and ordered that the whole matter from the beginning, with the extracts of all the letters relating thereto, and Mr. Keill and Mr. Leibnitz's letters, be published with all convenient speed that may be, together with the report of the said Committee.-Ordered, that Dr. Halley, Mr. Jones, and Mr. Machin, be desired to take care of the said impression (which they promised); and Mr. Jones to make an estimate of the charges, against the next meeting.

1713. January S. Some copies of the book intituled Čommercium Epistolicum, &c. printed by the Society's order, being brought, the President ordered one to be delivered to each person of the Committee, appointed for that purpose, to examine it before its publication.

The steady and uniform support given to Newton by the Royal Society appears from the foregoing extracts. The value which He set upon their assistance is thus expressed in his correspondence with Mr. Oldenburg: "I do not only esteem it a duty to concur with the Society in the promotion of real knowledge; but a great privilege, that instead of exposing discourses to a prejudiced and censorious multitude, (by which means many truths have been baffled and lost), I may with freedom apply myself to so judicious and impartial an assembly." In a letter to Dr. Halley, he says, "The third book of the Principia I now design to suppress. Philosophy is such an impertinently litigious lady, that a man had as good be engaged in law-suits, as have to do with her."-His friends, however, of the Royal Society, most fortunately prevailed upon him to alter that resolution.

** Excellent and authentic as are the preceding Memoirs, they do not preclude the insertion of the following Letter of Dr. Stukeley; the greater part of which is here printed from the Original, communicated to me, in the year 1782, by Mr. Gough. To Dr. MEAD.

HONOURED AND DEAR SIR,

Grantham, June 16, 1727. I send you, according to my promise, some memoirs of the life of our great friend, Sir Isaac Newton, such as I could pick up here at Grantham, and Colsterworth, where he was born, among antient people, from their own knowledge or unquestionable tradition. Some are alive that were his schoolfellows; several are but lately dead, from whom, I apprehend, a larger information might have been expected; but I omitted no opportunity left to contribute what I can, in doing justice to the memory and history of so illustrious a person, the ornament of his country, or rather of human nature; and if it chance that I should be any way serviceable therein, it will be a particular addition to the pleasure I have reaped in chusing this for the place of my abole, that gives me this opportunity; whilst it is not altogether too late, being the place where he spent the early part of his life, and near that of his nativity. You will observe that I have been

very circumstantial, and perhaps now and then descended too low for the dignity of the subject, in the subsequent account; but I was willing that you might know the nature of the credit upon which I took it, nor would I omit any thing that was not absolutely improper. I have added a few things from my own knowledge, or what I have formerly heard. Mr. Conduitt, no doubt, will have many accounts from other hands; his judgment will direct him what to make use of, and comparing them toge ther will clear up some circumstances, and perhaps overthrow others: for my part, I took what care I could to find out and relate the truth.

"April 2, 1726. I passed the whole day with Sir Isaac alone at his lodgings, Orbel's Buildings, Kensington: he told me then, that he was born on Christmas-day 1642. I have made enquiry at Colsterworth for the old registers, which have been very ill kept, the bare name of a person being commonly noted, without fathers or mothers, or such other marks as are necessary to ascertain descents and the like; but, what is worse, they are for the most part lost and destroyed, or obliterated through carelessness. Mr. Mason, the present minister, searching in the old town chests met with a few leaves, being the parish register from anno 1571 to 1642 inclusive, the very year Sir Isaac was born; but there is intermitted, not lost, from anno 1630 to 1640 inclusive, which is a space of time wherein his father's marriage happened, and probably other circumstances in his family or among his relations, which would have assisted us in the present affair. However, very luckily upon the last leaf, which has been miserably abused, is this memorable account, under the title, 'Baptized Anno 1642. Isaac sonne of Isaac and Hanna Newton Jan. 1.'

It is probable that the Civil Wars, then beginning, may be one reason why it ends here. From these leaves I have extracted an account of all the Newtons therein, which are numerous; but, for the reason before mentioned of their being generally bare names only, they are of no great service in drawing out his genealogy, as was my intention. Sir Isaac had been curious in this inquiry himself formerly; for at Colsterworth, in possession of John Newton his heir at law, I saw a half sheet of paper of Sir Isaac's own hand-writing, being a draught thereof, as far as he knew it, with orders for searching registers to make it more perfect; but I believe his request was never fully answered, and perhaps Sir Isaac never saw these leaves of the Register.

I here send you a copy of this writing *:

"Let the Registers of Westby and Bitchfield be searched from the beginning to the year 1650, and extracts be taken of whatever marriages, births, and burials have been in the family of the Newtons; and if the old register of Colsterworth can be found, let the like extract be taken out of that; and let the extracts be taken by copying out of the registers whatever can be

This is now superseded by the Pedigree printed in p. 36.

met

met with, about the family of the Newtons in words at length, without omitting any of the words. Direct your letters to Sir Isaac Newton, at his house in Jermyn street, in St. James's parish, in Westminster, London."

When Sir Isaac was knighted, he made this inquiry, I suppose, and caused this entry following to be made in the books at the Heralds' Office; a copy of which my friend Mr. Le Neve, Norroy, sent me, at my request *.

It has been observed by some, that many considerable men were born about the same time as Sir Isaac, and it may be reckoned an æra fruitful of great geniuses. It is probable this family had its name from Newton, a borough town in Lancashire. I have set down in the genealogy one Isaac Newton born in 1573, from the Register, which does not particularize his father, but undoubtedly of this family, and seems to be great uncle to Sir Isaac, i. e. brother to his grandfather. I mention him as the first of the name of Isaac I can meet with. Another Isaac Newton died somewhat above 20 years ago at Colsterworth, whose line ended with a daughter. The Ayscoughs, whence Sir Isaac's mother, has been very considerable in this County; one of them built Great Paunton steeple, a curious fabrick, between Colsterworth and Grantham. Some of her family still remain at Catthorpe in this County; and I remember one James Ayscought, a surgeon, who lived at my native place Holbech, who came from Sewstern near Colsterworth. Sir Michael Newton's family comes from the younger branch, and was first raised by the coheiress of Hickson, who was very rich. The other sister too raised the Welbys, an antient and wealthy family in our neighbourhood, of the same stem as the Welbys of Gedney, to which I am related. Sir Isaac Newton was born at Woolsthorp, a hamlet of Colsterworth, 6 miles south of Grantham, in the great road from London into the North. Woolsthorp is a pleasant little hollow or convallis, on the west side the valley of the river Witham, which arises near there, one spring thereof in this hamlet; it has a good prospect Eastward toward Colsterworth. The country hereabouts is thought to be the Montpelier of England; the air is exceeding good, the sharpness of the Mediterranean being tempered by the softness of the low parts of Lincolnshire, which makes a fine medium agreeable to most constitutions. I have seen many parts of England, and think none of a pleasanter view than about Colsterworth, and nothing can be imagined sweeter than the ride between it and Grantham. The country consists much of open heath, overgrown with the fragrant serpyllum, much like the downs in Wiltshire, differing chiefly in this, that our soil lies upon a white lime stone good for building, that upon chalk. The valleys are gravelly, very delightful; woods plentiful; springs and rivulets of the purest water abound.

Such is the place that produced the greatest genius of the human race. He was born in the manor house, which was the family

* See the Pedigree printed in p. 36. + Cousin to Sir Isaac's mother.

estate,

estate, where they hold a court leet and court baron. The old copies and records of the court are lost, but they say it has been in the Newton family ever since Queen Elizabeth's time; that it was bought of the Cecils, to whom Queen Elizabeth gave it, among other lands hereabouts that fell to the crown when the Lord Rochford was beheaded by Henry VIII, and that he is buried at Stoke Rochford hard by. This manor, which is Sir Isaac's paternal estate, is about 30l. per annum; but he has another estate at Sewstern adjacent, which came by his mother; so that the whole was near 80l. per annum, and descends to his next heir, John Newton, who is derived from his father's second brother. I visited this place 13 October, 1721, and took a prospect of the church of Colsterworth, and of his house at Wolsthorp. It is built of stone, as is the way of the country hereabouts, and a reasonably good one. They led me up stairs, and showed me Sir Isaac's study, where, I suppose, he studied when in the country in his younger days, as perhaps when he visited his mother from the University. I observed the shelves were of his own making, being pieces of deal boxes, which probably he sent his books and clothes down in upon these occasions. There were some years ago 2 or 300 books in it of his father-in-law Mr. Smith's, which Sir Isaac gave to Mr. Newton of this town.

Sir Isaac was a posthumous and only child. His mother was married again to a neighbouring clergyman, Mr. Barnabas Smith, minister of North Witham, near Colsterworth, Jan. 27, 1645. She had three children by him; the descendants of these came in for a share of Sir Isaac's personal estate. He was sent at a proper age to Grantham school, which was founded and well endowed by Richard Fox, Bishop of Winchester, born at Ropesly near here. The same person founded Corpus Christi College in Oxford. The people of Grantham have a common opinion, that Mr. Walker, the author of the book of Particles,' was his master, and they led me into that mistake in my Itinerary, page 49; but since, upon enquiry, I find Mr. Stokes was schoolmaster at that time, who was succeeded by Mr. Sisson, and he by Mr. Walker. Mr. Walker was an intimate acquaintance of Sir Issac's, being minister of Colsterworth, where he died in 1684. Mr. Stokes was reputed a very good scholar and an excellent schoolmaster.

Sir Isaac, whilst he went to this school, boarded at Mr. Clark's house, an apothecary, grandfather to Mr. Clarke, now an apothecary here. It was the next house to the George Inn Northward in High-street, which was rebuilt about 16 years ago. Dr. Clarke, M. D. brother to Mr. Clarke, was usher at that time. He was a pupil to the famous Henry Moor of Christ's College, born in Mr. Bellamy's house, over against me. Dr. Clarke left the school, and practised physic in this town with success and emoluEvery one that knew Sir Isaac. or have heard speak of him here, recount the pregnancy of his parts when a boy, his strange inventions, and extraordinary inclination for mechanics;

ment.

that

that instead of playing among the other boys when from school, he always busied himself in making knicknacks and models of wood in many kinds, for which purpose he had got little saws, hatchets, hammers, and a whole shop of tools, which he would use with great dexterity. In particular they speak of his making a wooden clock. About this time, a new windmill was set up near Grantham, in the way to Gunnerby, which is now demolished, this country chiefly using water mills. Our lad's imitating spirit was soon excited, and by frequently prying into the fabric of it, as they were making it, he became master enough to make a very perfect model thereof, and it was said to be as clean and curious a piece of workmanship as the original. This sometimes he would set upon the house-top, where he lodged, and clothing it with sail-cloth, the wind would readily turn it; but what was most extraordinary in its composition was, that he put a mouse into it, which he called the miller, and that the mouse made the mill turn round when he pleased; and he would joke too upon the miller eating the corn that was put in. Some say that he tied a string to the mouse's tail, which was put into a wheel, like that of turn-spit dogs, so that pulling the string, made the mouse go forward by way of resistance, and this turned the mill. Others suppose there was some corn placed above the wheel, this the mouse endeavouring to get to, made it turn. Moreover, Sir Isaac's water clock is much talked of. This he made out of a box he begged of Mr. Clark's (his landlord) wife's brother. As described to me, it resembled pretty much our common clocks and clock-cases, but less; for it was not above four feet in height, and of a proportionable breadth. There was a dial plate at top with figures of the hours. The index was turned by a piece of wood, which either fell or rose by water dropping. This stood in the room where he lay, and he took care every morning to supply it with its proper quantity of water; and the family upon occasion would go to see what was the hour by it. It was left in the house long after he went away to the University. I remember once, when I was Deputy to Dr. Halley, Secretary at the Royal Society, Sir Isaac talked of these kind of instruments, that he observed the chief inconvenience in them was, that the hole through which the water is transmitted, being necessarily very small, was subject to be furred up by impurities in the water, as those made with sand will wear bigger, which at length causes an inequality in time.

These fancies sometimes engrossed so much of his thoughts, that he was apt to neglect his book, and dull boys were now and then put over him in form. But this made him redouble his pains to overtake them; and such was his capacity, that he could soon do it, and out-strip them when he pleased; and it was taken notice of by his master. Still nothing could induce him to lay by his mechanical experiments: but all holidays, and what time the boys had allowed to play, he spent entirely in knocking ⚫ Here my MS. ends; and the remainder is copied from Mr.Turnor's book.

and