Youthful frills

sir – How lovely to see Calke Abbey’s painting, The Three Sons of Sir Henry Harpur, appear in the Telegraph (Letters, November 15).

As a National Trust volunteer, I regularly inform visiting and incredulous children that all three of the children portrayed are boys, even though only one has been breeched.

I find it makes a very good talking point, although none of the children has ever expressed envy. Gill Williamson

Uttoxeter, Staffordshire

sir – All I wanted as a child was a train set. As one of three girls, however, life was very feminine.

I married and had three sons. Problem solved. Helen Morris

Haywards Heath, West Sussex