noon
The last week in October , 1586 , was a mournful time for London , as the greatest favorite of Queen Elizabeth , Sir Philip Sidney , was to receive a State funeral at Saint Paul 's . All England went in mourning for the handsome cavalier and poet , who lost his life at the siege of Axel , in the Netherlands , while serving as chief of cavalry under his uncle , the Earl of Leicester . All business closed in honor of the young hero , and the celebrated military organization , the `` Ancient and Honorable Artillery , '' led more than thirty thousand of the `` train bands , '' who followed in the great procession to Saint Paul 's Church . The sacerdotal service began at noon , and Queen Elizabeth rode in a golden car on a dark purple throne to witness the last rites in honor of her court favorite . The bells of London churches , temples , turrets , and towers rang continually until sundown , filling the air with a universal requiem of grief , while the black clouds hanging over the metropolis shed showers of tears for the untimely loss of a patriot and a poet . William and myself saw the funeral car from the steps of St Paul , and as the coffin was carried in on the shoulders of eight stalwart soldiers , dressed in the golden garb of the Horse Battalions , we bowed our heads in holy adoration to the memory and valor of the sonnet-maker -- lost in eternal sleep . _ `` Come , sleep , O sleep , the certain knot of peace , The baiting place of wit , the balm of woe , The poor man 's wealth , the prisoner 's release -- The indifferent judge between the high and low ! ''