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SIDNEY -SIEGE 



in spite of his spirited defence, he was declared 

 guilty. After his conviction, he sent, by his rela- 

 tion, the marquis of Halifax, a paper to be laid be- 

 fore the king, requesting his review of the whole 

 mutter; but it served only to delay his execution 

 about a week. Hume acknowledges the illegality 

 of his condemnation, for which he observes, "the 

 jury were very blamable," but remarks, that an in- 

 terference by the king might be regarded as an act 

 " of heroic generosity, but could never be deemed 

 an indispensable duty." Sidney was executed on 

 Tower hill, December 7, 1678, when he delivered 

 the sheriff a paper, alleging the injustice of his con- 

 demnation, and concluding with a prayer for " the 

 good old cause." He suffered with all the firmness 

 and constancy belonging to his character. One of 

 the first acts of the revolution was to reverse his 

 attainder; and the name of Algernon Sidney has 

 since been held in great honour by the majority of 

 those who maintain the fundamental principles of 

 free government. Burnet speaks of him as of ex- 

 traordinary courage, steady, even to obstinacy, im- 

 patient of contradiction, and a decided enemy to 

 monarchy and church government. His Discourses 

 on Government were first printed in 1698, and re- 

 printed in 1704 and 1751 in folio, and in 1772 in 

 quarto, at the expense of Thomas Hollis, esquire, 

 with the trial letters prefixed. They contain much 

 historical information, and are composed with clear- 

 ness, acuteness and force. 



SIDNEY, SIR PHILIP, an ingenious writer and 

 accomplished statesman in the reign of queen 

 Elizabeth, was the son of Sir Henry Sidney, of 

 Penshurst, in Kent, where he was born November 

 29, 1554. After studying at Christ-church, Oxford, 

 and Trinity college, Cambridge, he set off on his 

 travels, at the age of eighteen, visited France, 

 Hungary and Italy, and, returning through Germany 

 and Flanders, arrived in England in 1575. He be- 

 came a favourite with the queen, who, in 1576, 

 sent him on an embassy to Germany. Having had 

 a quarrel with the earl of Oxford, in consequence 

 of a dispute at a tournament, her majesty interposed 

 her authority to prevent a duel from taking place. 

 Sidney, displeased at the issue of the affair, retired 

 to Wilton, in Wiltshire, 1580, and amused himself 

 with the composition of a pastoral romance, which, 

 in compliment to his sister, was entitled the Coun- 

 tess of Pembroke's Arcadia. In 1581, he again ap- 

 peared at court, where he distinguished himself in 

 the jousts and tournaments celebrated for the en- 

 tertainment of the duke of Anjou ; and on the re- 

 turn of that prince to the continent, he accompanied 

 him to Antwerp. The prince palatine being in- 

 vested with the order of the garter in 1583, Mr 

 Sidney was appointed his proxy, when he received 

 the honour of knighthood. In 1585, he projected, 

 in concert with Sir Francis Drake, an expedition 

 against the Spaniards in America ; and he had gone 

 to Plymouth to embark on the undertaking, when 

 an express mandate from the queen recalled him to 

 court. Her influence also was exerted to prevent 

 him from being elected king of Poland ; " refusing," 

 as Camden says, " to further his advancement, out 

 of fear that she should lose the jewel of her times." 

 He was subsequently appointed governor of Flush- 

 ing, and general of the cavalry under his uncle, 

 Dudley, earl of Leicester, who commanded the 

 forces sent to assist the Dutch against the Spani- 

 ards. September 22, 1586, being at the head of a 

 detachment of the English troops, he fell in with a 

 convoy of the eurmy marching towards Znthen. 



An engagement took place, in which his party 

 guined the victory, dearly purchased with the life 

 of their commander, who received a shot in his 

 thigh, which shattered the hone. He was carried 

 to Arnheim, where he expired, October 17. His 

 works, besides the Arcadia, consist of the Defence 

 of Poesy; Astrophel and Stella; a collection, en- 

 | titled Songs and Sonnets; and other poetical pieces. 

 ! The Defence was republished in 1752 (12mo.), and 

 in 1831 (Boston); and a complete edition of his 

 works appeared in three volumes, 8vo. (London, 

 i 1725). His Miscellaneous Works, with a life by 

 i W. Gray (one volume, 8vo.), appeared at Oxford 

 ! (1829). The work by which Sir Philip Sidney is 

 \ principally known is his Arcadia, which is one of 

 | the earliest specimens of the grave or heroic ro- 

 ! mance. It is a mixture of prose and verse, the latter 

 | exhibiting various attempts to naturalize the mea- 

 i sures of Roman poetry. See the Life of Sidney by 

 Sir Fulk Greville, and Zouch's Memoirs of the Life 

 and Writings of Sir P. Sidney (1808). 

 SIDON. See P/uenicia. 

 SIEBENBURGEN. See Transylvania. 

 SIEBENGEBIRGE (German, Seven Mountains'), 

 a group on the right bank of the Rhine, near the 

 town of Konigswinter, not far from Bonn, consist- 

 ing of basalt, granite, porphyry and sandstone. 

 Seven mountains tower above the rest of the group, 

 of which the Drachenfels, close to the Rhine, and 

 presenting a splendid view from the river, is the 

 most beautiful, and the Lowenberg, 1896 feet high, 

 the highest. All of them contain ruins of ancient 

 castles. 



SIEGE. The taking of a fortified place may be 

 attempted, 1. by surprise (coup de main], in case 

 the defenders should be off their guard, or treachery 

 should enable the assailants to enter the fortress by 

 means of secret or unguarded passages; 2. by a 

 sudden onset (iine affaire brusquee), usually con- 

 nected with an assault and scaling of the walls 

 (escalade), if the place should not be strongly gar- 

 risoned, or not in a proper state of defence or if 

 the assailants have no time to lose, or are possessed 

 of strength and means sufficient for carrying their 

 point (of late years, this method of attack has been 

 strongly recommended, especially if it can be se- 

 conded by an efficacious and skilful use of artillery); 

 3. by blockade out of gun-shot (see Blockade) ; 4. 

 by a siege, properly so called. The fortress is first 

 blockaded, so as to cut off all intercourse from 

 without ; it is then important to examine the nature 

 of the fortification, to discover the strength of the 

 garrison, as well as the means of defence, and, if 

 possible, the weakest parts of the place, in order to 

 mark out a proper plan of attack : after this, the 

 cannon, together with the necessary ammunition 

 and implements for the pioneers, are brought for- 

 ward; and the other requisites (fascines, gabions, 

 &c.) are prepared and kept in readiness. The en- 

 gineer who directs the operations must accurately 

 calculate his time, the resistance to be expected, 

 as well as the means at his disposal, and form his 

 plan of attack accordingly. If any detached works 

 are situated before the fortress, their capture be- 

 comes necessary to admit the opening of the trenches, 

 at the distance of 500 900 paces from the covered 

 way. After they are properly marked out (tracees), 

 several columns of pioneers, furnished with fascines 

 and instruments for digging, and defended by regular 

 troops, advance (commonly by night) towards the 

 fortress asfarastha spot designated [for tlie trencher, 

 and there immediately engage in opcnii-ir a trend;. 



