considerable time must have been consumed, since it was thrice repeated
as each course or service was placed on the table. But the wine still
remained after the meat had been removed; and the Huns continued to
indulge their intemperance long after the sober and decent ambassadors
of the two empires had withdrawn themselves from the nocturnal banquet.
Yet before they retired, they enjoyed a singular opportunity of
observing the manners of the nation in their convivial amusements. Two
Scythians stood before the couch of Attila, and recited the verses which
they had composed, to celebrate his valor and his victories.

A profound silence prevailed in the hall; and the attention of the
guests was captivated by the vocal harmony, which revived and
perpetuated the memory of their own exploits; a martial ardor flashed
from the eyes of the warriors, who were impatient for battle; and the
tears of the old men expressed their generous despair, that they could
no longer partake the danger and glory of the field. This entertainment,
which might be considered as a school of military virtue, was succeeded
by a farce, that debased the dignity of human nature. A Moorish and a
Scythian buffoon successively excited the mirth of the rude spectators,
by their deformed figure, ridiculous dress, antic gestures, absurd
speeches, and the strange, unintelligible confusion of the Latin, the
Gothic, and the Hunnic languages; and the hall resounded with loud and
licentious peals of laughter. In the midst of this intemperate riot,
Attila alone, without a change of countenance, maintained his steadfast
and inflexible gravity; which was never relaxed, except on the entrance
of Irnac, the youngest of his sons: he embraced the boy with a smile of
paternal tenderness, gently pinched him by the cheek, and betrayed a
partial affection, which was justified by the assurance of his prophets
that Irnac would be the future support of his family and empire.