In Oliver Goldsmith's "The Vicar of Wakefield" one of the characters (the good Vicar's son, I believe) busks his way across Europe and back. I assume that Goldsmith was drawing from his own experiences. I have heard the County Longford native was a fine flute player.

The story mentions:

(1) how his music was enthusiastically received in many different areas;
(2) he found it difficult to get the attention of comfortable, distracted rich people;
(3) in a certain region, the quality of the locals' music was so high that his own music was merely commonplace (Brittany maybe?)

I have held the story in reserve to ward off my own relations' concerns ("...and a grown man - with children of his own!!") about my enthusiasm for the music.

Hopefully, by linking my own efforts to this "Big Name" - the bedeviler of Johnson - a connection to the classical era (and all that stuff) I can add some justification to my single-minded, public pursuit of my music passions. Maybe I can make my kin feel better, for I have no plans to cease my embarrassing ad hoc performances.

Cheers,

Danny