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In the preceding few days hundreds of people in Soho had died from the ravages of cholera, one of the most devastating and least understood diseases of the age. The yellow flags were a traditional plague warning, the lime chloride a desperate attempt at disinfection. Having made an effort to arrest the disease, most of Soho's terrified inhabitants had fled. Local hospitals were over flowing with the dying. At the height of the epidemic, 143 deaths were recorded in a single day. Corpses were so numerous; they were unceremoniously piled on carts and taken away for burial.