On his return from abroad, our accomplished young man was immediately introduced to the notice of Queen Elizabeth, under the most favourable auspices, for he seems to have been adopted by his uncle, the powerful Earl of Leicester, as his son and heir. In 1576, being then only 22 years of age, he was selected to carry the condolence of Queen Elizabeth to the Emperor Rodolph, on the recent death of his father. In this embassy he had a pompous retinue, kept great state, and displayed his armorial bearings with a latin inscription, descriptive of his high descent and employment, in front of every house in which he chanced to lodge. This embassy seems to have had an object distinct from the ostensible one. Sir Philip Sidney had instructions to procure certain intelligence respecting the manners and views of the Emperor for the information of the British ministry; and to visit the principal protestant states of Germany, for the purpose of effecting an union in defence of their religious opinions. He does not seem to have been engaged in this mission many months; the first letter addressed by him to Walsingham, as Secretary of State, bears date May 1576, and that he was returned in June 1577, appears by a letter of the Secretary's to his father, announcing that event, and highly approving of his conduct. This was the first, and with the exception of that in which he afterwards lost his life, the only public, e ployment conferred upon Sir Philip Sidney. He continued to reside at court, and occasionally appeared in the pageantry of the age, as a champion in the lists; but his only office was that of cup-bearer to the queen, honourable, perhaps, but not important or dignified. He seems at this time to have been supported by a quarterly allowance, paid him by his father, and perhaps by the occasional bounty of his uncle. From the queen, he obtained a sinecure in Wales, of the yearly value of 120 pounds only, on which account he was included in the list of those young aspirants who were considered as her pensioners. So late as the year 1582 he does not not even appear to have obtained a seat at the privy council. In 1579 he ventured to write a letter to the queen, remonstrating with her on the impolicy of her projected marriage with the Duke of Anjou; which seems to have been well received, and if we may credit his biographers, produced its desired effect upon the royal mind. He had previously employed his pen in defence. of his father's government of Ireland. In 1580 he incurred the displeasure of the queen in consequence of a quarrel he had with the Earl of Oxford, at a tennis court, and he found it necessary for a time to retire from court. During this retirement, which he passed at Wilton, the seat of his brother in law, the Earl of Pembroke, he wrote his Arcadia. In 1581 he wrote his Defence of Poetry. In January, 1583, he was Knighted. About this time be wrote the defence of his uncle, the Earl of Leicester, against the author of a book called Leicester's Commonwealth, but this defence was not published, and certainly produced no good effect upon the character of the Earl. In the same year, Sir Philip Sidney married Frances the only daughter and heir of Sir Francis Walsingham. That he married this lady when his affections were fixed on another, is certain, and will be the subject of some future remarks, In the year 1585, the inhabitants of the Netherlands applied to Queen Elizabeth for protection against the tyranny of the Duke of Alva, and placed several of their principal frontier towns in her hands. Flushing was one of these, and Sir Philip Sidney, now a privy counsellor, was appointed to its government in November. Very soon afterwards a powerful army, under the command of the Earl of Leicester, with the title of Governor and Captain-General of the united provinces of Holland and Zealand, landed in that country, and was immediately joined by Sir Philip in the capacity of General of the Horse. The campaign which followed, was short and inglorious, and memorable only for the death of Sir Philip Sidney. On the 22nd of September, 1586, a detachment of the English army accidentally met with a convoy sent by the enemy to Zutphen, a town in Guelderland, then beseiged by the Spaniards. A severe conflict ensued, and the English troops, though inferior in number, had the advantage. Sir Philip Sidney, who commanded the cavalry, had a horse shot under him; having mounted another, he rushed forward to the relief of Lord Willoughby, who was surrounded and in imminent danger. In this charge he received a severe wound from a musket ball in the left thigh, of which he languished sixteen days, and died. Such are, in brief, the leading facts in the life of this highly extolled man, and no incident of any importance is omitted. A slight foundation assuredly, on which Ι had been raised one of the most towering structures ever dedicated to the memory of an individual in his native country. Though not exactly in conformity with the object of the present compilation, it may not perhaps, be unacceptable to the reader, if a few pages are devoted in this place to an impartial examination into the general character of Sir Philip Sidney, and the causes which have led to that exalted reputation, which, by almost universal consent, he has so long enjoyed. Every accomplishment and every virtue has been attributed to Sir Philip Sidney. "Whatever applause," says Dr. Zouch, "is due to his genius, and to his erudition, much more is due to his goodness, to the innocency of his life, and to the unsullied purity of his manners; his whole moral conduct was indeed irreproachable." He has been put in comparison with the Black Prince and with the Chevalier Bayard, for bravery and chivalrous gallantry. He was the patron of Spenser, and the Mæcenas of his time. Himself a learned man, he was also the correspondent and friend of learned men of all countries. A statesman from his first entry into life, he aspired to be the counsellor of his sovereign, and at all times shewed his eagerness to take an active part in public affairs. He was an accomplished soldier; a successful courtier; a lover and a patron of the arts; a poet; a writer on state policy; a critic; and the founder of a department in the literature of his country. Much has also been said of the elegance of his person and manners; of the suavity of his disposition; of his generosity and munificence; and of the correctness of his conduct in domestic life, as a son, a brother, and a friend. There is perhaps no more certain test of the purity of a man's moral conduct, than the history of his intercourse with women. Put to this proof, Sir Philip Sidney appears a mere mortal. His biographer, who is also his encomiast, passes over this part of his life with little or no notice; it did not suit his purpose, which was, to publish an account of a perfect and immaculate character. The principal poetical work of Sir Philip Sidney, consists of a series of Sonnets and other short Poems, addressed to a lady with the assumed name of Stella. "This volume," says Wood, "is reputed to have been written in compliment to the Lady Rich." It was first printed in quarto in 1591. There are, however, positive proofs that Stella and Lady Rich was one and the same person, in the Poems themselves, as for instance, -needy fame Doth even grow rich, naming my Stella's name. and But that rich fool, who by blind fortune's lot, But more especially [Sonnet 24.] Towards Aurora's court a nymph doth dwell, Rich in all beauties that man's eye can see: Beauties so far from reach of words, that we Abase her praise, saying, she doth excel: |