ian, but an enemy of the orthodox
communion, showed himself to the Donatists as a powerful deliverer,
from whom they might reasonably expect the repeal of the odious and
oppressive edicts of the Roman emperors. The conquest of Africa was
facilitated by the active zeal, or the secret favor, of a domestic
faction; the wanton outrages against the churches and the clergy of
which the Vandals are accused, may be fairly imputed to the fanaticism
of their allies; and the intolerant spirit which disgraced the triumph
of Christianity, contributed to the loss of the most important province
of the West.

The court and the people were astonished by the strange intelligence,
that a virtuous hero, after so many favors, and so many services, had
renounced his allegiance, and invited the Barbarians to destroy the
province intrusted to his command. The friends of Boniface, who still
believed that his criminal behavior might be excused by some honorable
motive, solicited, during the absence of AEtius, a free conference with
the Count of Africa; and Darius, an officer of high distinction, was
named for the important embassy. In their first interview at Carthage,
the imaginary provocations were mutually explained; the opposite letters
of AEtius were produced and compared; and the fraud was easily detected.
Placidia and Boniface lamented their fatal error; and the count had
sufficient magnanimity to confide in the forgiveness of his sovereign,
or to expose his head to her future resentment. His repentance was
fervent and sincere; but he soon discovered that it was no longer in
his power to restore the edifice which he had shaken to its foundations.
Carthage and the Roman garrisons returned with their general to the
allegiance of Valentinian; but the rest of Africa was still distracted
with war and faction; and the inexorable king of the Vandals, disdaining
all terms of accommodation, sternly refused to relinquish the possession
of his prey. The band of veterans who marched under the standard of
Boniface, and his hasty levies of provincial troops, were defeated with
considerable loss; the victorious Barbarians insulted the open country;
and Carthage, Cirta, and Hippo Regius, were the only cities that
appeared to rise above the general inundation.

The long and narrow tract of the African coast was filled with frequent
monuments of Roman art and magnificence; and the respective degrees of
improvement might be accurately measured by the dista