ATTILA. 



Attila. count of .Tornandes, the Gothic historian, exhibited 

 v ' in his person and features the complete portrait of a 

 modern Calmuc ; having a large head, a swarthy 

 complexion, small deep-seated eyes, a flat nose, a few- 

 hairs in the place of a beard, broad shoulders, and 

 a short square body, of nervous strength, though 

 of disproportioned form. With this vulgar figure, 

 which, however, might be fashioned according to 

 the most refined ideas of personal beauty among 

 the Huns, Ire affected the haughty step and the 

 commanding look of majesty. He had a way of 

 rolling his eyes 1.1 savage fierceness, for the pur- 

 pose of inspiring fear or reverence into the minds 

 of beholders. This could not fail to produce its ef- 

 fect : It is easy for a despot to stare his trembling 

 slaves out of countenance ; and the barbarian princes, 

 who confessed that they could not gaze with a steady 

 eye on the divine majesty of the king of the Huns, 

 were at least as sincere in their adulation as the ser- 

 vile flatterers of Augustus, who pretended to shrink 

 from the lustre of his piercing eye. Attila delighted 

 in war, but his policy was not inferior to his prowess ; 

 and he dexterously called in the aid of superstition, 

 to assist him in establishing a power which made him 

 the terror of the world, and, from the way in which 

 it was exercised, acquired for him the title of t/ie 

 scourge of God. So far from considering this desig- 

 nation as any disgrace, he is said to have adopted it 

 -himself, as one of his titles of honour. A fortunate 

 occurrence, or a well-concerted plot, seemed to mark 

 him out as the favourite of heaven, and the destined 

 conqueror of the world. The Scythians were ac- 

 customed to worship an iron scymitar, as the symbol 

 of Mars ; and the very sword of the god himself, to- 

 gether with the power which it conveyed, were sup- 

 posed to be committed into the hand of Attila. A 

 shepherd of the Huns perceiving one of the heifers 

 to be wounded in the foot, followed the track of 

 blood, till he discovered the point of a sword among 

 the long grass ; having carefully dug it up, he pre- 

 sented it to Attila, who joyfully accepted it as the 

 property of the god of war, and as a pledge of his 

 future victories. 



The empire of Attila was of immense extent : 

 those vast tracts of country anciently comprehended 

 under the names of Scythia and Germany were sub- 

 ject to his controul ; so that his dominions extended 

 from the Danube on the one hand, almost to the 

 confines of China on the other. He could, with ease, 

 bring into the field an army of 500,000, or, accord- 

 ing to others, of 700,000 men. This immense force 

 was never suffered to remain long idle. On a frivo- 

 lous pretence he invaded the eastern empire, which 

 was at that time governed by the feeble hand of 

 Theodosius. He swept every thing before him like 

 a desolating inundation, and rolled the tide of car- 

 nage to the very gates of Constantinople. A histo- 

 rian of those times describes his progress in language 

 which strongly expresses the extensive and absolute 

 devastation which every where marked his steps : 

 Pene totam Europam, invasis excisisque civitatibus 

 tttgue caslellis, conrasit. Attila himself used to say, 

 that the grass never grew where his horse trod. The 

 fear, or the policy of the western Romans, had indu- 

 ced them to leave the eastern empire to its fate. 



IB 



Theodosius being thus without any resources to op- 

 pose this formidable invader, was glad to accept such a 

 peace from him as lie chose to dictate. The terms, of 

 cour6e, were sufficiently humiliating. The conqueror 

 demanded a large tract of territory, stretching along 

 the southern banks of the Danube, from Singidunum, 

 or Belgrade, as far as Nova; in Thrace : the breadth 

 was defined by the vague computation of fifteen days 

 journey. In the next place, the tribute, or sub- 

 sidy, paid by the emperor, was to be raised from 

 700 pounds of gold to upwards of 2000 ; and an im- 

 mediate contribution- was to be paid to defray the 

 expenses of the war : And lastly, all the Huns who 

 had been taken in war were to be delivered imme- 

 diately without ransom, whilst the Roman prisoners 

 were obliged to purchase their freedom at the price 

 of twelve pieces of gold for each man. This igno- 

 minious treaty was gladly subscribed by the emperor, 

 who had no alternative between it and utter destruc- 

 tion. There was also another circumstance, which, 

 though less hurtful to the public, was not less humi- 

 liating to the degenerate Romans of the East. When 

 any of Attila's officers took a fancy to have a wealthy 

 or beautiful wife, Theodosius was obliged to provide 

 one, and thus to secure a temporary tranquillity by 

 the sacrifice of private feelings. 



Attila was continually harassing Theodosius with 

 unwelcome embassies ; and as the barbarian was ex- 

 tremely jealous of his consequence, the emperor was 

 forced to make a suitable return ; and the pride of 

 Attila was not easily satisfied with the dignity of the 

 persons who approached him in quality of ambassa- 

 dors. At last Maximin, a principal person at the 

 court of Constantinople, accepted with reluctance of 

 the troublesome commission of reconciling the angry 

 spirit of the king of the Huns. Priscus the histo- 

 rian accompanied him, and had an opportunity of 

 making many curious observations on the singular 

 manners of this formidable monarch, and of his bar- 

 barian subjects. The ambassadors of Theodosius 

 proceeded, by toilsome journies, through countries 

 depopulated by the ravages of the Huns, and cover- 

 ed with the bones of the slain. Having passed the 

 hills of modern Servia, and crossed the Danube in 

 canoes provided by the barbarians, they halted at no 

 great distance from the camp of Attila. They were 

 now continually e\posed to the insolence and the 

 caprice of the haughty conqueror. The ministers of 

 Attila pressed Maximin to communicate the business 

 and the instructions, which he reserved for the ear of 

 their master ; and, on his refusal to comply, he was 

 commanded instantly to depart ; the order was re- 

 called ; it was again repeated ; and at last, when it 

 was found impossible to subdue the patient firmness 

 of Maximin, he was admitted into the royal presence ; 

 but instead of obtaining a decisive answer, he was 

 compelled to undertake a remote journey towards the 

 north, that Attila might enjoy the satisfaction of re- 

 ceiving in the same camp the ambassadors both of 

 the eastern and western empire. During this jour- 

 ney, the wants of the ambassadors wee plentifully 

 supplied by the Huns, though the fare was very dif- 

 ferent from the luxuries of Constantinople. They 

 had mead instead of wine ; millet in place of bread ; 

 and for drink, they had a certain liquor which, ao 



Attii.'.' 



