The letter serves as an introduction to Gladstone's two sons,
John Neilson [Gladstone], a lieutenant in the Royal Navy, and
William Ewart [Gladstone], a student of Christ Church, Oxford, who were about to visit Rome in the course of a tour of the continent. Gladstone mentions his pleasure at possessing a specimen of Gibson's early works, which adorned the drawing room chimney piece of his house in Rodney Street [Liverpool.]