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 joined by ships from East Anglia and Northumbria. In the west the appearance of Alfred caused the invaders to raise the siege of Exeter and re-embark, but going eastward, they landed again and attacked Chichester. There they were driven off, with the loss of a few ships. Hasting made further unsuccessful efforts to push his fortunes in England, and struggled on until the summer of 897; but he then gave up the task as hopeless, and disbanded his remaining forces.

It was in 897 apparently, that the ships of the new and improved type designed by Alfred were first tried in action. Six Danish vessels were ravaging the coasts of Devonshire and of the Isle of Wight, and the King ordered out against them nine of his novel craft, manning them partly with English and partly with Frisians, who were reputed the best seamen of that time. The Danes were found, three afloat and three aground. The three which were in a condition to move immediately issued from their haven, and fought very gallantly, two, however, being captured and their crews put to death, in accordance with the King's principle for dealing with such freebooters. The third escaped, with but five men remaining on board. Going into the haven to attack the other vessels, the royal ships all managed to run aground, too, three lying close to the three stranded Danes, and the rest at some distance on the other side of the harbour. When the tide had run out, the Danes furiously attacked the Saxon ships near them, killing seventy-two of their people, but themselves losing as many as one hundred and twenty. At length the tide rose again, and it would have enabled the English on the other side of the haven to intervene with decisive effect, but for the fact that it floated the Danes first. They plied their oars, and escaped from the immediate danger, but so badly damaged were they, that two of them went ashore elsewhere and were captured, and their crews, being conducted to Winchester, were there hanged by the King's command.

Having been, as is supposed, the first English sovereign to command a squadron in action at sea, Alfred has been called the first English admiral. There is, perhaps, danger of overrating the importance of his exploits afloat. He won no decisive victory there; and it is easy to form an exaggerated estimate of the efficiency to which the fleet attained under him, and of the material