A very interesting interior of the seventeenth century occurs in a picture by G. Metsu in The Hague Gallery. In a room with a very fine chimney-piece supported by marble pillars, and above which is a fine picture and a beautiful chandelier, a lady is standing improvising upon a lute. Another lady seated at a table is taking down the music, while a man looks over her shoulder. The lady is seated upon a low-back leather chair studded with heavy nails. Her foot rests upon a foot-warmer. The table has heavy ball-feet connected with stretchers, and the heavy cloth or carpet is pushed back carelessly. A tray or “standish,” holding the ink bottles, etc., is carelessly placed upon the folds of the cover. The lady holds a quill pen in her hand. [Illustration: PLATE XXXIX.—_The Music Lesson, by Terborch._ NATIONAL GALLERY, LONDON. ] No subject was more congenial to the Dutch painters than scenes of home life and familiar interiors. Not only were Jan Steen, Teniers, Dou, Metsu and others of like rank attracted to the home, but an army of mediocre masters devoted their talents to this subject. If the works of the “Little Masters” found their way into royal and princely collections, the works of more obscure painters decorated the homes of the citizens, country people and colonists. The stranger who visited the Dutch cities was amazed at the many interiors and landscapes that were exhibited in the booths, at the fairs, and under the verandahs in front of the houses of the masters. These were often bought for a small sum by travellers, who sold them in their own country at considerable profit. When a bride went to her new home, she often found that it had been furnished from top to bottom; but this was not always the case. As a rule, wealthy burghers did not do this. The young wife, accompanied by one or two of her near relatives and followed by a couple of servants and a truckman, went about from shop to shop to select what she needed. This was called “_ten huisraet vaeren_” (going furnishing), and De Vrij devotes a chapter to this pleasant occupation under the title of “_De vrou vaert ten huysraet_” (the wife goes out to furnish). In his time the old simplicity had vanished in favour of a general luxury hardly equalled to-day. De Vrij, therefore, allows his wealthy lady to purchase “down beds, fine plush and wadded coverlids, costly hangings, large Venetian mirrors, Indian crackle porcelain, lounging chairs, Turkish carpets, Amsterdam gold leather, costly paintings, a silver service, a _sacredaan_ cupboard, an ebony table, a curio cabinet, a napkin _kas_, a large quantity of napkins, tablecloths and other fine household linen, and a thousand other articles.”