RANDOM NOTES.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume II, Issue 84, 5 December 1874, Page 8

RANDOM NOTES.

!■+- 11 A chlel's amtng ye taktn' notes, And faith uo'el prent 'em,"

Now that the Goddard fever has somewhat subsided, and the star which shone with such brilliancy has disappeared from ourfirmament, it may be that the public will come down from its high stilts, and form a less roseate estimate of the performances of that celebrated artiste. Ido not for one moment wish to depreciate the undoubted abilities., and talents of Madame Goddard,who is, par excellence, the pianiste of the day, and without a peer in her profession ; hut — at the risk of losing caste by the confession — I fail to discover that she is so immeasurably superior to other artistes I have heard, to cause tho ecstatic raptures indulged in during her visit by Brown, Jones, and Kobinson. The oft-repeated question, " What's in a name ? " has been answered to some purpose by the reception accorded to Madame Goddard, for it will scarcely be denied that a considerable portion of the enthusiasm and gushing with which she was greeted was as much owing to the fame of her name, as a tribute of admiration for her talents. The truth is, that Madame Goddard's advent had been looked forward to for some time with an amount of interest and excitement rarely, if ever, accorded to a professional, and the public felt it incumbent upon it to endorse a verdict which had been so generally and unequivocably expressed, and add another to the list of Poang which have been sung in her honor, or else incur the odium of being devoid of all musical appreciation. Had an artiste unknown to fame, and whose reputation had been unheralded, appeared under the unpretentious name of Green, but whose talents were equal, or even superior to those of Madame Goddard, would the discrimination of the critical audiences which rapturously applauded that lady, be equal to to the occasion, and merit receive its due meed of applause ? It is somewhat more than questionable. Or suppose Madame Goddard, during the execution of one of those difficult compositions, which were listened to with such wrapt attention, had chosen to take liberties with the music, and indulge in manipulations on the instrument not intended by the composer. I ask how many among her crowded audience would be able to detect the discrepancy ? Possibly not two dozen, and most probably even those would attribute the variations to the super-excellence of her execution. To mention Madame Goddard's performances without a host of superlatives, was to be stigmatised as a being without a soul, and to be the recipient of the most contemptuous pity j but to have the moral courage to attempt to qualify a eulogium with the little word " but," was quite sufficient to consign one to Coventry. A friend of mine, whose opinion I asked after his attendance, indulged in strictures of a heretical nature, being neither complimentary to the artiste's abilities nor his own judgment, and more trenchant than true, yet to my surprise the second and succeeding nights saw him in his former place, applauding to tie echo. Why was this ? Simply because Madame Goddard was the rage ; fashion was inexorable, and appearances had to be maintained ; and my friend had taken a season ticket. It is a pity Madame Goddard, instead of confining herself to the mere physical puzzles of German composers, did not play some real music, and favor her audiences with pieces from the Italian masters. Public benefits are of ttimes the reverse where individuals are concerned, and circumstances which are a boon to the many, have very often an opposite effect on the few. New Zealand is a case in point, and *he immunity from the presence of snakes, et hoc genus omne, upon which the colony has so often prided itself — blessing, as no doubt it will be considered — has frequently been a source of regret to needy paragraphists during the long Parliamentary recess. In the other colonies journalists have always a reserve to fall back upon during a dearth of news, and the gap can be easily filled by a monster gooseberry or cleverly-improvised snake story. However, although our literary scribes are placed at a seeming disadvantage, they possess a substitute which knows no season, and is in perfect bloom in both January and May. Need I say I allude to the immortal " Knocker," of whom, no doubt, your readers have heard before. Although "Knocker" has been publicly enathematized by every journal from the 'Bay of Plenty Times' to its namesake of Otago, I have hut little doubt that simultaneously a silent blessing was invoked on his behalf. As to whether "Knocker" really has an existence in the flesh, or is merely some apocryphal character created by clever Pressmen to supply the want of the gooseberry or the snake, I am not at all clear — and there would appear to be as much mystery shrouding that highly* abused but useful personage as existed with regard to the identity of Ju« nius. However judging from the daily journals of the paßt few days, it would appear as if Mr. Knocker were about to be relieved from his arduous duties, and a successor found in the person of " Master Humphrey." I congratulate Knocker, and consider he may safely retire on his laurels.

It is but seldom I am in accord iritli the clever writer of " Passing Notes," but there appeared a sentence in his last paper which I heartily endorse. He says :—": — " Here in the land of plenty nobody need steal braes, as everybody seems to hare more than enough. Brass abounds, and passes current ; brass is essential, and is therefore plentiful." True, O King ! I bow my head to the liictvun of one v*ho evidently speaks from experience, and pardon tho egotism in consideration of the candour. To be convinced that brass abounds and passes current, ire need only i*ead the columns of the — newspapers. However, as the writer is not quite " everybody," it were better he had not been so general in his remarks, and rented satisfied with announcing his own possession of the commodity.

Ok the Ist August, the Feast of St. Peter in Chains, the • tJnita Cattolica' laid an offering at the feet of the Holy Father. It consiand of over 20,000 francs, which Catholic Italy has sent to that journal in small sums during the months of June and July, la the copy of the journal published on that day — the previous day's journal was sequestrated for the attempt to publish the Archbisbop uf Paris' s Pastoral Letter — there are a series of notes on the Chains of St. Peter, and a corresponding series of notes on the Chains of Pius the Ninth,