ge
brought against him. But some letters from James having been
intercepted, among them was found one addressed to him. He was again
brought before the Privy Council, and some of those present saying the
circumstances required sureties from him, he urgently requested to be
allowed to appear before King William himself. This was granted, and,
after a conference of two hours, the king was prepared to acquit him of
being implicated in any treasonable correspondence with James. Some of
the Council, however, were not satisfied without bail being given to
appear at Court. On coming before the Court, he was again discharged.
While King William was conducting the campaign in Ireland, where James
was at the head of an army, fighting for possession of that island, a
conspiracy in favor of the latter was discovered, originating in
Scotland. Queen Mary ordered the seizure of many supposed to be hostile
to the government, and among them William Penn was again included. How
long he was detained does not appear, but, at the Michaelmas term of the
Court (1690), he was once more cleared of any complicity with the
opponents of the government. For many months he had been making
preparations to revisit Pennsylvania, and on his discharge he hastened
to have everything ready to embark; but, before he could complete his
arrangements, he was again brought into difficulty, more serious than at
any time before, on account of his connection with the Court of King
James. King William had crossed over to Holland, to be present at a
Congress held at the Hague, and his absence emboldened the disaffected
to enter into another plot for restoring James, who was then at the
Court of Louis XIV. Two of their number started to cross the Channel,
and have an interview with their absent sovereign; but the plot was
discovered, and these emissaries, with their papers, seized. One of
them was hung; the other, in order to save his life, gave testimony
against several of the nobility, and implicated William Penn in the
conspiracy. A warrant for his arrest was issued, and, on his return from
the funeral of George Fox, he narrowly escaped once more being made a
prisoner.

In what manner he was said to be connected with the conspiracy, or what
was the specific charge brought against him, is nowhere clearly stated;
but as Lord Preston--one of the captured messengers--declared he was one
of the plotters, and a man of the name of William Fuller swore to the
correctness