society, to express to them the sorrow he felt for the opposition he had given them as a people. This gave occasion to William Penn to publish a smail work, which he called "Saul smitten to the Ground, being a brief but faithful Narrative of the Dying Remorse of a late Living Enemy (to the People called Quakers, and their Faith and Worship), Matthew Hide, attested by Ear- and Eye-Witnesses; whereof his Widow was one:-published in Honour to God, for a Warning to Gainsayers, and a Confirmation to the Honest-hearted."

He wrote also a Letter to a Roman Catholic, but the occasion of it is not mentioned. "The Church of Rome," he said, "had lost her chastity, having taken in discipline and principles which were neither of Christ, nor to be found in the Holy Scriptures. She had departed from the simplicity, purity, meekness, patience, and self-denial of the first churches. They only were Christ's who took up their cross against the glory and spirit of this world. It was a mistake to think that to be a church of Christ which had lost its heavenly qualifications because it once was; for what was become of Antioch and Jerusalem, both churches of Christ, and before Rome ?" He then called his (the Roman Catholic's) attention to the New Dispensation, which he and his friends were promoting, and exhorted him "to build no more upon the fancies and traditions of men, but upon Christ, the sure foundation, as he appeared in the consciences of men.”

After this he was engaged in an arbitration between John Fenwick and. Edward Byllinge, two members of his own religious society, who had purchased of Lord Berkeley his half share of New Jersey in North America.. Having well considered the case, he had made his award; but Fenwick refused to abide by it. This gave him great uneasiness, and produced from him the following friendly letter:-

"JOHN FENWICK!-The present difference betwixt thee and Edward Byllinge fills the hearts of Friends with grief, and with a resolution to take it in two days into their consideration to make a public denial of the person that offers violence to the award made, or that will not end it without bringing it upon the public stage. God, the righteous judge, will visit him. that stands off. Edward Byllinge will refer the matter to me again, if thou wilt do the like. Send me word; and, as opprest as I am with business, I will find an afternoon to-morrow or next day to determine, and so prevent. the mischief that will certainly follow divulging it in Westminster Hall. Let me know by the bearer thy mind. O John! let Truth and the honour of it in this day prevail! Woe to him that causeth offences! I am an impartial man. WILLIAM PENN."

This letter in about ten days was followed by a second, in which he could' not help rebuking Fenwick on account of his conduct. He stated, however, that the original of the dispute reflected upon both parties, and, what was worse, upon Truth, that is, upon their religious profession as Quakers. It was to hide this their high profession from shame, that he undertook the

office of an arbitrator; and he was willing to continue his mediation for the

same reason.

In thirteen days he wrote another letter to Fenwick, which, as it shows the openness of his mind, and is withal full of good sense, or rather true wisdom, I submit to the perusal of the reader :

"JOIN FENWICK!-I have, upon serious consideration of the present difference (to end it with benefit to you both, and as much quiet as may be), thought my counsel's opinion very reasonable: indeed, thy own desire to have the eight parts added was not so pleasant to the other party that it should now be shrunk from by thee as injurious; and when thou hast once thought a proposal reasonable, and given power to another to fix it, 'tis not in thy power, nor indeed a discreet or civil thing, to alter or warp from it, and call it a being forced. O John! I am sorry that a toy, a trifle, should thus rob men of their time, quiet, and a more profitable employ. I have had a good conscience in what I have done in this affair; and if thou reposest confidence in me, and believest me to be a good and just man, as thou hast said, thou shouldst not be upon such nicety and uncertainty. Away with vain fancies, I beseech thee, and fall closely to thy business. Thy days spend on, and make the best of what thou hast. Thy grandchildren may be in the other world before the land thou hast allotted will be employed. My counsel, I will answer for it, shall do thee all right and service in the affair that becomes him, who, I told thee at first, should draw it up as for myself. If this cannot scatter thy fears, thou art unhappy, and I am sorry.-Thy Friend,

"WILLIAM PENN.*

CHAPTER XII.

A. 1675-WRITES "THE SKIRMISHER DEFEATED"-ALSO TO TWO PROTESTANT LADIES OF QUALITY IN GERMANY-BECOMES A MANAGER OF PROPRIETARY CONCERNS IN NEW JERSEY-DIVIDES IT INTO EAST AND WEST-DRAWS UP A CONSTITUTION, AND INVITES SETTLERS IN THE LATTER.

In the year 1676 John Cheney, who lived near Warrington, and who had written frequently against the religious principles of the Quakers, brought out a work which he called "A Skirmish upon Quakerism." He took occasion in this to lay hold of a passage in one of the books which William Penn had written in the course of his controversy with Faldo. This coming to the knowledge of the latter, he produced, by way of reply, "The Skirmisher Defeated and Truth Defended," in which he was so successful that Cheney never ventured to provoke him again.

There is extant a letter, which he wrote in the present year to two Pro. testant women of quality in Germany. The one was the Princess Elizabeth, daughter of the deceased Frederic the Fifth, Prince Palatine of the Rhine

and King of Bohemia, and granddaughter of King James the First, The other was Anna Maria de Hornes, Countess of Hornes, the friend and companion of the former. These ladies had long discovered a serious disposition of mind, and one of them, the Princess, had shown her liberality and humanity by affording an asylum in her dominions to persons who had been persecuted on account of their religion. Since that time they had looked favourably upon those doctrines which the Quakers taught; for R. Barclay, the celebrated Apologist, and B. Furley, who were then travelling on the Continent as ministers, had paid them a religious visit, and had been well received by them. The object therefore of this letter (a very long one) was chiefly to afford them consolation, and to exhort them to constancy and perseverance in the way to which they had been thus providentially directed. About this time William Penn came accidentally into the situation of a manager of colonial concerns in New Jersey in North America, a situation not only important in itself, but which produced the most important results; for, by being concerned there, he was by degrees led to, and fitted for, the formation of a colony of his own. The way in which he became so concerned was the following:-Lord Berkeley, who was joint proprietor of New Jersey with Sir George Carteret, had in the preceding year sold his half share of it to John Fenwick in trust for Edward Byllinge. It was on this subject that the dispute arose between the latter, which William Penn has been just mentioned to have arbitrated, and which since that time he had, by means of the most exemplary perseverance, brought to an amicable issue. As soon as the adjustment took place, Fenwick, in company with his wife and family and several Quakers, embarked for America in the ship Griffith, and took possession of the land. Byllinge, however, who had been drained of his money by the purchase, and who since the sailing of Fenwick had experienced misfortune, found himself unable to meet the pecuniary demands which were brought against him. He agreed, therefore, to deliver over his new property in trust for his creditors; but, in consenting to do this, he had his eye fixed upon the friendly assistance of William Penn. He therefore supplicated the latter, with the most earnest entreaty, to become a joint trustee with Gawen Laurie of London and Nicholas Lucas of Hertford, two of the said creditors, to carry his intention into effect. To this, but not till after much consideration, he assented; and thus, though he was in no way concerned in the affairs of Byllinge, he came into the situation described.

His new office requiring exertion, and this immediately, he was all at once overwhelmed in business. The first thing he did, in conjunction with the trustees, was to agree with Sir George Carteret upon a division of the province. They allotted to the latter the eastern part of it, which by this time was tolerably well peopled; and the western, in which no settlements had been yet made, they took in behalf of Byllinge to themselves. From this time the former took the name of East, and the latter that of West New Jersey, according to this their relative situation to each other.

This division having been made, they then subdivided their own portion into a hundred lots. Ten of these they gave to Fenwick as a repayment for time, trouble, and money advanced by him to Lord Berkeley, and the remaining ninety they reserved for sale, for the benefit of the creditors of Byllinge.

The next step was to form a constitution for those who, in consequence of purchase, were to settle in the new land. This task, the most difficult, fell almost exclusively upon William Penn. He therefore drew up what he called Concessions, or terms of grant and agreement, which were to be mutually signed. The great outline of these may be comprehended in few words. The people were to meet annually to choose one honest man for each proprietary who had signed the Concessions.They, who were so chosen, were to sit in assembly. They were then to make, alter, and repeal laws. They were there also to choose a Governor, or Commissioner, with twelve assistants, who were to execute these laws, but only during their pleasure. Every man was to be capable both of choosing and being chosen.- -No man was to be arrested, imprisoned, or condemned in his estate or liberty, but by twelve men of the neighbourhood. -No man was to be imprisoned for debt; but his estate was to satisfy his creditors as far as it would go, and then he was to be set at liberty to work again for himself and family.- -No man was to be interrupted or molested on account of the exercise of his religion.Such was the simple outline of the Concessions, "by an adherence to which he hoped he had laid a foundation for those in after ages to understand their liberty both as men and Christians, and by an adherence to which they could never be brought into bondage but by their own consent."

Having made these and other arrangements, he and his colleagues gave notice of the same in a public letter, which they signed and circulated through the kingdom. Through the medium of this, they particularly mvited those who were of their own religious society to become the new settlers. They cautioned these, however, against leaving their country out of any idle curiosity, or rambling disposition, or improper motive, or to the violation of the feelings of their kindred, or of their religious unity as Friends. To this caution they annexed "A Description of West New Jersey," of its climate, soil, and produce, in order that none might be deceived, or have occasion afterwards to repent of their undertaking.

Thus was William Penn employed during a part of the present year. Thus, by becoming a trustee for Byllinge, he was unexpectedly thrown into a situation which brought before him the great question of Settlements in the then newly discovered world, which enabled him to gain considerable knowledge with respect to the formation of these, and which therefore by degrees qualified him for that station which he filled afterwards, as the founder of Pennsylvania, with so much credit to himself, with so much honour to his country, and to the admiration of succeeding ages.

CHAPTER XIII.

A. 1677-CONTINUES HIS MANAGEMENT OF WEST NEW JERSEYAPPOINTS COMMISSIONERS TO GO THERE-SELLS A PORTION OF THE LAND-SENDS OFF THREE VESSELS-UNDERTAKES A RELIGIOUS VISIT TO HOLLAND AND GERMANY-WRITES TO THE KING OF POLAND FROM AMSTERDAM-HIS KIND RECEPTION AND EMPLOY. MENT AT THE COURT AT HERWERDEN-OCCURRENCES AT KRISHEIM -DUYSBURG-MULHEIM-HARLINGEN-WONDERWICK-AND OTHER PLACES-WRITES AT FRANKFORT "A LETTER TO THE CHURCHES OF JESUS THROUGHOUT THE WORLD"-AND AT ROTTERDAM "A CALL OR SUMMONS TO CHRISTENDOM," AND OTHER TRACTS-DISPUTES WITH GALENUS ABRAMS-RETURNS TO ENGLAND-HOLDS A DISPUTE WITH WILLIAM ROGERS AT BRISTOL.

IN the early part of 1677 William Penn continued to be employed on behalf of Byllinge. It appears that he had then left his house at Rickmansworth in Hertfordshire, and that he had established himself at Worminghurst in Sussex. Here then, in the calm retreat of the country, he took thought for his new colony. The more he considered his situation as a principal manager of it, the more he became interested in it. It was his duty to take care of the individual for whom he acted; but it was a more pleasing consideration that, in attending to his interests, he had an opportunity of becoming useful on a larger scale.

While at Worminghurst applications came to him, in consequence of the public letter which had been circulated, for shares in the new adventure, by which it appeared that there was a probability of disposing of a considerable portion of West New Jersey. He consulted therefore with his colleagues; and the result was, that they determined to appoint and send over Commissioners, who should be empowered to purchase lands of the Indians, to examine the rights of such as might claim property in the new territory, to give directions for laying out the allotments there, and to administer, for the first year, the government according to the spirit of the Concessions before mentioned.

They resolved next to open proposals for the immediate sale of the lands. These offers were no sooner made, such was the high character of William Penn, than they were accepted. Among the purchasers were two companies. both consisting of Quakers, the one of persons from London, the other from Yorkshire. These contracted for large shares, and had patents for them. The members of the Yorkshire company were principal creditors of Byllinge, and they received a tenth part of the whole land in consideration of their debts.

As no persons could more properly act as commissioners than they who