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220
Hereditary Genius
tery), and Mr. Clerk Maxwell, second wrangler in 1854, and eminent in natural
philosophy.
Newton, Sir Isaac; the most illustrious of English mathematicians and philosophers.
Was exceedingly puny as a child; his life was then despaired of, but he grew to
be strong and healthy. “The three grand discoveries which form the glory of his
life, were conceived in his mind before the completion of his twenty-fourth
year” (Libr. Univ. Knowl.): that is to say, the theories of gravitation, fluxions,
and light. D. aet. 84.
Newton's ancestry appear to have been in no way remarkable for intellectual ability,
and there is nothing of note that I can find out among his descendants, except
what may be inferred from the fact that the two Huttons were connected with
him in some unknown way, through the maternal line. The following paragraph
is printed in the Catalogue of Portraits belonging to the Royal Society; it will
be found under the description of a portrait of Sir Isaac Newton, which was
presented by Mr. Charles Vignolles, the eminent engineer;—” The mother of
James Hutton and the mother of Dr. Charles Hutton were sisters; and his
grandmother and the mother of Sir Isaac Newton were also sisters.” Mr.
Vignolles, who is grandson of Dr. Charles Hutton, has kindly given me the
history of the paragraph. It appears it was written on one of the few scraps of
paper that he inherited from Dr. C. Hutton; it was in the handwriting of his
aunt Miss Isabella Hutton, and appears to have been dictated by her father,
Dr. C. Hutton. There is absolutely no other information obtainable. Now the
word “his” in the paragraph is not grammatical; its interpretation is therefore
ambiguous. It might be supposed to be intended to apply to Dr. C. Hutton,
but a comparison of dates makes me doubt this. Sir Isaac was born in 1642,
and Dr. C. Hutton in 1737, leaving a difference of 95 years to be bridged over
by only one intervening generation. This is not absolutely impossible, but it is
exceedingly incredible. It could have come to pass on some such extravagant
hypothesis as the following, viz. that Newton's mother may have been only 20
when her son was born; also—which is just possible—that her sister
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