IN THE CATHEDRAL CITY.

NZ Truth, Issue 975, 2 August 1924, Page 5

IN THE CATHEDRAL CITY.

Further Attempt Fails Ingloriously

On top of this comes, word from Christchurch that Montecino appeared there last week under his "stage name" of Jim Robinson, and was accepted as a celebrity at once, it seems. Hark to the "Star's" report: "Jim Robinson, the pianist, failed m his attempt to break his own world's record of 100 hours 10 minutes continuous piano-playing, for he gave up on the advice of his doctor at 11.54 on Saturday night, after he had played j without' a stop for 57. hours 24 minutes. , "Robinson was taken from the piano m a semi-collapsed state, and it was 'obvious that he had put too great a strain on himself. .. "He continued for a few minutes after the doctor left, but his manager persuaded him to retire, and m the end he was taken away from the piano, and as he was assisted to his feet the audience, which 'consisted .of about sixty people, gave him a hearjy clap. "Robinson i was hardly fit to undertake the task, for it is less than, three weeks since he estab- ' lished his world's record m Wellington." ; Apparently Jim Robinson's satellites on this occasion included no such strategists as the masseur who attended him m Wellington. But there is a peculiar twist to the story. It is related that the pianist abandoned the attempt on the Saturday evening a few minutes before midnight. After midnight, of course, he could ' not have charged for admission until after midnight on the Sunday; arid what is more it is highly improbable that police permission would have been allowed him to keep such a side show running throughout the Sabbath, even on a silver coin collection basis. No wonder he desisted. The Robinson, alias Montecino, that we know is not m the habit .of working 24-hour stretches for nothing, still less paying for the privilege ,of doing, so, for the rent would still have been going on; and what is more he has too astute an eye to the loaves' and fishes to have overlooked such a hiatus m the flow of coin. : ■ . ■'■' v '■' ■" . ' ''' ;■■■'' ' THE USES 6F ADVERTISEMENT. Could it have been merely a pre-* liminary tinkle on the latent enthusiasm of the Christchurch - public preparatory to a nuiKnificently billed attempt during National Week? The "Star" by its report started the propaganda ball rolling merrily, apart from the fact that a correspondent "Mother" let herself loose on the subject m the columns of the same paper. One of her remarks is worth quoting. "She says: I think that such tests of endurance consist mainly of keeping the eyes open and impose a very severe mental strain. Yes, they certainly do, about' 2 o'clock.in the morning when the pianist's snores are rending the welkin. The strain oh: the . doorkeepers' eyes must be very severe.