xford, through all my experiences in France,
through the trials that arose from my father's harshness, and through
the terrors of the Great Plague. He gave me a deep sense of the vanity
of the world and of the irreligiousness of the religions of it. The
glory of the world often overtook me, and I was ever ready to give
myself up to it.' But, invariably, _the faith that overcometh the world_
proved victorious. In his monumental _History of the United States_,
Bancroft says that, splendid as were the triumphs of Penn, his greatest
conquest was the conquest of his own soul. Extraordinary as was the
greatness of his mind; remarkable, both for universality and precision,
as were the vast conceptions of his genius; profound as was his
scholarship, and astute as was his diplomacy; the historian is convinced
that, in the last resort, his greatest contribution to history is the
development and influence of his impressive and robust character. 'He
was prepared for his work,' Bancroft says, 'by the severe discipline of
life; and love without dissimulation formed the basis of his being. The
sentiment of cheerful humanity was irrepressibly strong in his bosom;
benevolence gushed prodigally from his ever overflowing heart; and when,
in his late old age, his intellect was impaired and his reason
prostrated, his sweetness of disposition rose serenely over the clouds
of disease.' The winsomeness of his ways and the courtliness of his
bearing survived for many months the collapse of his memory and the loss
of his powers of speech.

Such was his faith's _first_ victory. It was the conquest of the world
_within_.

IV

'_This is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith._' It
was by his faith that he obtained his _second_ great triumph--his
conquest of the world _without_. He disarmed nations by confiding in
them. He bound men to himself by trusting them. He vanquished men by
believing in them. It was always by his faith that he overcame.

When the admiral died, the nation was in his debt to the extent of
sixteen thousand pounds. This amount--on its recovery--Sir William
bequeathed to his son. In due time the matter was compounded, William
Penn agreeing to accept an immense belt of virgin forest in North
America in full settlement of his claim. He resolved to establish a new
colony across the seas under happier conditions than any State had ever
known. It should be called Pennsylvania; it should be the land of
freedom; it