ny.
A numerous troop of women came out to meet their hero and their king.
They marched before him, distributed into long and regular files; the
intervals between the files were filled by white veils of thin linen,
which the women on either side bore aloft in their hands, and which
formed a canopy for a chorus of young virgins, who chanted hymns and
songs in the Scythian language. The wife of his favorite Onegesius,
with a train of female attendants, saluted Attila at the door of her own
house, on his way to the palace; and offered, according to the custom of
the country, her respectful homage, by entreating him to taste the
wine and meat which she had prepared for his reception. As soon as
the monarch had graciously accepted her hospitable gift, his domestics
lifted a small silver table to a convenient height, as he sat on
horseback; and Attila, when he had touched the goblet with his lips,
again saluted the wife of Onegesius, and continued his march. During
his residence at the seat of empire, his hours were not wasted in the
recluse idleness of a seraglio; and the king of the Huns could maintain
his superior dignity, without concealing his person from the public
view. He frequently assembled his council, and gave audience to the
ambassadors of the nations; and his people might appeal to the supreme
tribunal, which he held at stated times, and, according to the Eastern
custom, before the principal gate of his wooden palace. The Romans, both
of the East and of the West, were twice invited to the banquets, where
Attila feasted with the princes and nobles of Scythia. Maximin and his
colleagues were stopped on the threshold, till they had made a devout
libation to the health and prosperity of the king of the Huns; and were
conducted, after this ceremony, to their respective seats in a spacious
hall. The royal table and couch, covered with carpets and fine linen,
was raised by several steps in the midst of the hall; and a son, an
uncle, or perhaps a favorite king, were admitted to share the simple
and homely repast of Attila. Two lines of small tables, each of which
contained three or four guests, were ranged in order on either hand;
the right was esteemed the most honorable, but the Romans ingenuously
confess, that they were placed on the left; and that Beric, an
unknown chieftain, most probably of the Gothic race, preceded the
representatives of Theodosius and Valentinian. The Barbarian monarch
received from his cup-bearer