Letter from Sir Charles Lock Eastlake, Rome, to Nathaniel George Philips, 1826 September 2 : autograph manuscript signed.

Concerning news of mutual friends and acquaintances among the colony of English artists in Rome; including the recipient's friend "Confidati", who accompanied Eastlake to "see a picture which was for sale & on which Ambrogetti (so famous in London as Don Giovanni) had advanced some money to assist some poor young women - they fancied it was a battle of Constantine by Julio Romans ... but it is an indifferent & modern copy"; also referring to Mr. & Mrs. (John) Partridge (the English painter), who have left Italy to meet Mrs. Partridge's ailing sister in Paris; the painter (Joseph) Severn, described by Eastlake as "the happiest man in Rome", who "flirts & quotes Shakespeare with English ladies in the country, plays duets with Italian girls on the piano" as his painting improves; and mentioning (John) Gibson, (Richard James) Wyatt, (William) Ewing, (John Bryant?) Lane, and (Captain W.G.?) Baynes; informing Philips that "Rosa has had all her legacy & applied to me a few days since begging I would write to you & ask for something more."; expressing his hope that Philips is in better health and that "English air & habits" have driven his melancholy away.