A searching investigation traced the ownership of the work back to a connoisseur of the time of William III. In 1678 it was sold for a small sum, and was then called "A Dutch Courtesan Drinking with a Young Man." The monogram on the picture was called that of Frans Hals, but as reproduced and explained by C. Hofstede de Groot in the "_Jahrbuch für Königlich-preussischen Kunst-Sammlungen_" for 1893, it seems evident that the signature is J. L. and not F. H. Similar initials are on the "Flute Player," in the gallery at Stockholm; the "Seamstress," in The Hague Gallery, and on a picture in the Six collection at Amsterdam. It is undeniable that these pictures all show the influence of Hals, whose pupil Judith Leyster may have been, and whose manner she caught as Mlle. Mayer caught that of Greuze and Prud'hon. At all events, the present evidence seems to support the claim that the world is indebted to Judith Leyster for these admirable pictures. <b>MACH, HILDEGARDE VON.</b> This painter studied in Dresden and Munich, and under the influence of Anton Pepinos she developed her best characteristics, her fine sense of form and of color. She admirably illustrates the modern tendency in art toward individual expression--a tendency which permits the following of original methods, and affords an outlet for energy and strength of temperament. Fräulein Mach has made a name in both portrait and genre painting. Her "Waldesgrauen" represents two naked children in an attitude of alarm as the forest grows dark around them; it gives a vivid impression of the mysterious charm and the possible dangers which the deep woods present to the childish mind. <b>MAYER, MARIE FRANÇOISE CONSTANCE.</b> As early as 1806 this artist received a gold medal from the Paris Salon, awarded to her picture of "Venus and Love Asleep." Born 1775, died 1821. She studied under Suvée, Greuze, and Prud'hon. There are various accounts of the life of Mlle. Mayer. That of M. Charles Guenllette is the authority followed here. It is probable that Mlle. Mayer came under the influence of Prud'hon as early as 1802, possibly before that time. Prud'hon, a sensitive man, absorbed in his art, had married at twenty a woman who had no sympathy with his ideals, and when she realized that he had no ambition, and was likely to be always poor, her temper got the better of any affection she had ever felt for him. Prud'hon, in humiliation and despair, lived in a solitude almost complete.