8 BENTHAM. 



apprentice to the master shipwright of Woolwich Dockyard. At 

 that time the superior officers of a royal dockyard were exempted 

 from keeping their apprentices at hard labour, so that time might 

 be allowed for general instruction. Samuel, however, soon perceived 

 that practical manipulation was no less essential than theoretical 

 knowledge, and used therefore to work at the dock side till breakfast- 

 time, and devote the rest of the day to scientific acquirements. In 

 time, Samuel and his master were removed from Woolwich to 

 Chatham Dockyard, by which he was enabled to obtain a practical 

 knowledge of the behaviour of vessels at sea ; for he was often per- 

 mitted to sail in the British Channel, and sometimes extended his 

 voyages further. About this period his brother, Jeremy Bentham, 

 had returned from college, and used to instil into him many of the 

 first ideas of political economy : on these occasions Samuel would 

 take advantage of the Saturday afternoons to walk from Chatham to 

 his brother's chambers in Lincoln's Inn. 



At the end of his seven years' apprenticeship, Samuel spent 

 another year in the other royal dockyards, and at the Naval College 

 at Portsmouth. He then went to sea as Captain Macbridge's guest, 

 whose ship was one of Lord Keppel's fleet, and on this occasion he 

 suggested sundry improvements in the apparatus of a ship, which 

 were executed in Portsmouth Dockyard. In consequence of the 

 abilities manifested by Bentham, many advantageous appointments 

 were offered him ; these were, however, refused, and in 1780 he 

 embarked for the Continent, in order to obtain greater experience 

 in the different practices in the art of naval construction. After 

 having visited Holland he proceeded to Russia, and was well re- 

 ceived at St. Petersburgh by the English Ambassador, Sir James 

 Harris, who introduced him to the best society, and through whose 

 means he became acquainted, among others, with Prince Potemkin, 

 and the celebrated traveller, Pallas. Whilst on a visit to the large 

 manufactory of Count Demidoff, Bentham constructed a sort of 

 amphibious vehicle, in the form of a boat, and capable of serving as 

 an ordinary wheel-carriage, and also, when necessity required, of 

 being navigated across, or along a stream of water. This inven- 

 tion he subsequently patented, and likewise extended its utility by 

 constructing the carriages so as to serve as army baggage-waggons, 

 a supply of which Prince Potemkin ordered to be furnished to a 

 regiment at Jassy. They were also introduced into England about 

 the year 1793, when the Duke of York requested that one should be 

 built for the English service, which was successfully tried on the 

 River Thames. In gratitude to Count Demidoff for the facilities 

 which he had afforded him in constructing this carriage, Bentham 

 invented for the use of the Count's factory, a wood-planing machine, 

 which could also be used for making mouldings by changing the 

 cutting tool. 



Bentham's stay in Russia was prolonged for a greater period than 



