ded to do this. It was then found that one or more
of the upper cervical vertebrae were fractured. "By Jove!" said Mr. Mayo,
"this boy was murthered." The conviction of Bishop and Williams was due,
in a very great measure, to Mr. Partridge and Mr. Beaman.

At the present day it is well-nigh impossible to understand the relations
between men of honour and education, such as the teachers of anatomy were,
and the ruffians who carried on this ghastly trade. It must, however, be
borne in mind that, until the passing of the Anatomy Act in 1832, there
was no provision for supplying the means by which the student might be
taught this necessary part of his professional education; the only way in
which teachers could get material for giving instruction was by dealing
with the resurrection-men.

It would have been quite impossible for the resurrection-men to have
obtained the number of bodies they frequently did, had they not been able
to bribe the custodians of the different burial-grounds. Sometimes they
met with a difficulty in the shape of a keeper newly appointed to replace
one who had been dismissed for being privy to these depredations. In most
instances this was soon overcome; if, at the outset, the custodian could
not be bribed, he could generally be induced to drink, and then, whilst he
was in a state of intoxication, the body which the resurrection-men wished
to obtain could be easily removed. After this first step there was
generally very little difficulty in the future.

Sometimes, too, the grave-diggers not only gave information to the
Resurrectionists, but acted as principals themselves. In Benson's
_Remarkable Trials_ is recorded the case of John Holmes, Peter Williams,
and Esther Donaldson. Holmes was grave-digger at St. George's, Bloomsbury;
Williams was his assistant, and Donaldson was charged as an accomplice.
They were prosecuted before Sir John Hawkins at the Guildhall,
Westminster, in December, 1777, for stealing the body of Mrs. Jane
Sainsbury, who died in the previous October, and was buried in the St.
George's burial-ground. Holmes and Williams were sentenced to six months'
imprisonment, and to be whipped on their bare backs from the end of
Kingsgate Street, Holborn, to Dyot Street, St. Giles. The sentence, says
Benson, was duly carried out amidst crowds of well-satisfied and approving
spectators. The woman Donaldson was acquitted.

The ranks of the resurrection-men were largely recruited from the keepe