A Final Encounter

What was most intriguing to me in the final section of Burke and Hare was the Epilogue: A Final Exchange. However, according to the appendix, this was most likely a fictional encounter. Dr. Knox was casually walking down the street, and he came across a homeless man and gave him some change. This man was suspected by many to be the vanished William Hare.  

Although Dr. Knox and Hare had countless business transactions before the Edinburgh trials, it was interesting to witness a final monetary exchange between the murderer and his scapegoat. Only this time, their final exchange did not involve a corpse. 

Throughout these transactions, Knox paid Hare for body after body, eventually causing Dr. Knox to lose his job and much societal respect; he essentially was at a loss due to his corrupt involvement with Hare. One last time, Dr.Knox paid Hare and got nothing in return.

Elaina DiClemente