still protected by the Empire; and to declare, with seeming moderation,
that, unless their sovereign obtained complete and immediate
satisfaction, it would be impossible for him, were it even his wish, to
check the resentment of his warlike tribes. Besides the motives of pride
and interest, which might prompt the King of the Huns to continue this
train of negotiation, he was influenced by the less honorable view of
enriching his favorites at the expense of his enemies. The imperial
treasury was exhausted to procure the friendly offices of the
ambassadors and their principal attendants, whose favorable report might
conduce to the maintenance of peace.

The Barbarian monarch was flattered by the liberal reception of his
ministers; he computed, with pleasure, the value and splendor of their
gifts, rigorously exacted the performance of every promise which would
contribute to their private emolument, and treated as an important
business of state the marriage of his secretary Constantius. That Gallic
adventurer, who was recommended by Aetius to the King of the Huns, had
engaged his service to the ministers of Constantinople, for the
stipulated reward of a wealthy and noble wife; and the daughter of Count
Saturninus was chosen to discharge the obligations of her country. The
reluctance of the victim, some domestic troubles, and the unjust
confiscation of her fortune cooled the ardor of her interested lover;
but he still demanded, in the name of Attila, an equivalent alliance;
and, after many ambiguous delays and excuses, the Byzantine court was
compelled to sacrifice to this insolent stranger the widow of Armatius,
whose birth, opulence, and beauty placed her in the most illustrious
rank of the Roman matrons.

For these importunate and oppressive embassies Attila claimed a suitable
return: he weighed, with suspicious pride, the character and station of