William found the vice-regal Court comparatively free from the
dissipation and loose morals of that which surrounded Charles II., and
he soon seemed to enter heartily into the enjoyment it afforded. He
joined an expedition sent, under the command of Lord Airan, to quell an
insurrection that broke out among the garrison at Carrickfergus, and for
a while was so excited by the spirit and enterprise attending active
military life, that he became anxious to adopt it as a profession. But
his father, when consulted on the subject, decidedly objected, and it
was given up.

But He who watches over the workmanship of his hand, and seeks to save
that which is lost, was not leaving William Penn to wander in the paths
of folly, without the reproofs of instruction, and in mercy, by his
witness in the heart, inclining him to accept those reproofs as the way
to life; and it was not long before he was brought to a stand, and made
to feel that he must then make his election between the life of a votary
of this world and that of a self-denying disciple of a crucified
Saviour.

Shangarry Castle, the newly-acquired estate of the Admiral, was near to
Cork, and when not employed in bringing the place and the affairs
connected with it into order, William was often in the town, where he
had been well acquainted when a boy. Having one day, while there, gone
into the shop of a woman Friend whom he had formerly known, to make a
purchase, and finding she did not recognize him, he introduced himself,
and entered into conversation with her; recalling to her recollection
the meeting held by Thomas Loe at his father's house. Upon her
expressing surprise at his memory of the events, he replied, he thought
he would never forget them, and that, if he knew where that Friend was,
he would go to hear him again, though it was a hundred miles off. She
told him he need not go so far, for that Friend was now in Cork, and
was to have a meeting the next day. Curious again to hear one who had
arrested his attention when a boy, and seriously impressed him by his
ministry, when at Oxford, he went to the meeting; and after a time
Thomas Loe stood up with the expression, "There is a faith that
overcomes the world, and there is a faith that is overcome by the
world." It struck deep into the heart of William Penn, who was then made
to feel keenly that he had been long striving against or slighting his
known duty to his Maker, and allowing the world to overcome the drawi