of Knox's egotism, taken from his lectures to the
students:--"Gentlemen, I may mention that I have already taught the
science of anatomy to about 5,000 medical men, now spread over the surface
of the earth, and some of these have turned out most remarkable for their
knowledge, genius, and originality, for they now occupy some of the most
conspicuous and trying positions in Europe." Again:--"Before commencing
to-day's lecture, I am compelled by the sacred calls of duty to notice an
extraordinary surgical operation which has this morning been performed in
a neighbouring building, by a gentleman [Mr. Liston] who, I believe,
regards himself as the first surgeon in Europe. A country labourer, from
the neighbourhood of Tranent, came to the Infirmary a few days ago with an
aneurism of considerable extent, connected with one of the large arteries
of the neck; and, notwithstanding of its being obvious to the merest tyro
that it was an aneurism, the most distinguished surgeon in Europe, after
an apparently searching examination, pronounced it to be an abscess.
Accordingly, this professional celebrity--who, among other things, plumes
himself upon the wonderful strength of his hands and arms, without
pretension to head, and is an amateur member of the ring,--plunged his
knife into what he thus foolishly imagined to be an abscess; and the
blood, bursting forth from the deep gash in the aneurismal sac, the
patient was dead in a few seconds. This notable member of the profession
is actually an extra-academical lecturer on surgery in this great
metropolis; and on this occasion was assisted by a gentleman similarly
constituted, both intellectually and physically, who had been trained up
under the fostering care of a learned professor [Monro?] in a certain
University, who inherited his anatomatical genius from his ancestors, and
who has recently published a work on the anatomy of the human body, in
which, among other notabilities, no notice is taken of the pericardium.
Tracing the assistant of our distinguished operator further back, I have
discovered that he had been originally apprenticed to a butcher of this
city, but that he had been dismissed from this service for stealing a
sheep's head and trotters from his employer's shambles. It is surely
unnecessary for me to add that a knowledge of anatomy, physiology,
pathology, and surgery, is neither connected with nor dependant upon brute
force, ignorance and presumption; nor has it anything to do with an utter
destitution of honour and common honesty." This extraordinary speech was
listened to with interest and applauded by the great body of the students,
though a few of them by hisses gave expression to their opinion that Dr.
Knox had himself overstepped the bounds of prudence, and had shown "an
utter destitution of honour and common honesty."
It was little wonder, then, that Dr. Knox was so universally detested, and
that the great body of the people, agitated by the disclosures at the
trial of Burke and M'Dougal, should show their dislike to him, in a manner
they might not have adopted had he been a man who had hitherto received
the respect of his fellows. On Thursday, the 12th of February, 1829, the
inhabitants of Edinburgh made an extraordinary demonstration against him.
On that day, a large crowd assembled in the Calton district of the city,
and, having formed in marching order, they proceeded up Leith Street, and
over the Bridges to the Old Town, while in the front was borne what one of
the contemporary newspapers described as "an effigy of a certain doctor
who has been rendered very obnoxious to the public by recent events." "The
figure," the chronicler continued, "was pretty well decked out in a suit
of clothes, and the face and head bore a tolerable resemblance to the
person intended to be represented. On the back was a label bearing the
words--'Knox, the associate of the infamous Hare.'" While the mob was
crossing the South Bridge, a strong resolute policeman attempted,
single-handed, to disperse them, as he saw a riot would inevitably occur
if they were allowed to parade the streets much longer, if that, indeed,
were not the main purpose of the gathering. But his zeal was not tempered
by discretion, otherwise he would not have attempted such a foolhardy
task. The people easily drove him back, and he was in the struggle injured
by the many blows aimed at him. As the crowd passed on towards Newington
it increased in size. When they arrived in the district where Dr. Knox
resided, the effigy was hanged by the neck to the branch of a tree. Fire,
also, was put under it, but that soon went out, and the figure was torn to
pieces amid the huzzas of the assembled thousands. Up to this period the
crowd had behaved in a sort of good-natured fashion, and had resorted to
no actual violence, though at times its playfulness had a dash of
horseplay about it. But now matters assumed a threatening aspect, and a
movement was made towards Dr. Knox's house, which it seemed to be intended
to attack. The city authorities had become alarmed at the appearance of
affairs, and having collected all their forces, the city watchmen, under
Capt. Stewart, the superintendent, and a superior officer in another
department of the municipal service, marched quickly towards Newington to
suppress the tumult, and prevent, if possible, further popular excesses.
The superintendent and another officer, in advance of their force, entered
Knox's house by the rear, and from the front door they made a determined
charge upon the crowd who had assembled there. The people instantly
retreated to the other side of the road, and commenced throwing stones,
from the first volley of which Captain Stewart and his colleague were
severely injured. No further rioting took place at this time, and no
property was destroyed beyond some panes of glass in the windows of Knox's
and the adjoining houses. After a time the crowd--which consisted for the
most part of boys and young lads, among whom eight or ten bakers were the
most active--quietly dispersed, but large groups assembled in various
parts of the city.
Another crowd, also composed mostly of boys, gathered later in the day,
and, armed with sticks, they marched towards the High Street, which they
paraded for some time. Before they could do any mischief a strong body of
police met them opposite the Tron Church, and after a short interval they
dispersed. In the vicinity of the West Port another mob had collected and
marched down the Grassmarket along the Cowgate to the Horse Wynd, breaking
the glass in the windows of the south and west sides of the College.
Several of the ringleaders of another crowd which took up its quarters in
the Cowgate were apprehended by the police.
Edinburgh was now in a fairly riotous state, excited mobs pacing the city
in all directions. The police found themselves little more than able to
cope with the tumultuous spirit that was abroad, for no sooner had a
threatened or active disturbance been quelled in one district than matters
had assumed a serious aspect in another some distance off. They were thus
kept at most fatiguing duty. In spite of all their efforts, they were
unable to prevent another attack on Dr. Knox's house. About seven o'clock
in the evening an immense concourse of people marched to Newington, and,
surrounding the Doctor's residence, they threw stones at it until not a
pane of glass in the windows of it or the one adjoining was whole. An
attempt was also made to force Knox's premises in Surgeon's Square, but a
strong party of police completely repelled the attack. At last, as the
night advanced, the excited populace returned to their homes, and the city
was again quiet. In the course of the day the police had been able to
apprehend some twenty persons who had been conspicuous in the rioting in
the various parts of Edinburgh.
It is an interesting and curious fact that some of the newspapers
supported the people in their riotous proceedings. Speaking of the
disturbances already noted, the _Edinburgh Weekly Chronicle_ said:--"Since
the grand spectacle of the execution of Dr. Knox in effigy was exhibited,
about twenty-three of those concerned in it have been fined in sums of
from five to forty shillings. We understand that all these have been
defrayed out of a stock purse previously collected. Some of the rioters
had large quantities of gunpowder upon them. Another _auto-da-fe_ is
meditated; on which occasion the cavalcade will move in the direction of
Portobello, where, it is supposed, the Doctor burrows at night. As we have
said before, the agitation of public feeling will never subside till the
city be released of this man's presence, or until his innocence be
manifested. In justice to himself, if he is innocent, in justice to the
public, if he is guilty, he ought to be put upon his trial. The police
have a duty to perform, and it gives us pleasure to hear that they
discharged it with promptitude; but the feelings of nature, when outraged
as they have been in an immeasurable degree, will soar superior to all
dignities. It scarcely ever was known that a populace entered upon acts of
irregular justice when there was not extreme official apathy."