On the twenty-fourth of February, 1681, the King signed the deed granting to Penn the absolute ownership of all that territory extending from the Delaware River to Ohio on the west and as far as Lake Erie on the north, covering an area equal to the whole of England, and the fifth of March, at a special meeting of the privy council, this patent was delivered to Penn in the presence of the King. As evidence of His Majesty’s high good-humor on this occasion, a popular anecdote is told. As Penn, according to the Quaker custom, neither took off his hat on the King’s entrance nor made the usual obeisance, Charles quietly removed his own hat, although it was the royal prerogative to remain covered on entering an assembly of any kind. To Penn’s astonished query as to the reason for this unusual proceeding he replied smilingly, “It is the custom at court for only one person to remain covered.” Another proof of the King’s satisfaction at thus being freed from his indebtedness to Penn was shown in choosing a name for the new province. Penn at first suggested New Wales, on account of the mountainous character of the country, but one of the councillors, who was a Welshman and none too well disposed toward the Friends, objected to the idea of giving the name of his native land to an American Quaker colony. His new domain being as thickly wooded as it was hilly, Penn then proposed Sylvania, which met with general approval, the King, however, insisting that Penn’s own name should be placed before it, making Pennsylvania or “Penn’s woodland.” In vain he protested that this would be looked on as vanity in him. Charles would hear of no denial, declaring good-naturedly that he would take the whole responsibility on himself. The name of Pennsylvania was inserted in the patent, and Pennsylvania it remained. This document is still in existence, carefully preserved among the State archives. It is written in old English script on a roll of stout parchment, each line underscored with red ink and the margins adorned with drawings, the first page bearing the head of King Charles the Second. It was a proud and joyful moment for Penn when he received this deed from the King’s hand, marking the first and most important step toward the realization of his dreams. “It is a gift from God,” he declared reverently. “He will bless it and make it the seed of a great nation.”