ENGLISH STORY (SIR PHILIP SIDNEY)

SIR PHILIP SIDNEY
A CRUEL battle was being fought. The ground was covered with dead
and dying men. The air was hot and stifling. The sun shone down
without pity on the wounded soldiers lying in the blood and dust.
One of these soldiers was a nobleman, whom everybody loved for his
gentleness and kindness. Yet now he was no better off than the poorest
man in the field. He had been wounded, and would die; and he was
suffering much with pain and thirst.
When the battle was over, his friends hurried to his aid. A soldier came
running with a cup in his hand.
"Here, Sir Philip," he said, "I have brought you some clear, cool water
from the brook. I will raise your head so that you can drink."
The cup was placed to Sir Philip's lips. How thankfully he looked at the
man who had brought it! Then his eyes met those of a dying soldier who
was lying on the ground close by. The wistful look in the poor man's face
spoke plainer than words.
"Give the water to that man," said Sir Philip quickly; and then, pushing
the cup toward him, he said, "Here, my comrade, take this. Thy need is
greater than mine."
What a brave, noble man he was! The name of Sir Philip Sidney will
never be forgotten; for it was the name of a Christian gentleman who
always had the good of others in his mind. Was it any wonder that
everybody wept when it was heard that he was dead?
It is said, that, on the day when he was carried to the grave, every eye in
the land was filled with tears. Rich and poor, high and low, all felt that
they had lost a friend; all mourned the death of the kindest, gentlest man
that they had ever known.