e resolutions of the Sacred Consistory,
those secrets (says Priscus) which should not be revealed to the gods
themselves, had been treacherously disclosed to the public enemy. On his
refusal to comply with such ignominious terms, the Imperial envoy was
commanded instantly to depart; the order was recalled; it was again
repeated; and the Huns renewed their ineffectual attempts to subdue the
patient firmness of Maximin.

At length, by the intercession of Scotta, the brother of Onegesius,
whose friendship had been purchased by a liberal gift, he was admitted
to the royal presence; but, instead of obtaining a decisive answer, he
was compelled to undertake a remote journey toward the north, that
Attila might enjoy the proud satisfaction of receiving, in the same
camp, the ambassadors of the Eastern and Western empires. His journey
was regulated by the guides, who obliged him to halt, to hasten his
march, or to deviate from the common road, as it best suited the
convenience of the King. The Romans, who traversed the plains of
Hungary, suppose that they passed _several_ navigable rivers, either in
canoes or portable boats; but there is reason to suspect that the
winding stream of the Teyss, or Tibiscus, might present itself in
different places under different names.

From the contiguous villages they received a plentiful and regular
supply of provisions; mead instead of wine, millet in the place of
bread, and a certain liquor named _camus_, which, according to the
report of Priscus, was distilled from barley.[21] Such fare might appear
coarse and indelicate to men who had tasted the luxury of
Constantinople; but, in their accidental distress, they were relieved by
the gentleness and hospitality of the same Barbarians, so terrible and
so merciless in war. The ambassadors had encamped on the edge of a large
morass. A violent tempest of wind and rain, of thunder and lightning,
overturned their tents, immersed their baggage and furniture in the
water, and scattered their retinue, who wandered in the darkness of the
night, uncertain of their road, and apprehensive of some unknown danger,
till they awakened by their cries the inhabitants of a neighboring
village, the property of the widow of Bleda. A bright illumination, and,
in a few moments, a comfortable fire of reeds, was kindled by their
officious benevolence; the wants, and even the desires, of the Romans
were liberally satisfied; and they seem to have been embarrassed by the