The San Francisco call., 1904-03-06
The [iOeS of TwO
Colonial Builders


this country which augurs
well for the ever green memories of the
early fathers. that is. the writing and
Teady reading OF biographies whose
subjects are the men OF mark in colcn-
isl and revolutionary days. Until re-
cent years the only fund OF biography
which WAS open 10 the student OF
American history. and the casual read
er as well. was that supplied by the
scholarly but often too voluminous
writings Of the biographers of fifty or
seventy-hve years ago. Though salts
fyirg enough TO the close student or
The assiducus reader. these old writings
are not Of the kind which can merit
the term popular
IL is the advent. then. of the popular
biogra ply which has produced a dis
tinct revival in this somewhat neglect
ed branch II standard literature. To
the list Of these newly written biogra-
phies there has just been added those
of two colony builders, William Penn
by Augustus c. Buell. and james
Oglethoue." from the pen OF Harriet G.
Cooper
In essaying a life Of William Penn.
Bueu has not selected a task without
its diffiCulties There have been Penn
bioEra pliers since the time when the
Proprietary Of Pennsylvania laid down
the burden cf long life in 171S. Many
of them have been Quakers. whose
adulation has partaken SO much Of the
character If saint worship as to be
hardly acceptable as authority Others
there have been whose works have
smacked SO much Of the Puritan that
the sting Of bias has prohibited an un-
prejudiced account Of the life and
works of the great Friend. With an
honest determination TO steer the
strai ight path between this Scylla OF
bias and Charbydis II Digotry. this
biographer has written a life note
worthy for clearhess Of outline and
fidelity TO accepted facts.
The author is manifestly very chery
II any phase Of his subject which may
demand statements able 10 be con-
strued into controversial. With the
best Of intentions he states in the open
ing para graphs Of his book just what
he hopes to do and what he viii care
fully eschew. The character Of VII
liam Penn presents three sides" says
he. the political. the commercial and
The religious. With The last mentioned
aspect the writer possesses neither the
capacity nor the inclination to deal It
is his purpose 10 view Penn as an
agent and promoter Of secular civiliza-
tion in its broadest sense. and therefore
his reli Ci0us character need not be in
troduced except as IL may from time
10 time become incidental as a key
This is a worthy purpose on the part
least its pursuance would free the
writer from the entangling meshes Of
possible religious contention. but as
Well try 10 dissociate Washington
from his statecraft or Franklin from
his learning as Penn from his Quaker
ism. The biographer finds early in his
work that life Of William Penn, Shorn
If his religious convictions and their
influence uDOn his character ana life
work. would be but distorted reflec-
tiOn, indeed. So. reluctant though he
may be 10 do SO. Buell. has made the
constant influence OF the teachings of
George Fox upon the Proprietary of
Pennsylvania one Of the keynotes Of his
work. Properly is it done. for the in
spiration IF the colony in the New
World sprang from the Quaker heart
of Friend Penn. two OF the most impOr
tant articles in its code of government
were the direct inspirations of Quaker
teaching, and the troubles which
hesped upon Penn and his colony dur
ing the first years Of his rule were the
logical results Of Quaker principles ap-
piled 10 government
Prefacing his accounts Of Penn's
early conversion to the Quaker sect
with an admirable review Of the relig-
iOus HellespOut which churned and
boiled in all England during Cromwell
ian domination. the author propounds
. p somewhat ingenious theory to ac-
count for the fact Of young Penn's
spostasy. From the seeming coinci-
dences Of the boys having heard one
Thomas Loe preach the tenets of the
Friends twice in Dublin and once near
his home in London, Buell. draws the
deduction that George Fox, founder or
the sect. had deliberately set" Loe
on TO young Penn with malice afore-
thought in order that the new church
might have a convert from the no
bility. This speculation Of the authors
lacks any documentary confirmation
and is not altogether a worthy one to
be uttered.
The authors account Of PENIS in
terest in the colony Of West Jersey.
~ his subsequent efforts in behalf of
the Dersecuted Quakers which led up
10 his conception Of the proprietary
colony and Of the final granting of the
charter. 1881. by Charles ii, sticks
close TO the only reliable authority
Peuu's own journal. His estimate of
the new Pennsylvania charter is not as
high as that accorded by the histor-
ians. He maintains that IL contained
beWildering confusion Of elements.
feudal, monarchical. democratic and
aristocratic. But he absolves Penn
~ 7me in any Of these SEEM
save those of the
ucEr the denial of fee
Ie in isnc tenure and the Quaker
17fantlsn1. These weak ele-
uerls le ascribes to PENIS religious
copTictiors; the others he puts upon
1ff shoulders ~ Charles II and the
le faEous treaty under the elm
t.ne 51tWeta Penn and the Indians
She's scaooi idy. which fingers picked
ouf in tae mind Of everyone with all
the rgic oaliEess Of the school text
Hog0 cut gives the biographer oppor-
illfty ~ make comment upOn his sub
ielr commercial instincts. 1T re-
1b ~ eXUberant imagination"
sag bH Ito depict before the
minds eve, on the one hand. the re-
EQUITABLE Captain Myles Standish,
WIN resolution craven upon his grim
-fsaff1