Page:Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire vol 5 (1897).djvu/255

OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE 233 example of St. Paul ; and, in every deed of mischief, he had a heart to resolve, a head to contrive, and a hand to execute. In his youth, after the death of the emperor John, he followed the retreat of the Roman army ; but, in the march through Asia Minor, design or accident tempted him to wander in the mountains ; the hunter was encompassed by the Turkish hunts- men, and he remained some time a reluctant or willing captive in the power of the sultan. His virtues and vices recommended him to the favour of his cousin ; he shared the perils and the pleasures of Manuel ; and, while the emperor lived in public incest with his niece Theodora, the affections of her sister Eudocia were seduced and enjoyed by Andronicus. Above the decencies of her sex and rank, she gloried in the name of his concubine ; and both the palace and the camp could witness that she slept, or watched, in the arms of her lover. She ac- companied him to his military command of Cilicia, the first scene of his valour and imprudence. He pressed, with active ardour, the siege of Mopsuestia ; the day was employed in the boldest attacks ; but the night was wasted in song and dance ; and a band of Greek comedians formed the choicest part of his retinue. Andronicus was surprised by the sally of a vigilant foe ; but, while his troops fled in disorder, his invincible lance trans- pierced the thickest ranks of the Armenians. On his return to the Imperial camp in Macedonia, he was received by Manuel with public smiles and a private reproof; but the duchies of Naissus, Braniseba, and Castoria were the reward or consolation of the unsuccessful general. Eudocia still attended his motions ; at midnight their tent was suddenly attacked by her angry brothers, impatient to expiate her infamy in his blood ; his daring spirit refused her advice, and the disguise of a female habit ; and, boldly starting from his couch, he drew his sword and cut his way through the numerous assassins. It was here that he first betrayed his ingratitude and treachery : he engaged in a treasonable correspondence with the king of Hungary and the German emperor ; approached the royal tent at a suspicious hour with a drawn sword, and under the mask of a Latin soldier avowed an intention of revenge against a mortal foe ; and imprudently praised the fieetness of his horse as an instru- ment of flight and safety. The monarch dissembled his sus- picions ; but, after the close of the campaign, Andronicus was arrested and strictly confined in a tower of the palace of Constantinople. In this prison he was left above twelve years : a most pain-