From 1762 onward, when Catherine the Great came to the throne of Russia, an enormous number of retired or unemployed English officers took service in the Russian Navy. To one of these, Captain Elphinstone (who subsequently re-entered the British service), has been traced the origin of the idea upon which Nelson acted in the battle of the Nile. To another, General Bentham, originally a shipwright, who returned to the British service in 1795, was due a revolution in dockyard management. To him was due the introduction of machinery into dockyards: a matter needing much diplomacy and caution, as popular feeling against machinery then ran high. However, by 1798, Bentham had steam engines installed in the dockyards. He also commenced the first caisson known in England, using it for the great basin at Portsmouth Yard. In the face of considerable opposition he also introduced deep docks, basins and jetties at Portsmouth, for the speedy fitting out of ships. In 1799, the _personnel_ was settled at 120,000, and the Naval Estimates were £13,654,000. In April of this year, the French, under Bruix, with twenty-five ships of the line, came out of Brest, which was being cruised off by Bridport with sixteen sail. Having warned Keith, who was blockading Cadiz, and St. Vincent, who lay at Gibraltar, Bridport fell back on Bantry Bay, where he was reinforced with ten ships. [Illustration: GENERAL BENTHAM.] Bruix ran down south, his orders being to join the Spaniards in Cadiz, but the weather was unfavourable and his crews so illtrained[54] that he made no attempt to attack Keith’s squadron, but ran on into the Mediterranean. Keith himself joined St. Vincent at Gibraltar. On May 11th, St. Vincent arrived at Minorca with twenty sail. Nelson, with sixteen ships (of which four were Portuguese) was scattered over the Mediterranean, his base being at Palermo. On the 13th, Bruix reached Toulon, and a week later seventeen Spaniards from Cadiz reached Cartagena. To prevent these joining up with Bruix, St. Vincent lay between the two bases: but the risk that either fleet might suddenly fall on Nelson was such, that he sent four of his ships to him. He was, however, presently reinforced with five ships, bringing his net total to twenty-one. St. Vincent’s health having now given out, he handed the fleet over to Lord Keith, who learned that Bruix, with twenty-two sail, had left Toulon on the 27th May; but for some reason or other made for that place. Bruix reached the Spaniards at Cartagena, without interference, on June 23rd, and so had thirty-nine ships to oppose the British twenty-one. These, falling back upon Minorca, were there reinforced by ten ships from home, thus bringing the total up to thirty-one. Meanwhile, Bruix putting to sea again at once, made for Cadiz, which he reached on July 12th, and leaving again on the 21st, made for Brest; Keith, some two weeks behind him, in pursuit.