This turned the people’s eyes pretty much towards that end of the town, and the weekly bills showing an increase of burials in St Giles’s parish more than usual, it began to be suspected that the plague was among the people at that end of the town, and that many had died of it, though they had taken care to keep it as much from the knowledge of the public as possible.  This possessed the heads of the people very much, and few cared to go through Drury Lane, or the other streets suspected, unless they had extraordinary business that obliged them to it

This increase of the bills stood thus:  the usual number of burials in a week, in the parishes of St Giles-in-the-Fields and St Andrew’s, Holborn, were from twelve to seventeen or nineteen each, few more or less; but from the time that the plague first began in St Giles’s parish, it was observed that the ordinary burials increased in number considerably.  For example:—­

From December 27 to January 3  { St Giles’s      16
"                              { St Andrew’s     17

"     January 3  "    "    10  { St Giles’s      12
"                              { St Andrew’s     25

"     January 10 "    "    17  { St Giles’s      18
"                              { St Andrew’s     28

"     January 17 "    "    24  { St Giles’s      23
"                              { St Andrew’s     16

"     January 24 "    "    31  { St Giles’s      24
"                              { St Andrew’s     15

"     January 30 " February 7  { St Giles’s      21
"                              { St Andrew’s     23

     " February 7 " " 14 { St Giles’s 24

Whereof one of the plague.

The like increase of the bills was observed in the parishes of St Bride’s, adjoining on one side of Holborn parish, and in the parish of St James, Clerkenwell, adjoining on the other side of Holborn; in both which parishes the usual numbers that died weekly were from four to six or eight, whereas at that time they were increased as follows:—­

From December 20 to December 27  { St Bride’s     0
"                                { St James’s     8

"    December 27 to January   3  { St Bride’s     6
"                                { St James’s     9

"    January  3  "    "      10  { St Bride’s    11
"                                { St James’s     7

"    January 10  "    "      17  { St Bride’s    12
"                                { St James’s     9

"    January 17  "    "      24  { St Bride’s     9
"                                { St James’s    15

"    January 24  "    "      31  { St Bride’s     8
"                                { St James’s    12

"    January 31  " February   7  { St Bride’s    13
"                                { St James’s     5

"    February 7  "    "      14  { St Bride’s     12
"                                { St James’s     6

Besides this, it was observed with great uneasiness by the people that the weekly bills in general increased very much during these weeks, although it was at a time of the year when usually the bills are very moderate.