en Sidney landed at Flushing, he had yet to learn that war demands
more courage than is needed in merely facing the foe--the courage to
endure delays, hardships, injustice, and all the cruel accompaniments of
a campaign. He learned his lesson well and shortly, for when he was
weighed in the balance, he was not found wanting in a single quality
that belongs to the hero.

Flushing, which had been assigned to English control, was at the mouth
of the Scheldt River, and on the opposite bank stood the Castle of
Rammekins. These were important points, as they commanded the entrance
from the sea. The people of the town hailed Sidney as a deliverer and
protector, for they were worn with the long struggle against the
Spanish, and were wellnigh disheartened. The defences of the place were
in wretched condition, and the town itself in a most unhealthy state, so
Sir Philip set to work at once to put the place in a more sanitary
condition and to strengthen its fortifications.

Shortly after Sidney had begun to get ready for real war, his uncle, the
Earl of Leicester, arrived in the Netherlands with the main body of the
troops sent by her Majesty, and made a spectacular tour through several
leading cities. He took up his position at the Hague, where he
immediately began to live in almost royal state, spending the funds sent
from England, wasting the resources of the people he had ostensibly come
to help, and making no move against the Spanish, who were daily gaining
ground.

If Sidney had hoped that, in changing her mind about assisting the
Netherlands, Queen Elizabeth had changed some of her personal
characteristics too, he was very quickly undeceived. The supply of men
and money sent by her Majesty was entirely inadequate to existing
necessities; and having shipped her small quota of troops, the queen
apparently washed her hands of them.

With his superior officer, Leicester, wasting time and the resources of
the troops, in dissipation, and the queen careless of their straits,
Sidney was reduced almost to despair. Yet if he had come to hope little,
he worked as if the whole responsibility of the cause rested on his
shoulders. He not only put the places of his own command in as good
condition as was possible, but he went from one city to another,
assisting and advising. He made journey after journey to the Hague to
rouse Leicester to a more active policy, and at one time went even into
Germany to implore help for the wretched cou