Mrs. Penn

“ Penn disliked him.
"You don't know," she said. "And if you did, Harry Chandos can be nothing to you."
Her light eyes were turned on me with a searching look, and my cheeks went into a red heat. Mrs. Penn gathered her conclusions.
"Child," she impressively said, "if you are acquiring any liking for Harry Chandos, dis-acquire it. Put the thought of him far from you. That he may be a pleasant man in intercourse, I grant; but he must not become too pleasant to you, or to any other woman. Never waste your heart on a man who cannot marry." ”

“ Penn, a young gentleman well known for his eccentricities, walked from Hyde Park Corner to Hammersmith, for a wager of one hundred guineas, with the Honourable Butler Danvers, several gentlemen who had witnessed the contest spoke of it to the Duchess of Gordon, and added, It was a pity that a man with so many good qualities as this Penn had, should be incessantly playing these unaccountable pranks. It is so, said her grace, but why don’t you advise him better? He seems to be a pen that everybody cuts, but nobody mends. ”

“ Penn and his wife took much pleasure of a kind we hardly approve of now. It is hard to tell which is right."
"Dear Aunt Lois, whatever leads people to be sweet and joyful and thankful and kind to all who suffer cannot be far wrong. And were there no good men before the time of Mr. Fox and Mr. Penn?"
"Thou wert always finding prettiness of speech and ways that have a charm in them. And if thou shouldst send word to Andrew at any time, tell him his mother's heart is tender towards him and that no one can fill his place. Thou hast given me much joy. ”

“ Penn remained shut out from the world, and deprived of opportunity to serve the cause of truth and righteousness, and his brethren of the same faith, except by his pen, for more than two years; his character stained in the estimation of some, and his valuable services forgotten by many others, who, perhaps, thought he had indeed fallen to rise no more. But there were men of eminence who had never believed William Penn guilty of the crime laid to his charge, and were awaiting the right opportunity to have justice done to his position and character. ”

“ William Penn, anxious to have the cases of himself and his friend reviewed by a Superior Court, wrote to his father, affectionately desiring him not to interfere to have him released. But the old man, who was fast declining, and anxious to have the company and attentions of his son, to whom he was not only reconciled, but on whose filial affection and care he had learned to lean for comfort and support, was not willing to wait the tardy process of law; and therefore paid the fines of both the Friends, and had them set free. ”

“ Letitia, who had married William Aubrey, had already received a dower, and later received ten thousand acres of land in Pennsylvania, as did each of the younger William's children, Gulielma, Maria, Springett, and William. The remainder of Penn's estate went to his second wife, Hannah Penn, and her five children, John, Thomas, Margaret, Richard, and Dennis. Hannah Penn had practically all the powers over the province that her husband had wielded, and she used them capably, proving a most excellent business woman. ”

“ The publication of an anonymous poem called ‘Marriage,’ in the ‘Monthly Magazine,’ in the summer of 1815, led Penn to organise in 1817 a ‘matrimonial society,’ which had for its object an improvement in the domestic life of married persons. Extending its aims to other schemes of domestic utility, the society changed its name in May to that of the Outinian Society. During the summer of 1818 meetings of the society took place at Penn's house, 10 New Street, Spring Gardens, and later at Stoke Park. Penn, who acted as president, edited the works of the society for publication. ”

“ In passing the door I gave a hasty glance back, and saw Penn— sitting as before, his arms folded, his heels beating the bench, but so slowly, that their strokes seemed like the dying vibrations of a pendulum; and the whistle was so low that it was scarcely audible. With a heavy heart I passed away, much preferring to acknowledge the acquaintance of a "deserter" like Poor Penn— than to continue that of the unimpeachable Sergeant Smith. Another week brought around the day of my friend's departure, and I found it impossible to resist the temptation to take a farewell look at my old companion. ”

“ Sir John Robinson, the Lieutenant of the Tower of London, said to him, "I vow, Mr. Penn, I am sorry for you; you are an ingenious gentleman, all the world must allow you and do allow you that, and you have a plentiful estate. Why should you render yourself unhappy by associating with such a simple people?" ”

“ Penn was a candidate for the upper grammar or head mastership of Christ's Hospital in 1760, but lost the election by one vote. He was appointed by the governors of the hospital to the vicarage of Clavering-cum-Langley, Essex. Penn continued teaching in the school until 1767. From about 1769 until 1779 he was domestic chaplain to Granville, earl Gower. From March 1781 until his death on 15 Aug. 1800 he resided at Clavering-cum-Langley. He was buried in London. ”

“ Penn started, and looked at her keenly.
"His name?"
"Augustus Bythewood."
Penn recoiled.
"What's the matter?"
"Virginia, that man is thy worst enemy? I did not tell thee how I learned that the arrests were to be made. But I will!" And he told her all.
"O," said she, "if I had only believed what my heart has always said of that man, and trusted less to my eyes and ears, he would never have deceived me! If he, then, is an enemy, what hope is there? O, my father!"
"Do not despair!" answered Penn, as cheerfully as he could. "Something may be done. Stackridge and his friends may have escaped. ”

“ His strong and many-sided nature enabled him to meet Penn in his large philanthropic schemes, and to sympathise with Barclay in his scholarly labours. If already his frame was feeling the effects of much suffering whilst his brethren were in their prime, his soul knew no decay. Penn might be the strongest of the three on the point of leavening earthly institutions with heavenly aims. Barclay's surpassing intellectual gifts might forbid any man to despise his youth. ”

“ These were the weaknesses of a young enthusiast. His enthusiasm remained for greater purposes; but he is understood to have grown wiser with regard to the rest, though he continued a Quaker for life. Penn, though a legislator, never seems to have given up a taste for good living. His appearance in the portraits of him, notwithstanding his garb, is fat and festive; and he died of apoplexy.
In the same house, we believe, that had been occupied by Penn [146] , resided an author who must not be passed over in a work of this kind; to wit, the indefatigable and honest antiquary, Dr. ”

“ Our narrow limits are insufficient to do justice to the character of William Penn, in setting forth his uprightness, his firmness, his zeal, his diligence, his love of the truth. Whether we consider him as a religious writer, a wise and Christian legislator, or as a faithful and devoted minister of the gospel, we must regard him as a benefactor to mankind. Of such the everlasting memorial is sure: "They that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament, and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars forever and ever." ”

“ Admiral Sir William Penn, Father of William Penn.
From the portrait by Peter Van Dyke.
The people of the court and town in the England of Charles II. were a very dissipated and [Pg 29] unprincipled set. Most of the fashionable people were proud of their lack of morals, and the plays, the writings, and even the speech of the ruling class were coarse and vulgar beyond belief. William Penn saw all this, and his nature, being on a higher plane and more serious than that of his father's friends, turned instinctively to those who were living clean and respectable lives. ”

“ He kept great lords waiting without while he conversed at leisure with the Quaker. He liked Penn, and Penn liked him. In spite of the disparities in their age, rank, and creed, William Penn and James Stuart were fast friends, united by the bond of genuine affection.
It was characteristic of Penn to be blind to the faults of his friends. He brought great troubles both upon himself and upon his colony by his refusal to believe the reports which were made to him against the character of men whom he had appointed to office: he was unwilling to believe evil of any man. ”

“ Penn married twice. His first wife—born in 1643 or 1644, married at Chorley Wood, Rickmansworth, on 4 April 1672, died at Hoddesdon on 23 Feb. 1693–4, buried at Jordans—a woman of great beauty and saintly character, was Gulielma Maria, daughter of Sir William Springett of Brayle Place, Ringmer, Sussex, a parliamentary officer, who died at the siege of Arundel Castle on 3 Feb. 1643–4. Her mother, Mary, daughter of Sir John Proude, remarried, in 1654, Isaac Penington, a quaker [see under Penington, Isaac, 1616–1679] . By her Penn had issue three sons and four daughters. ”

“ In darkness, in loneliness, far from the village and its twinkling lights, to meet an attractive and a very good looking young man! What would the world say? Virginia did not care what the world would say. But now she began to question within herself, "What would Penn think?" ”

“ Cork upon some business, and there heard that Thomas Loe was in town, and that he was to preach. Penn went to hear him, and again the spoken word was critical and decisive. "There is a faith," said the preacher, "which overcomes the world, and there is a faith which is overcome by the world." Such was the theme, and it seemed to Penn as if every word were spoken out of heaven straight to his own soul. In the long contention which had been going on within him between the world and the other world, the world had been getting the mastery. ”

“ The plain Man with the Leather Breeches got hold of him; and all the objurgations, threats, and even the act of disinheritance of the admiral were powerless to extricate him from that grasp. Penn had found something which seemed to him more precious than rubies, and he was quite as resolute as the old hero of the Navy. Penn could endure the beating and the being turned into the streets, but he could not stop his ears and eyes to the voice and light of God in his soul. ”

“ Under these conditions, misled by friendship, seeing, but not perceiving, Penn persuaded himself that he could excellently serve God and his neighbors by becoming a courtier. He took a house in London, within easy distance of Whitehall, and visited the king daily. A great many people therefore visited Penn daily; sometimes as many as two hundred were waiting to confer with him. They desired that he would do this or that for their good with the king. ”

“ Human virtue does not challenge nor admit of such a scrutiny: and it should be sufficient for the glory of William Penn, that he stands upon record, as the most humane, the most moderate, and most pacific of all governors.” All this may be enough for his glory. But there are some simple, touching truths, to be told of William Penn, and some highly interesting personal details; which, though they may have little about them, in accordance with the ordinary estimate of glory, will long continue to envelop the memory of this extraordinary man, with a purer and a milder light. ”

“ Rather spare in figure and much wrinkled in face, she still had a placid look and smiled with a meaningless softness as anyone drew near.
For a moment Madam Wetherill thought of William Penn, whom her father had visited at Ruscombe [Pg 77] in those last years of a useful life when dreams were his only reality, still gentle and serene, and fond of children. Faith was sitting at her knee and answering her aimless talk, and Rachel had her spinning wheel on the porch. ”

“ For one hundred and thirty years, William Penn has slumbered in the grave. That hutesium et clamor, that spirit of persecution, by which this excellent man was pursued, vilified, impoverished, and exiled, has long been hushed. The high churchman, the bigot, the Quaker renegade, the false accuser, have worn out their viperous teeth upon the file. All, that bore the primeval impress of human weakness, in William Penn, had well nigh perished, and departed from the minds of men. ”

“ As Penn approached, the oldest sachem rose and bade him welcome, adding that the nations of the Delaware were ready to listen to his words.
“We meet,” replied Penn, as he stood a little in advance of the chief of his colonists, “on the broad pathway of good works and good will; no advantage shall be taken on either side, but all shall be openness and love. I will not call you children, for parents sometimes chide their children too severely; nor brothers only, for brothers differ. ”

“ If Penn had not been a religious man, his life had not been worth recording. He would have lived the life that was lived by almost all men of his class at that time, a life of unrestrained worldliness and luxury. ”

“ Penn always dealt fairly with the Indians, and they trusted him far more than they did most of the white men. He traveled through New Jersey, New York, and Maryland, being eager to see the country and also to spread Quaker influence as widely as he could in the new world. The life of a country gentleman suited him to perfection, and he was undoubtedly much happier in Pennsylvania than he had been when a courtier at Whitehall in London, or striving to make other people believe that King James was as worthy a king as he himself thought him. ”