The Brest fleet also put to sea, the day before Keppel, under the command of Admiral the Comte d’Orvilliers.  It contained thirty-two ships of the line.  Of these, three—­64, a 60, and a 50—­were not considered fit for the line of battle, which was thus reduced to twenty-nine sail, carrying 2098 guns.  To these the British opposed an aggregate of 2278; but comparison by this means only is very rough.  Not only the sizes of the guns, but the classes and weight of the vessels need to be considered.  In the particular instance the matter is of little importance; the action being indecisive, and credit depending upon manoeuvres rather than upon fighting.

The French admiral was hampered by vacillating instructions, reflections of the unstable impulses which swayed the Ministry.  Whatever his personal wishes, he felt that he was expected to avoid action, unless under very favourable circumstances.  At the moment of sailing he wrote:  “Since you leave me free to continue my cruise, I will not bring the fleet back to Brest, unless by positive orders, until I have fulfilled the month at sea mentioned in my instructions, and known to all the captains.  Till then I will not fly before Admiral Keppel, whatever his strength; only, if I know him to be too superior, I will avoid a disproportionate action as well as I can; but if the enemy really seeks to force it, it will be very hard to shun.”  These words explain his conduct through the next few days.

On the afternoon of July 23d the two fleets sighted each other, about a hundred miles west of Ushant, the French being then to leeward.  Towards sunset, they were standing south-west, with the wind at west-north-west, and bore north-east from the enemy, who were lying-to, heads to the northward.  The British remaining nearly motionless throughout the night, and the wind shifting, d’Orvilliers availed himself of the conditions to press to windward, and in the morning was found to bear north-west from his opponent.[39] Their relative positions satisfied both admirals for the moment; for Keppel found himself interposed between Brest and the French, while d’Orvilliers, though surrendering the advantage of open retreat to his port, had made it possible, by getting the weather-gage, to fulfil his promise to keep the sea and yet to avoid action.  Two of his ships, however, the Duc de Bourgogne, 80, and a 74, were still to leeward, not only of their own main body, but also of the British.  Keppel sent chasers after them, for the expressed purpose of compelling d’Orvilliers to action in their support,[40] and it was believed by the British that they were forced to return to Brest, to avoid being cut off.  They certainly quitted their fleet, which was thus reduced to twenty-seven effective sail.  From this time until July 27th the wind continued to the westward, and the wariness of the French admiral baffled all his antagonist’s efforts to get within range.  Keppel, having no doubts as to what was