We may infer that he hunted the "timorous hare and birds" in the thick oak forest of the Spoletan valley, but, as he playfully tells us, he left "the hazardous boar alone," for physical courage was not one of his characteristics. From the plain his eyes were often raised in the direction of Assisi, and to his familiarity with her towers we owe this exquisite description of his birthplace, which, perhaps out of modesty, as he alludes to his own fame, he places in the mouth of a soothsayer: "Ancient Umbria gave thee birth from a noted household. Do I mistake, or do I touch rightly the region of your home, where misty Mevania stands among the dews of the hill-girt plain, and the waters of the Umbrian lake grow warm the summer through, and where on the summit of mounting Asis rise the walls to which your genius has added glory."[3] Nothing happens, or at least nothing is mentioned in Assisan chronicles until Christianity stealthily worked its way up from Rome about the third century. Then bloodshed followed during a period of darkness when Christians and pagans divided the town into factions by their bitter fights for religion. At first the Christians suffered, and many were martyred in the Umbrian rivers, but only to triumph later when Roman Assisi soon vanished and Christian basilicas were built on the site of pagan temples. Although, after the Roman period, we find Assisi more nearly linked with the general history of Italy, she appears uninfluenced by outside events, and her atmosphere of remoteness remains unimpaired. Thus we may say that Huns, Franks, and Lombards merely passed by and left no lasting mark upon the city. For a moment she was suddenly aroused by the tempestuous arrival of one or other of their leaders, but once the danger was past she returned to her calm sleep upon the mountain side. In 545 Totila, on his march to Rome, arrived before the walls of Assisi which were gallantly defended for the Emperor Justinian by Siegfried the Goth, but unfortunately he being killed in a skirmish with the Huns, the disheartened citizens reluctantly opened their gates to the enemy. For the first time in her annals (the Roman occupation had been peaceful enough) a foreigner--a tyrant set foot in her streets as master. But the restless Totila soon began to scan the country round for other cities to attack. Becoming aware of the large and wealthy city of Perugia perched upon the western hill, he sallied forth to capture a bigger prey, and Assisi enjoyed a further spell of peace. [Illustration: THE EASTERN SLOPE OF ASSISI WITH THE CASTLE, FROM THE PORTA CAPPUCCINI]