“Some mysterious design was still suspected in every enterprise and profession:  arbitrary power and Popery were apprehended as the scope of all projects:  each breath or rumor made the people start with anxiety:  their enemies, they thought, were in their very bosom, and had gotten possession of their sovereign’s confidence.  While in this timorous, jealous disposition, the cry of a plot all on a sudden struck their ears:  they were wakened from their slumber, and like men affrightened and in the dark, took every figure for a spectre.  The terror of each man became the source of terror to another.  And a universal panic being diffused, reason and argument, and common-sense and common humanity, lost all influence over them.  From this disposition of men’s minds we are to account for the progress of the Popish Plot, and the credit given to it; an event which would otherwise appear prodigious and altogether inexplicable."[243]

On the 28th of February, 1741, the house of one Robert Hogg, Esq., of New-York City, a merchant, was robbed of some fine linen, medals, silver coin, etc.  Mr. Hogg’s house was situated on the corner of Broad and Mill Streets, the latter sometimes being called Jew’s Alley.  The case was given to the officers of the law to look up.

The population of New-York City was about ten thousand, about two thousand of whom were slaves.  On the 18th of March the chapel in the fort took fire from some coals carelessly left by an artificer in a gutter he had been soldering.  The roof was of shingles; and a brisk wind from the south-east started a fire, that was not observed until it had made great headway.  In those times the entire populace usually turned out to assist in extinguishing fires; but this fire being in the fort, the fear of an explosion of the magazine somewhat checked their usual celerity on such occasions.  The result was, that all the government buildings in the fort were destroyed.  A militia officer by the name of Van Horne, carried away by the belief that the fire was purposely set by the Negroes, caused the beating of the drums and the posting of the “night watch.”  And for his vigilance he was nicknamed “Major Drum.”  The “Major’s” apprehensions, however, were contagious.  The fact that the governor reported the true cause of the fire to the Legislature had but little influence in dispossessing the people of their fears of a Negro plot.  The next week the chimney of Capt.  Warren’s house near the fort took fire, but was saved with but slight damage.  A few days after this the storehouse of a Mr. Van Zandt was found to be on fire, and it was said at the time to have been occasioned by the carelessness of a smoker.  In about three days after, two fire alarms were sounded.  One was found to be a fire in some hay in a cow-stable near a Mr. Quick’s house.  It was soon extinguished.  The other alarm was on account of a fire in the kitchen loft of the dwelling of a Mr. Thompson.  On the next