ion of the difficulty and expense
of such a distant expedition, checked this strange and sudden sally of
active diligence; but the dangerous project of showing the emperor to
the camp of Pavia, which was composed of the Roman troops, the
enemies of Stilicho, and his Barbarian auxiliaries, remained fixed and
unalterable. The minister was pressed, by the advice of his confidant,
Justinian, a Roman advocate, of a lively and penetrating genius, to
oppose a journey so prejudicial to his reputation and safety. His
strenuous but ineffectual efforts confirmed the triumph of Olympius;
and the prudent lawyer withdrew himself from the impending ruin of his
patron.

In the passage of the emperor through Bologna, a mutiny of the guards
was excited and appeased by the secret policy of Stilicho; who announced
his instructions to decimate the guilty, and ascribed to his own
intercession the merit of their pardon. After this tumult, Honorius
embraced, for the last time, the minister whom he now considered as
a tyrant, and proceeded on his way to the camp of Pavia; where he was
received by the loyal acclamations of the troops who were assembled
for the service of the Gallic war. On the morning of the fourth day, he
pronounced, as he had been taught, a military oration in the presence
of the soldiers, whom the charitable visits, and artful discourses, of
Olympius had prepared to execute a dark and bloody conspiracy. At
the first signal, they massacred the friends of Stilicho, the most
illustrious officers of the empire; two Praetorian praefects, of Gaul and
of Italy; two masters-general of the cavalry and infantry; the master of
the offices; the quaestor, the treasurer, and the count of the domestics.
Many lives were lost; many houses were plundered; the furious sedition
continued to rage till the close of the evening; and the trembling
emperor, who was seen in the streets of Pavia without his robes or
diadem, yielded to the persuasions of his favorite; condemned the memory
of the slain; and solemnly approved the innocence and fidelity of their
assassins. The intelligence of the massacre of Pavia filled the mind of
Stilicho with just and gloomy apprehensions; and he instantly summoned,
in the camp of Bologna, a council of the confederate leaders, who
were attached to his service, and would be involved in his ruin. The
impetuous voice of the assembly called aloud for arms, and for revenge;
to march, without a moment's delay, under the bann