would compose a regular history of the war of Attila.
If the modesty of Sidonius had not discouraged him from the prosecution
of this interesting work, [31] the historian would have related, with
the simplicity of truth, those memorable events, to which the poet, in
vague and doubtful metaphors, has concisely alluded. [32] The kings and
nations of Germany and Scythia, from the Volga perhaps to the Danube,
obeyed the warlike summons of Attila. From the royal village, in the
plains of Hungary his standard moved towards the West; and after a march
of seven or eight hundred miles, he reached the conflux of the Rhine and
the Neckar, where he was joined by the Franks, who adhered to his ally,
the elder of the sons of Clodion. A troop of light Barbarians, who
roamed in quest of plunder, might choose the winter for the convenience
of passing the river on the ice; but the innumerable cavalry of the Huns
required such plenty of forage and provisions, as could be procured only
in a milder season; the Hercynian forest supplied materials for a bridge
of boats; and the hostile myriads were poured, with resistless violence,
into the Belgic provinces. [33] The consternation of Gaul was universal;
and the various fortunes of its cities have been adorned by tradition
with martyrdoms and miracles. [34] Troyes was saved by the merits of
St. Lupus; St. Servatius was removed from the world, that he might not
behold the ruin of Tongres; and the prayers of St. Genevieve diverted
the march of Attila from the neighborhood of Paris. But as the greatest
part of the Gallic cities were alike destitute of saints and soldiers,
they were besieged and stormed by the Huns; who practised, in the
example of Metz, [35] their customary maxims of war. They involved, in
a promiscuous massacre, the priests who served at the altar, and the
infants, who, in the hour of danger, had been providently baptized by
the bishop; the flourishing city was delivered to the flames, and a
solitary chapel of St. Stephen marked the place where it formerly stood.
From the Rhine and the Moselle, Attila advanced into the heart of Gaul;
crossed the Seine at Auxerre; and, after a long and laborious march,
fixed his camp under the walls of Orleans. He was desirous of securing
his conquests by the possession of an advantageous post, which commanded
the passage of the Loire; and he depended on the secret invitation of
Sangiban, king of the Alani, who had promised to betray the city, and t