The ships that Captain Walton thrust into his margin would have furnished matter for some pages in a French relation of the engagement; for, from the account they referred to, it appeared that he had taken four Spanish men-of-war—one of sixty guns, commanded by Rear-admiral Mari, one of fifty-four, one of forty, and one of twenty-four guns with a bomb-vessel and a ship laden with arms—and burnt four men-of-war, one of fifty-four guns, two of forty, and one of thirty guns, with a fire-ship and a bomb-vessel.
[THE STORY OF CAPTAIN HORNBY AND THE FRENCH PRIVATEER.]
The difficulties under which merchantmen carried on their trade with foreign countries before the navy had reduced to order the highway of the seas, is well illustrated in many a narrative of adventure with pirates and fights with privateers, which equal in the heroism and daring they display the proudest stories of naval conquest. The following story taken from Young's "History of Whitby" is a case in point.
Mr. Richard Hornby, of Stokesley, was master of a merchant ship, the Isabella, of Sunderland, in which he sailed from the coast of Norfolk for the Hague, June 1st, 1744, in company with three smaller vessels recommended to his care. Next day they made Gravesant steeple in the Hague; but while they were steering for their port, a French privateer, that lay concealed among the Dutch fishing-boats, suddenly came against them, singling out the Isabella as the object of attack, while the rest dispersed and escaped.
The conquest was very unequal, for the Isabella mounted only four carriage guns and two swivels, and her crew consisted of only five men and three boys, besides the captain; while the privateer, the Marquis de Brancas, commanded by Captain André, had ten carriage guns and eight swivels, with seventy-five men and three hundred small arms.
Yet Captain Hornby, after consulting his mate and gaining the consent of his crew, whom he animated by an appropriate address, hoisted the British colours, and with his two swivel guns returned the fire of the enemy's chase guns. The Frenchmen, in abusive terms, commanded him to strike, to which he returned an answer of defiance. Upon this the privateer advanced, and poured in such showers of bullets into the Isabella that Captain Hornby found it prudent to order his brave fellows into close quarters. While he lay thus sheltered the enemy twice attempted to board him on the larboard quarter; but by a dexterous turn of the helm he frustrated both attempts, though the Frenchmen kept firing upon him both with their guns and small arms, which fire Captain Hornby returned with his two larboard guns. At two o'clock, when the action had lasted an hour, the privateer, running furiously in upon the larboard of the Isabella, entangled her bowsprit among the main shrouds, and was lashed fast to her; upon which Captain André bawled, in a menacing tone, "You English dog, strike!" but the undaunted Hornby challenged him to come on board and strike his colours, if he dared. The enraged Frenchman took him at his word, and threw in twenty men upon him, who began to hack and hew into his close quarters; but a discharge of blunderbusses made the invaders retreat as fast as their wounds would permit them.
The privateer, being then disengaged from the Isabella, turned about, and made another attempt on the starboard side; when Captain Hornby and his valiant mate shot each his man as they were again lashing the ships together.