“Envy, for a while, seemed to have expired, whilst foreigners and countrymen alike joined in the tribute of respect offered to his memory. Du Plessis Mornay, a celebrated Hugonot leader, condoled with Walsingham on the loss of his incomparable son-in-law, in terms of the deepest sorrow: Count Hohenloe passionately bewailed his friend and fellow-soldier: and even the obdurate heart of Philip the Second, was touched by the untimely fate of his god-son. “Henry Sidney, the father of this accomplished young nobleman, was a man endowed with wisdom and talent. Exemplary in his own conduct, he sought to infuse into the mind of his son, the purest and most elevated moral principles. Nor was his laudable conduct—his parental solicitude—disappointed: he saw, in the brilliant career of his beloved son, his warmest wishes anticipated, his fondest hopes realized. “That Philip Sidney, whilst on his travels, though still very young, conducted himself with prudence, and displayed much soundness and clearness of principle, may be inferred from his obtaining the friendship of Hubert Languet, a celebrated protestant at Frankfort. And, though his character was not faultless, though he partook of some of the errors incident to his age and station, yet, as a man—a high-souled and accomplished man—he had, among his contemporary countrymen, neither equal nor competitor. “Flattery has long since ceased to spread her meretricious splendour round his name, and the historian can now calmly examine the pretensions to that merit, which not only England, but Europe, attached to his short-lived but brilliant career; and she can, with confidence and complacency, enrol him amongst the noble few, whose example may be held up as a beacon to youth, and still serve to kindle the animating glow of emulation. “His death was worthy of the best parts of his life: he showed himself, at the last, devout, courageous, and serene. His last words are worthy of remembrance, they were uttered with seriousness and composure: ‘Love my memory; cherish my friends: their fidelity to me, may assure you that they are honest. But, above all, govern your wills and affections by the will and word of your Creator. In me, behold the end of this world and its vanities.’ “His wife, the beautiful daughter of Walsingham; his brother Robert, to whom he had performed the part of an indulgent and anxious parent rather than that of a brother; and many sorrowful friends, surrounded his bed. Their grief was, beyond doubt, sincere and poignant, as well as that of the many persons of letters and of worth, who gloried in his friendship, and flourished by his bountiful patronage. He was the author of a romance, entitled ‘Arcadia,’ now only known to the curious in literature.”