appeared to be no accuser or accusation against him, and he was declared clear in open Court.[A] [Footnote A: The aspersion of the character of William Penn, and the charges brought against his conduct while frequenting the Court of James II., by Macaulay in his History of England, have been fully investigated and refuted by several authors, who have shown the serious mistakes of the historian, and the innocence of Penn of the offences imputed to him.] In 1688 James II., finding himself deserted by the nobility, the gentry, and the army, fled to France, and William, Prince of Orange, who had come over with an army on the invitation of some of the leading statesmen of England, was proclaimed king. Notwithstanding the alienation of the kindly feelings of the people, by the impolitic course pursued by James, and their apparent determination to maintain William and Mary on the throne, the self-exiled monarch resolved to continue whatever effort he could make, with the assistance of his friend Louis XIV., to regain the crown of Great Britain. There were many, who had stood high in State and Church, who refused to take the oath of allegiance to the reigning royal pair. These were termed Non-jurors and Jacobites, and intrigues and covert conspiracies were, for a long time, rife among them. Naturally this gave rise to suspicion and distrust on the part of the party in power. From this cause William Penn was subjected to no little trouble; his intimacy with the former king affording ground to prejudice the minds of many against him. He had already been arrested and discharged, there being no specific charge 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