the rapacious king of the Huns accepted two hundred pounds
of gold for the life of a traitor, whom he disdained to punish. He
pointed his just indignation against a nobler object. His ambassadors,
Eslaw and Orestes, were immediately despatched to Constantinople, with a
peremptory instruction, which it was much safer for them to execute than
to disobey. They boldly entered the Imperial presence, with the fatal
purse hanging down from the neck of Orestes; who interrogated the eunuch
Chrysaphius, as he stood beside the throne, whether he recognized the
evidence of his guilt. But the office of reproof was reserved for the
superior dignity of his colleague Eslaw, who gravely addressed the
emperor of the East in the following words: "Theodosius is the son of an
illustrious and respectable parent: Attila likewise is descended from a
noble race; and he has supported, by his actions, the dignity which
he inherited from his father Mundzuk. But Theodosius has forfeited his
paternal honors, and, by consenting to pay tribute has degraded himself
to the condition of a slave. It is therefore just, that he should
reverence the man whom fortune and merit have placed above him; instead
of attempting, like a wicked slave, clandestinely to conspire against
his master." The son of Arcadius, who was accustomed only to the voice
of flattery, heard with astonishment the severe language of truth: he
blushed and trembled; nor did he presume directly to refuse the head of
Chrysaphius, which Eslaw and Orestes were instructed to demand. A solemn
embassy, armed with full powers and magnificent gifts, was hastily sent
to deprecate the wrath of Attila; and his pride was gratified by the
choice of Nomius and Anatolius, two ministers of consular or
patrician rank, of whom the one was great treasurer, and the other was
master-general of the armies of the East. He condescended to meet these
ambassadors on the banks of the River Drenco; and though he at first
affected a stern and haughty demeanor, his anger was insensibly
mollified by their eloquence and liberality. He condescended to pardon
the emperor, the eunuch, and the interpreter; bound himself by an oath
to observe the conditions of peace; released a great number of captives;
abandoned the fugitives and deserters to their fate; and resigned
a large territory, to the south of the Danube, which he had already
exhausted of its wealth and inhabitants. But this treaty was purchased
at an expense which mig