Answer:
The quotation connects the story to the feelings of a real person who experienced the outbreak.
Step-by-step explanation:
According to the Diary of J. Henry C. Helmuth, Philadelphia, 1793, the speaker talks about how he smelled the breath of death for the first time and was scared.
The given quotation from the beginning of the chapter add to the story by connecting the story to the feelings of a real person who experienced the outbreak.