Dear Pearl,

Christmas was pleasant with all of us gathered together, Pearl.  But Melba's insistence on spending the day attired as the Yule Queen was a bit tiresome and completely ruined the beautiful tree in the entrance by the time Melba had 'borrowed' a few of its branches and ornaments. . .Fanny is so impressionable!  I worry that she will want to become an actress, too, and then what will happen to all her precocious drawings of ship interiors?  Please include in your prayers, Pearl, in a pleasant - not bossy or insistent - tone, the request that Fanny follow her true gifts and avoid the allure of Melba's overwrought Tinseltown fantasies!

I Remain, as Always, Your Devoted Miss Blue