his heart, and he felt anxious to establish discipline amongst them. He had preached, but he felt that something more was requisite to secure order and stability; hence he laid down rules for the conduct of human life, and the maintenance of peace and consistency by the members of Society.

Amidst anxieties arising from so many sources, it was a comfort for him to receive the following letter, written by a Quaker friend, Stephen Crisp, and sent from England in the ship Endeavour. "This I must tell thee," says the writer, "which thou also knowest, that the highest capacity of natural wit and parts will not and cannot perform what thou hast to do, namely, to propagate and advance the instrument and profit of the government and plantation, and at the same time to give the interests of Truth and testimony of the Holy Name of God their due preference in all things; for to make the wilderness sing forth the praise of God is a skill beyond the wisdom of this world. It is greatly in man's power to make a wilderness into fruitful fields, according to the common course of God's providence, who gives wisdom and strength to the industrious; but, then, how He who is the Creator may have His due honour and service thereby, is only taught by the Spirit in them who singly wait upon Him." Thus were laid the corner-stones of this great Quaker community!

Before receiving this letter, Penn had been informed of the continuance and even increase of persecution in England. All over the country the spirit of intolerance rode on the wings of a storm, and at a

'Clarkson, vol. i. p. 418.

village in his own neighbourhood a Quakers' meeting had been broken up by a troop of soldiers, who had seized twenty-three inoffensive persons and hurried them off to Aylesbury gaol. These poor folks, quiet as lambs, were indicted for a riot, and actually found guilty, the punishment being a fine, and imprisonment until the fine was paid! The interposition of a friend, who paid the fine, alone saved them from a cruel incarceration. Such a circumstance touched Penn to the quick, and he resolved to cross the Atlantic again, that he might see what he could do for the benefit of his oppressed co-religionists.

He had to make arrangements for conducting affairs in Pennsylvania during his absence, and devolved the office of President upon a Friend named Thomas Lloyd, entrusting to him, and other commissioners, the Great Seal of the province.

In a letter addressed to Pennsylvanian Friends, written on board the Endeavour, which was to take him to England, he thus apostrophised his beloved. city:

And thou, Philadelphia, the virgin settlement of this province, named before thou wert born, what love, what care, what service, and what travail has there been to bring thee forth and preserve thee from such as would abuse and defile thee!

"O that thou mayest be kept from the evil that would overwhelm thee; that faithful to the God of thy mercies in the life of righteousness, thou mayest be preserved to the end. My soul prays to God for thee, that thou mayest stand in the day of trial, that thy children may be blessed of the Lord, and thy people saved by His power. My love to thee has

been great, and the remembrance of thee affects mine heart and mine eye. The God of eternal strength keep and preserve thee to His glory and peace."1

There is a beautiful letter written by Gulielma Penn to Margaret Fox, endorsed 1690, but the contents of the letter show, I think, that this date is incorrect. It must have been written during Penn's absence in America, and as his only absence there during her life was between 1682 and 1684, I introduce it at the close of this chapter.

"TO MARGARET FOX.

"DEAR AND HONOURABLE FRIEND, M. F———. "With salutations of true, constant, faithful love is my heart filled to thee. I feel it in that which is beyond words-in the unity of the Spirit of Truth. It rises in my mind, as I am writing, something that I saw concerning thee in my sleep long ago, about the time of the beginning of these bad spirits. I thought I saw thee and dear George and many Friends in a meeting, where the power of the Lord was greatly manifested; and methought there came in dark, wicked spirits, and they strove exceedingly against the (Divine) life that was in the meeting. Their chief aim was at thee and George, but mostly at thee. They strove to hurt thee, but, methought, thou gottest so over them that they could not touch. thee, but only tore some little part of thy clothes, and thou escaped unhurt. Then a sweet rejoicing and triumph spread throughout the meeting. That

1 Clarkson, vol. i. p. 423.

"The Penns and the Penningtons," p. 373.

dream was long ago, and the Lord has so brought it to pass that thy life now reigns over them all. It was thee they began with, but the Lord has given and will (further) give thee the victory, to the joy and comfort of thy people. Dear Margaret, I received thy acceptable letter long since, but have delayed writing to thee, in the hope to give a fuller account of my husband and of our going. But the winter and spring have been so severe that letters have been hindered, and now that many are come, none of them of late dates are for me, because my husband has been in daily expectation of seeing us there, and I am sorry for his disappointment. I should have been truly glad to have seen him before going, as thou sayest, but am contented, and desire not his coming merely to fetch us, as I know he has a great deal of business to attend to; and also know it is not for want of true love or the desire to see us that keeps him, but it is that he must first mind the duties of the place in which he now stands, and do that which is right, and in which he has peace. If the Lord gives clearness and drawings to come, I would be glad, but see no likelihood at present."

"I am truly refreshed in the remembrance of thee, and thy lines are very dear to me. I desire thy prayers to the Lord on our behalf, that He may attend us with His sweet and heavenly presence in our undertaking, and then it will be well with us, whether staying or going.

"Dear Margaret, in a sense of this, and in true love, I bid thee farewell, and am thy affectionate friend in my measure of the blessed truth,

"GULI PENN."

PENN

CHAPTER XII.

BACK AGAIN.

ENN sailed from America on the 12th of August, 1684, and reached his native shores on the 3rd or 4th of October.

He announced his arrival to Margaret Fox :"DEAR M. Fox,

"Whom my heart loveth and honoureth in the Lord, remembering thee in the ancient love and path of life which is most glorious in mine eyes; yea, excellent above all visible things. Dear Margaret, herein it is I enjoy the fellowship of thy spirit above time and distance, floods, and many waters.

"It is now a few days above three weeks since I arrived well in my native land. It was within seven miles of my own house that we landed. I found my dear wife and her children well, to the overcoming of my heart because of the mercies of the Lord to us. I have not missed a meal's meat or a night's rest since I went out of the country, and wonderfully hath the Lord preserved me through many troubles in the settlements I have made, both as to the government and the soil. I find many

wrong stories let in of me, even by some I love; but, blessed be the Lord, they are the effects of envy, for things are sweetly well with Friends there, and many