ions of the disinherited orphan, when the
Augusta, instead of granting her petition, told her that she was chosen
to be the bride of an emperor? Only one obstacle to the union presented
itself,--the pagan faith of the beautiful Athenian. While winning her
heart for himself, the pious Theodosius longed to win her soul for the
Saviour. To the patriarch Atticus was assigned the pleasing task of
convincing the beautiful maiden of the errors of paganism and of guiding
her spirit into the ways of eternal truth. The pure heart of the gentle
Athenais proved readily susceptible to the beauties of Christian
teaching; the waters of baptism were supposed to remove from her nature
the last vestiges of pagan unbelief; and in accordance with the wishes
of her betrothed, the converted Athenais received the baptismal name of
Eudocia.

Finally, on June 7, 421, the royal nuptials were celebrated with great
pomp, amid the rejoicings of the populace. The prudent Pulcheria,
however, withheld from the bride of the emperor the title of Augusta
until the union was blessed by the birth of a daughter, who was named
Eudoxia, after her grandmother, and who, fifteen years later, became the
wife of Valentinian III., ruler of the Western Empire.

The brothers of Eudocia richly deserved the resentment of the new
empress. They had fled from Athens when they heard of the elevation of
their despised sister, but she had them sought out and brought to
Constantinople. They entered into her presence trembling and
disconcerted; but instead of punishing them, as they felt they well
deserved, Eudocia received them in a friendly manner and forgave them
for their base conduct. Regarding them as the unconscious instruments of
her elevation, the new empress gave them part in some of the highest
offices of state.

Having become a Christian, Eudocia dedicated her talents to the honor of
religion and to the glory of her husband. She indited religious poems
which were the admiration of the age. She composed a poetical paraphrase
of the five books of Moses, of Joshua, Judges, and Ruth, and of the
prophecies of Daniel and Zechariah. She devoted three books of verse to
the legend of Saint Cyprian, who was a martyr in the persecution
inaugurated by Diocletian. She wrote a panegyric on the Persian
victories of Theodosius; and there is extant from her pen a cento of
Homeric verse treating the life and miracles of Christ. She also
manifestly exerted a strong influence in th