6 
second portrait and got it engraved. It is, I think, umnis- 
takeably taken from Smith’s print of 1712 or an early 
impression of Houbraken’s engraving. The portrait prefixed 
to the small Life of Newton is the same as that engraved in 
Lodge’s portraits. At present Dr. Crompton is unacquainted 
with the historical evidence regarding the genuineness of 
this portrait. It is signed by Kneller and dated 1716 ; but 
Dr. Crompton has not yet seen it, nor one in the possession 
of Mr. Turner, of Stoke Ashford, near Grantham. 
In Lord Portsmouth’s collection at Hurstbourne, besides 
three genuine and authentic portraits of Newton, there is a 
fourth picture with the name of Newton painted upon it. 
It was described to Dr. Crompton by a gentleman who had 
had an opportunity of a very close examination of it, as the 
earliest and most important portrait of the great philosopher. 
But Dr. Crompton found neither date nor artist’s name upon 
it, and the picture, which is mounted upon panel, has a crest 
in red wax behind it, which is not the crest of the Ports- 
mouth family, but could not be sufficiently determined what 
it was for want of a magnifying glass. The history of this 
picture will be investigated further; though it is certain 
that it cannot be a portrait of Newton, for the features are 
not his, and the eyes are brown, while Newton’s were bluish 
grey. It is most earnestly to be desired that all the portraits 
of Newton might be collected together at Kensington next 
year for comparison with each other, and that the portraits 
of other great men (where there are several) should be thus 
exhibited in juxtaposition. It would probably then be 
evident that there exist many spurious ones, and an oppor- 
tunity would be thus afforded of determining which are the 
best as well as the true. 
