least ought to interest us. He was Onulf, Hunwulf, Wulf, Guelph, the
Wolf-cub, who went away to Constantinople, and saw strange things,
and did strange things likewise, and at last got back to Germany, and
settled in Bavaria, and became the ancestor of all the Guelphs, and
of Victoria, queen of England. His son, Wulfgang, fought under
Belisarius against the Goths; his son again, Ulgang, under Belisarius
against Persian and Lombard; his son or grandson was Queen
Brunhilda's confidant in France, and became Duke of Burgundy; and
after that the fortunes of his family were mixed up with the
Merovingian kings of France, and then again with the Lombards in
Italy, till one of them emerges as Guelf, count of Altorf, the
ancestor of our Guelphic line.

But to return to Odoacer. He came to Rome, seeking his fortune.
There he found in power Orestes, his father's old colleague at
Attila's court, the most unprincipled turn-coat of his day; who had
been the Emperor's man, then Attila's man, and would be anybody's man
if needed: but who was now his own man, being king-maker for the
time being, and father of the puppet Emperor, Romulus Augustulus, a
pretty little lad, with an ominous name.

Odoacer took service under Orestes in the bodyguards, became a great
warrior and popular; watched his time; and when Orestes refused the
mercenaries, Herules, Rugians, Scyrings, Turklings and Alans--all the
weak or half-caste frontier tribes who had as yet little or no share
in the spoils of Italy--their demand of the third of the lands of
Italy, he betrayed his benefactor; promised the mercenaries to do for
them what Orestes would not, and raises his famous band of
confederates. At last he called himself King of Nations, burnt
Pavia, and murdered Orestes, as a due reward for his benefits.