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THE HISTORY OF THE ORDER OF [book i.

there were many during the two next centuries.When will there be another ? And those who put thatusual question shuddered, no one but shuddered.Until then, several Italian gentlemen and all thepeasantry lived in the country; and the smalltowns were mostly unwalled. But from that hourevery town was strongly walled, and every humancreature slept within a town. The peasant wentto work in the fields by day, but at sunset he hadto seek refuge with his family within some town.Agriculture in such cases must go to ruin. Pa-tience ! Jesu Maria! from the sword of the Huns—libera nos, Domine! what a frightful litany, fromComo to Otranto ! And the bells never stoppedringing, as long as there were any; when the tollceased, it was sure the Huns were there at work,and that the poor steeple rvould lie on the groundin a few minutes. Nor was it enough, but therewere various other spoilers, all worthy of eachother! Nor idolators only, but the Saracen heathens!

These last ravaging, not Naples alone, or Sicily,but likewise Piedmont, where a party of twenty ofthem drove all the Piedmontese before them; suchterror breathed from the victors, so panic strickenthe vanquished! not a captain in all Italy had theboldness to face either Huns or Saracens! Andthese both had the same way of making war.