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

He had been commended by his father, on his death-bed, to the good
offices of the then Duke of York. The respect and kind feeling of the
Duke for William Penn appeared to have continued after he became King;
and a sense of gratitude and Christian interest, in measure, bound the
man he had befriended to his royal benefactor. He was almost daily at
Court, and as often his interest there was employed on behalf of those
with whom he was united in religious fellowship, or of others who
solicited his aid; which his kindness of heart prompted him not to
refuse. His house in Kensington was daily thronged with persons who
sought his mediation to promote their interests, or desired to engage
him to present their petitions or addresses to the King. He received all
with courtesy, and aided those he could with cheerfulness; and no one
ever charged him with making gain of his position or influence.
Nevertheless, in this way, it is probable he appeared in cases where
greater prudence would have restrained him from interfering. Certainly
he made many bitter enemies, who hesitated not to proclaim him to be a
Jesuit, a hypocrite, and an enemy to the Protestant interest. Accustomed
to calumny as a Friend, and conscious of his innocence, William Penn
allowed these slanders to possess the public ear, until they came to be
credited by many, who, without any particular prejudice against him,
supposed that, like other emissaries of Rome, he was in league with the
King in trying to subvert the religion and constitutional liberties of
the nation. At length the Secretary for the Plantations, who knew Penn
well, and was greatly grieved with the manner in which he was traduced,
and fearful of the ultimate result of his persistently declining
publicly to defend himself, addressed him by letter; reciting the
charges industriously circulated against him, and earnestly requesting
he would notice and refute them. To this letter William Penn replied,
taking up each accusation separately, and showing their untruth and
their absurdity. He did not hesitate to acknowledge the gratitude and
kind feeling he entertained toward King James, and that on some
occasi