ntry. All this time he was
writing to Leicester, to the queen, to her advisers, the most passionate
letters. He set forth the condition of affairs in language that stripped
truth of all dissembling, and implored her Majesty and her officers to
let him do the work for which he had been sent. Like the king of the
forest in the narrow confines of a cage, Sidney's fierce soul raged
against the orders that kept his sword idle while the Spanish were
wasting the land. There is not a more pathetically tragic figure in
history than that of the heroic Sidney in the power of the unworthy
Queen of England and of the doubly unworthy Earl of Leicester.

More than a year was wasted by the luxurious earl, Sidney the while
chafing at his idleness, and the Spanish gaining post after post. Time
and again, Sidney pleaded with Leicester to give him adequate troops and
leave to act, but the troops were not given; and when, on his own
responsibility, Sidney undertook to besiege Steenbergen, he was
forbidden to prosecute the plan.

It was not until he had spent nearly two years of hard work and
discouragement in the Netherlands that Sir Philip was at last allowed to
proceed against the enemy in active warfare.

A most unwilling permission being wrung from Leicester, Sidney joined
forces with Lord Willoughby and Count Maurice and proceeded against the
town of Axel, which was then in the hands of the Spaniards.

A moonless night was chosen for the expedition, and the advance was made
stealthily and swiftly. While the attacking forces approached the
sleeping town, Sir Philip spoke so earnestly to the men that one who was
with him afterwards said, "he did so link our minds that we did desire
rather to die in that service than to live in the contrary."

Axel was surrounded by a wall and a moat, and was regarded as
impregnable to all save overwhelming forces; but Sidney depended more on
the spirit of his men than on mere numbers, and he pressed hardily
forward. When the moat was reached, he plunged boldly in, and was soon
followed by some fifty others. A few moments more, and they had gained
the opposite bank and were scaling, as best they could, the wall of
Axel. A little while of breathless suspense, and then their dark forms
were outlined against the sky on the top of the wall, only to disappear
quickly on the other side. Presently there were cries of surprise and
terror and sounds of sharp fighting, then the drawbridge was lowered and
the g