The long confinement had so seriously affected Penn’s health that he now decided to leave London and moved with his family to Brentford, some eight miles distant, where he devoted himself entirely to his former vocation of preaching the gospel throughout the country and conducting meetings for his Quaker brethren. The increasing infirmities of age, however, soon put an end to these journeyings, Penn having now reached the age of sixty-five, and in 1710, therefore, he retired to Rushcombe in Buckinghamshire, where he remained until his death. From there he addressed a communication to the settlers in Pennsylvania, reproaching them for the ingratitude with which they had rewarded his labors and sacrifices in their behalf. His last journey to England had been taken solely in their interests to prevent the absorption of that province by the crown, in which case their existing constitution would have been abolished. He had made every effort to accomplish this purpose, in spite of their indifference, with the result that he had become impoverished while they had grown rich; while they, thanks to his foresight and perseverance, were in possession of an empire, liberty, and power, and he, for their sake and because of their avarice, had been forced to languish in a debtors’ prison. He was forced to conclude, therefore, that it was their wish to sever the old relations hitherto existing between them and himself, in which case, if they would signify their desire by the choice of a successor, he would then know how to act. This letter did not fail to impress the conscience-stricken Pennsylvanians. At the popular election which shortly followed a new assembly was chosen in place of the one that had proved so ungrateful to their benefactor, and it was no small consolation to Penn, broken as he was by trouble and ill health, that this new assembly unanimously agreed on the passage of resolutions that filled him with hope for the future of the province. Chapter IX Death of his Dissolute Son William—Penn’s Last Illness and Mental Decline—His Death and Will The younger William Penn meanwhile had gone from bad to worse, to the bitter disappointment of his father, who after the untimely death of his first-born had placed all his hopes on this unworthy son. After having entirely estranged his family by his excesses, he entered the army in defiance of his father’s principles, but resigned soon after when an opening offered for election to Parliament. Failing to accomplish this, however, he abandoned his wife and children and went to the continent, where he led a life of riotous adventure in the various capitals till his death in 1720.