This palace, built on an eminence, commanded the whole town or village, and was remarkable on account of its high towers. It seems to have consisted of a vast circular enclosure within which were many houses, that of the King and those of his wives and children. All was of wood, both enclosures and houses, but admirably built and polished and ornamented with carving. The harem was of a lighter construction from the palace and had no towers, but was on all sides ornamented with carvings. Not far away from the royal enclosure stood the house of Onegesius, similarly constructed but not so large and fine. But here the minister, a remarkable personage, had constructed, and that in stone, a bath on the Roman model. It seems that in the sack of Sirmium an architect had been taken captive. Now Onegesius forced him to build in the manner of the Romans a complete _balnea_, and this the captive did as speedily as possible hoping for his freedom. Stone was brought from Pannonia and all was contrived and finished; but when the builder claimed his liberty, Onegesius, seeing that no one among the Huns understood the use of this thing, appointed him _balneator_, so that the wretched architect was forced to remain to serve the bath he had built. Onegesius had only just returned from an important expedition when Attila arrived in his capital with the Imperial envoys. He had been engaged in finishing the conquest of Acatziri and was immediately closeted with the King on his return, so that Maximin was not received by him on that first day. In his anxiety the ambassador grew impatient, and very early upon the following morning he dispatched Priscus with presents to wait upon the minister. Priscus found the enclosure shut and no one stirring and while he waited for the house to awake he walked up and down in the dawn to keep himself warm. Suddenly he was greeted with the Greek salutation Χαῖρε, “Hail,” or, as we should say, “Good morning.” Startled to hear a civilised tongue in the midst of Barbary he returned the greeting. And there followed one of the most interesting discussions of which we have any record, of the respective merits of civilisation and barbarism, a debate that must have filled in the minds of many at that time. Priscus at last asked the stranger how he was come to be amongst the Barbarians. “Why do you ask me?” answered the unknown. “Because you speak Greek like a native,” answered Priscus. But the stranger only laughed. “Indeed,” said he, “I am Greek. I came for the sake of business to Viminacium on the Danube in Moesia, and there I lived many years and married a rich wife. But when the Huns stormed the city I lost all my fortune and became the slave of this Onegesius whom you are waiting to see. For it is the custom of the Huns to give the richest to their princes. My new master took me to the wars where I did well not without profit. I have fought with the Romans and the Acatziri and have bought my liberty. I am now become a