OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE 443 indignation against a nobler object. His ambassadors Eslaivand Orestes were immediately dispatched 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 recognised 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 honours, 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 pre- sume directly to refuse the head of Chrysaphius, which Eslaiv and Orestes were instructed to demand. A solemn embassy, armed with full powers and magnificent gifts, was hastily sent to deprecate the -vvrath of Attila ; and his pride was gratified by the choice of Nomius and Anatolius, two ministers of consular or[Ncmus] patrician rank, of whom the one was great treasurer, and the other was master-general of the ai'mies of the East. He con- descended to meet these ambassadors on the banks of the river Drenco ; and, though he at first affected a stern and haughty [?Drav] demeanour, 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 ; to release 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 its inhabitants. But this treaty was purchased at an expense which might have supported a vigorous and successful war ; and the subjects of Theodosius were compelled to redeem the safety of a worthless favourite by oppressive taxes, which they would more cheerfully have paid for his destruction,^^ 51 This secret conspiracy and its important consequences may be traced in the
