Ned Newton

“ Young as he was, the superiority of his education had obtained him the situation of mate of the vessel; and his pay enabled him to assist his father, whose business, as Mrs Forster declared, was not sufficient to "make both ends meet." Upon his return, his love of knowledge and active habits induced him to glean as much as he could of his father's profession, and he could repair most articles that were sent in. Although Newton amused himself with the peculiarities and eccentricity of his father, he still had a high respect for him, as he knew him to be a worthy, honest man. ”

“ William Jones (the father of Sir William Jones) , which are preserved at Shirburn Castle, in the library of Lord Macclesfield. But the great mass of Newton’s papers came into the possession of the Portsmouth family through his niece, Lady Lymington, and have been safely preserved by that noble family. There is reason to believe that they contain nothing which could be peculiarly interesting to science; but as the correspondence of Newton with contemporary philosophers must throw considerable light on his personal history, we trust that it will ere long be given to the public. ”

“ How she was awakened from it, the reader has been already informed.
"It's rather awkward, Newton," said Mr John Forster, about ten days afterwards. "I cannot do without your mother, that's certain; but what am I to do with your father? Humph! Well, she must take charge of him as well as Amber. She must teach him—"
"Teach him what, sir?" replied Newton, laughing.
"Teach him what? Why, to leave my watch and spectacles alone. I dare not lay them down for a moment." ”

“ How few ever reach the shore even, much less find "a smoother pebble or a prettier shell!"
Newton had now resided about two years at Kensington; and the air which he enjoyed there, and the state of absolute rest, proved of great benefit to him. Nevertheless he would occasionally go to town. And on Tuesday, the 28th of February, 1727, he proceeded to London, for the purpose of presiding at a meeting of the Royal Society. At this time his health was considered, by Mr. Conduit, better than it had been for many years. ”

“ Nothing worthy of remark occurred during the remainder of the passage. The ship arrived at Plymouth, and Newton took leave of his friendly shipmates, Captain Carrington requesting that Newton would command any interest that he had, if ever it should be required. It was with a throbbing heart that Newton descended from the outside of the coach which conveyed him to Liverpool, and hastened towards the obscure street in which he left his father residing. It was about four o'clock in the afternoon when Newton arrived at his father's door. ”

“ Nicholas backed his chair from the table again, with an air of resignation, as Newton continued:
"Indeed, father, I think we must try our fortune elsewhere. What's the use of staying where we cannot get employment? Everything is now gone, except our wearing apparel. We might raise some money upon mine, it is true; but had we not better, before we spend it, try if fortune will be more favourable to us in some other place?"
"Why, yes, Newton, I've been thinking that if we were to go to London, my improvement on the duplex—"
"Is that our only chance there, sir?" replied Newton, half smiling. ”

“ Newton seized hold of it, and then was whirled round by the tide fore and aft with the side of the boat, with such violence as nearly to drag the other man out, and half fill the boat with water. It was with great difficulty, although assisted by the occupant, that Newton contrived at last to get in; when, exhausted with the efforts he had made, he remained a few seconds without motion; the man, whom he had thus risked his life to save, perceiving his condition, and not speaking to him.
"We have no time to lose," said Newton, at last: "take an oar, and let us pull in for the shore. ”

“ For, to begin with, the Newtons, sister and brother-in-law of Grace Marr, with whom she lived, and who, despite the fact that they were not unkindly, proved to be, almost more so than were the types with whom, either in Biltz or Trippetts Mills, she had been in constant contact, the most ordinary small town mill workers—religious and narrow to a degree. George Newton, as every one could see and feel, was a pleasant if not very emotional or romantic person who took his various small plans in regard to himself and his future as of the utmost importance. ”

“ You cannot make bricks without straw."
He looked steadily down at the tiny front of the Bank in Main Street, and a hungry look came into his eyes.
But Newton had a practical mind, even at thirteen.
"I was thinking," he said presently. "It looks as if we were going to get stuck some day. What are we going to do then, father? I was thinking about it just now. How are we going to get anything to eat if we have no money?"
"I shall have to go back to teaching mathematics for a living, I suppose."
"And give up the Motor?" Newton had never yet heard him suggest such a thing. ”

“ Though popular, Newton's art was of rather poor quality, weak in drawing and deficient in character, and he never obtained Academy honours. He long resided in Argyll Street, but after his retirement removed to 6 Cambridge Terrace, Hyde Park, where he died 22 Jan. 1869. He married in 1822 Anne, daughter of Robert Faulder; she died in 1856. Some drawings by Newton, among them a portrait of himself, are in the print room of the British Museum. A collection of his works was sold at Christie's, 23 June 1890.
Newton's son, Harry Robert Newton, an architect, studied under Sydney Smirke, R.A. ”

“ Thus was the poor optician left to his fate; and it is probable that, but for the fortunate return of Newton, it would soon have been miserably decided.
Newton was much pleased when he learnt from his father that he had not disposed of the property which he had picked up at sea, for he now felt assured that he had discovered the owner at Guadaloupe, and intended to transmit it to M. de Fontanges as soon as he could find a safe conveyance ”

“ On sailed the boat, left to the steerage of Providence; on slept Newton, as if putting firm reliance in the same. It was not until the break of day that his repose was very abruptly broken by a shock, which threw him from the stern-sheets of the boat, right over the aftermost thwart. Newton recovered his legs, and his senses, and found himself alongside of a vessel. He had run stem on to a small schooner, which was lying at anchor. ”

“ His intimacy with Captain Carrington, the attention shown him by Captain Drawlock (who entrusted him to work the chronometers!!) , his own excellent character and handsome person, had raised him to more importance than his situation as a junior officer would have warranted; and his behaviour was such as to have secured him the good-will of everyone on board of the ship. Newton's unassuming, frank manner, added to a large stock of general information, occasioned his society to be courted, even by those who would otherwise have been inclined to keep at a distance one in his subordinate rank. ”

“ Newton and the rest obeyed the summons, with their bundles in their hands: the latter they were soon relieved of by their conquerors, who, to prove that it was not out of “politesse” that they carried their effects, at the same time saluted them with various blows with their cutlasses upon their backs and shoulders. Newton, who felt that resistance would only be an excuse for farther aggression, bore with philosophy what he could not prevent, and hastened into the boat. ”

“ In 1862 Newton visited the Riviera and Italy, finding there many subjects for his later pictures. In 1880 his picture of ‘The Mountain Pass’ was much commended. In 1882, though in failing health, Newton visited Athens, painting there, among other pictures, one called ‘Shattered Desolation.’ Newton married in 1864 the daughter of Edward Wylie of 14 Rock Park, Rockferry, Liverpool, by whom he had five children. ”

“ In the year 1705, Sir Isaac gave into the Herald’s Office an elaborate pedigree, stating upon oath that he had reason to believe that John Newton of Westby, in the county of Lincoln, was his great-grandfather’s father, and that this was the same John Newton who was buried in Basingthorpe church, on the 22d December, 1563. This John Newton had four sons, John, Thomas, Richard, and William Newton of Gunnerly, the last of whom was great-grandfather to Sir John Newton, Bart., of Hather. ”

“ He was now a very tolerable French scholar, and his narratives and adventures were to his benefactors a source of amusement, which amply repaid them for the trouble and kindness which they had shown to him. Newton was, in fact, a general favourite with every one on the plantation, from the highest to the lowest; and his presence received the same smile of welcome at the cottage of the slave as at the boudoir of Madame de Fontanges. ”

“ The accuracy which Newton encouraged in others he required from himself, and for this reason his works often took long to complete. His large book 'Ootheca Wolleyana,' an account of the collection of birds' eggs made by his friend John Wolley, appeared from 1864 to 1902, and contains an interesting biography of the collector. The collection of eggs was given to Newton by Wolley's father, and Newton presented it, with his own large collection, to the University of Cambridge. ”

“ It soon became apparent to Newton's relatives that they were making a great mistake in attempting to turn him into a farmer, and he was therefore sent back again to school at Grantham. His mother's brother, William Ayscough, the rector of Burton Coggles, the next parish, was a graduate of Trinity College, Cambridge, and when he found that Newton's mind was wholly devoted to mechanical and mathematical problems, he urged upon Mrs Smith the desirability of sending her son to his own college. ”

“ It was about an hour before low water that Newton walked into the sea, and commending himself to Providence, struck out for the islet, keeping his course well to windward, to allow for the tide sweeping him down. To use a nautical phrase, he “held his own” extremely well, until he reached the centre of the channel, where the water ran with great velocity, and bore him down rapidly with the stream. Newton struggled hard ”

“ Newton elected Associate of the Academy of Sciences in 1699—Member for Cambridge in 1701—and President of the Royal Society in 1703—Queen Anne confers upon him the Honour of Knighthood in 1705—Second Edition of the Principia, edited by Cotes—His Conduct respecting Mr. Ditton’s Method of finding the Longitude.
Hitherto we have viewed Newton chiefly as a philosopher leading a life of seclusion within the walls of a college, and either engaged in the duties of his professorship, or ardently occupied in mathematical and scientific inquiries. ”

“ To place this effect in a constant motion is hard, because the sun ought then to appear perpetually. It seems rather to consist in a disposition of the sensorium to move the imagination strongly, and to be easily moved, both by the imagination and by the light, as often as bright objects are looked upon."
Though Newton had continued silent, yet his thoughts were by no means inactive upon the vast subject of the planetary motions. The idea of Universal Gravitation, first caught sight of, so to speak, in the garden at Woolsthorpe, years ago, had gradually expanded upon him. ”

“ Be as quick as you can, or you'll lose the first of the tide."
Newton returned to the house; his father made no objection to his departure; and, in fulfilment of his promise, Newton was ready to start, when he encountered Ramsden at the door.
"Mr Ramsden," said Newton, "I am requested by the owner of my vessel to sail immediately; but if you think that the life of Mr Spinney is seriously in danger, I will throw up the command of the vessel, rather than leave my mother under such an accumulation of disasters. I beg as a favour that you will not disguise the truth." ”

“ In the year 1666, when the plague had driven Newton from Cambridge, he was sitting alone in the garden at Woolsthorpe, and reflecting on the nature of gravity,—that remarkable power which causes all bodies to descend towards the centre of the earth. As this power is not found to suffer any sensible diminution at the greatest distance from the earth’s centre to which we can reach, being as powerful at the tops of the highest mountains as at the bottom of the deepest mines, he conceived it highly probable, that it must extend much farther than was usually supposed. ”

“ The torch of many a preceding age had thrown its light into the strongholds of the material universe, and the grasp of many a powerful hand had pulled down the most impregnable of its defences. An alliance, indeed, of many kindred spirits had been long struggling in this great cause, and Newton was but the leader of their mighty phalanx,—the director of their combined genius,—the general who won the victory, and therefore wears its laurels.
The history of science presents us with no example of an individual mind throwing itself far in advance of its contemporaries. ”

“ Newton’s sword had just been passed through the body of a tall powerful man, who had remained uninjured in the front of the opposing party since the commencement of the action, when his fall discovered to Newton’s view the captain of the vessel, whose voice had been so often heard, but who had hitherto been concealed from his sight by the athletic form which had just fallen by his hand. What was his astonishment and his indignation when he found himself confronted by one whom he had long imagined to have been summoned to answer for his crimes—his former inveterate enemy, Jackson! ”