at that time, there was much trouble and many wars in some other countries, where people were fighting for the right to worship god in their own way. philip sidney heard of these things when he was a boy in his father's house, and his heart was stirred with pity. later, when he was in france, a great number of people were cruelly killed because they would not pray in the way which the king ordered. sidney never forgot the dreadful sights and sounds of that sad time, and when queen elizabeth sent an army to help the people of holland, who were fighting for their freedom, he asked for leave to go with it. this was granted to him, and he was made one of the leaders.