A little while longer he talked to them; then, feeling his strength fleeting rapidly, he clasped his hands and prayed aloud—
"My God! my Father! forget my sins; listen only to Thine infinite mercy——Let Thy justice be softened by the merits of the blood of Jesus Christ—"
Death laid a gentle hand upon his lips; and the man who had dealt with his fellow-man without reproach went fearless to his God.
SIR PHILIP SIDNEY
Sidney, thou star of beaming chivalry,
That rose and set 'mid valor's peerless day:
Rich ornament of knighthood's Milky-way;
How much our youth of England owe to thee!