436 MATTHEW OF WE8TMIVSTEB. A.D. 884. variance with the Catholic faith. And the Roman Pontiff is known to be of the same opinion ; for he, in a letter which he sent to Charles, said, " It has been related to our Apostolic power that a certain man, by name John, by birth a Scot, has lately translated into Latin the work of Dionysius the Areopagite, which he wrote with the eloquence of the Greeks about the Divine names and the arrangements of the heavens, which, in accordance with the custom of the Church, ought to have been sent to us, and to have been approved of by our judgment, especially when the same John, although he is stated to be a man of great learning, was formerly said, by frequent rumour, not to be quite sound in his doctrine on certain points." By reason of the disrepute into which he had got on this account, John left France and went to king Alfred, and, tempted by the munificence and wise rule of this king, he took up his residence at Meldun, as is shown in the writingB of the king himself. And in that place, some years afterwards, he was stabbed by the boys who were his pupils with their pens, and so expired in great and terrible torments ; and his corpse lay for some time in a lowly grave, having been buried in the church of Saint Laurence. But, after a ray of fire from heaven had, by Divine agency, fallen upon his place of burial, the monks, encouraged by such revelations, transferred him to a larger church, and placed him with great honour on the left side of the altar. The same year, pope Marinus died, and was succeeded by Adrian, who reigned one year and three months. A.D. 884. The wicked army of the pagans divided itself into two squadrons ; one of which withdrew into France, and the other returned into Kent, and beeieged the city of Rochester. But, as the citizens resisted manfully, Alfred had time to come to their aid, who compelled the pagans to raise the siege , and to retreat to their ships; and, having slain a great number of them, he distributed their spoils among his soldiers. This year also a powerful fleet, which had been sent by king Alfred into East-Anglia, found sixteen ships of pirates in the mouth of the river Stour ; and, having attacked them vigorously, the sixteen ships and their booty were all taken, and all the pirates were slain ; but those of the Danes who were able to escape to their ships, fought a second naval battle with the Angles, while the Mercians were sunk in sleep, and, coming upon mem unarmed, slew a great number of them, and so the Danes returned vìe-! torious from the enemy.