Rectory, Clyst St. George.
From C. S. G.'s reply to my inquiry respecting Mr. Justice Newton I
conclude that at least _two_ individuals of this name have, at different
periods, and at a considerable interval apart, occupied the judicial bench.
The portrait I wish to trace is of a well-known character of the
Commonwealth era, and could not, of course, have belonged to a judge then
some two centuries deceased. My omission to state this circumstance, in the
first instance, has very naturally occasioned complete misapprehension
throughout.
Since my Query was written, a duplicate of the drawing in the Bodleian
(_minus_ the inscription), out of the Strawberry Hill collection, has,
curiously enough, appeared in an extensive public sale. It was likewise
said to be by Bulfinch; and farther examination leads me to infer that both
this and the Oxford copy were, in respect of artist, in all probability
_not_ incorrectly described. As Bulfinch lived _temp._ Charles II., and the
Bodleian inscription points to his original painting, as "in the hands of
Mr. Justice Newton," it may fairly be presumed that a second judge of the
name flourished in this reign.
Substantially, then, my original Query yet remains unanswered,
notwithstanding C. S. G.'s obliging reply.