Page:Life of Sir William Petty 1623 – 1687.djvu/257



Duke of Ormonde had hardly been restored to power in Ireland, when in England a widespread belief arose that a vast Roman Catholic conspiracy, or 'Popish Plot,' as it was popularly denominated, existed, intended by the instigators and authors to destroy all the institutions of the country.

It is hard at this distance of time to discover what amount of solid truth lay underneath the huge mass of half-insane imaginations which confused and distracted the public mind. The case of Sir William Petty's friend, Captain Graunt, affords an illustration of the absurdities which, even before the excitement of the Popish Plot, could be accepted as undoubted truth, if a Roman Catholic was concerned. Early in the reign he had become a convert. About the time of the Fire he happened to be one of the trustees of the estate of the Countess of Clarendon, which consisted partly in shares in the recently formed New River Company. As he possessed a considerable knowledge of engineering, he was made a member of the Board of Directors, and as such had access to the keys of the Pumping Station at Islington. It was declared and firmly believed that on the Saturday before the Fire he went thither, cut off the water, and departed, carrying away the keys with him. 'So that when the fire broke out next morning, they opened the pipes in the streets to find water, but there was none.' The inventor of this story