[Illustration: THE FIGHT BETWEEN A MERCHANTMAN AND A TURKISH PIRATE _Drawn by C. M. Padday_ "His sails, masts, and shrouds were all in a blaze. Then we cut loose, and his mast went by the board."] "We gave him a 'What cheer ho', he comes up with us and passes his broadside upon us, having 13 guns of a side of his lower tier; we returned him as good a salute as we could; he steered from us, falls astern, loaded his guns with double head and round partridge,[30] and then came up again with us, claps us on board, grapples with us on the quarter, and made fast his spritsail topmast to our main-bowline, our main-topsail being furled. After 2 or 3 hours dispute, finding he could not master us, he cut away our boats, and fires us on the quarter, and our mizzen-yard being shot down, fired our sail which burnt very vehemently, and immediately set all the after-part of our ship on fire. Our captain kept the round-house and cuddy, till the fire forced him to retreat, all that were with him being killed or wounded and being got down into the great cabin steerage, he sallied out with those that were there with a resolution rather to be burnt than taken. "In the interim, the Turk's foresail hanging in the brails over our poop took fire; then he would fain have got clear of us, but we endeavoured to keep him fast, and as many as run up to cut him clear, we fetched down with our small shot, until his sails, masts, shrouds, and yards, were all in a blaze; then we cut loose, and immediately his mast to the deck went by the board, with many men in his top and his bloody flag; several of the men betook themselves to their boats, but at last they overcame the fire, as, thanks be to God, we did likewise on board our ship, having our mizzen-mast burnt by the board and all the after-part of our ship burnt; there was little or no wind. The Turk got his oars, and rowed till he was out of fear of us.... We had killed or wounded on board of us in the action with Canary 21 men, but of Turks, according to the account from aboard them, at least 70 or 80 are killed." If every merchantman had put up as good a fight as Captain Thomas Grantham, the Turks would soon have had to retire from their piratical business. As it was, they were able to continue their depredations for some years longer, but not in quite the same wholesale way. The British Navy became more and more active, and in 1681-2 made prizes of a number of Turkish vessels, among them the _Admiral of Sally_, the _Two Lyons and Crown of Argiers_, the _Three Half Moons_, the _Golden Lyon_, and--what a name for a man-of-war!--the _Flowerpott_. These captures had an immediate effect. The Algerines became "very inclinable to peace" and offered to release many English captives "gratis". Their last notable exploit in British waters was the attempt to capture a transport in which the Royal Irish Regiment was sailing from Ostend to Cork in 1695.