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From Mr. Punch’s History of Modern England

The story of “The Song of the Shirt” is well told by Mr. M. H. Spielmann in his History of “Punch.” Mark Lemon proved himself a great editor by deciding to publish the poem against the expressed opinions of his colleagues, who thought it unsuitable for a comic journal, and also by his omitting the one weak verse in the original MS. Strange to say, the poem does not appear in the index. The sequel may be found in Peel's correspondence, and does honour to a statesman who, while he lived, received scant justice from Punch. Though the impact of Hood's burning verses on public opinion was immense and abiding, Hood himself a year later was dying in penury, of consumption. On November 16, 1844, Peel wrote him a letter expressing admiration for his work, and offering him a pension. “I am not conferring a private obligation upon you, but am fulfilling the intentions of the Legislature, which has placed at the disposal of the Crown a certain sum (miserable indeed in amount) in recog nition of public claims on the bounty of the Crown.” All he asked in return was that Hood would give him the opportunity of making his personal acquaintance. That was im possible owing to the state of Hood's health. Mrs. Hood wrote on January 14, 1845, to beg for prompt assistance: Hood was dangerously ill and creditors were pressing. Peel sent the 4, 100 at once, and on February 17 Hood wrote to thank him “with all the sincerity of a dying man" and to bid him a respectful farewell. He could write no more, though he had wished to write one more paper. Then follow these memorable words, even more needed now than they were seventy-five years ago:

Certain classes, at the poles of society, are already too far asunder. It should be the duty of our writers to draw them nearer by kindly attraction, not to aggravate existing repulsions and place a wider moral gulf between rich and poor, with hate on one side and fear on the other. But I am too weak for this task, the last I had set myself. It is death that stops my pen, you see, not a pension. God bless you, sir, and prosper all your measures for the benefit of my beloved country.

Hood died on May 3, 1845, and was buried in Kensal Green, but more than seven years later no tombstone marked his resting-place, and Punch was moved to ask:

If marble mark the soldier-statesman's grave,
If monuments adorn his place of sleep
Whose hand struck off the fetters from the slave,
And his who sought out woe in dungeons deep,

Did he not fight for Toil's sad sons and daughters?
Was not his voice loud for the worker's right?
Was he not potent to arrest the slaughters
Of Capital and Labour's desperate fight?

Eventually a tombstone was erected, bearing the words: “He sang the Song of the Shirt,” but the pension continued to his widow lapsed on her death a year later. [I, 13-17]

Bibliography

Graves. Charles. Mr. Punch’s History of Modern England. 4 vols. London: Cassell & Co., 1921. Hathi Trust Digital Library online version of acopy in the University of California Library. Web. 10 June 2020.

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