MrPunch's history of modern England . of want And the walk that costs a meal! Oh, but for one short hour! A respite however brief;No blessed leisure for love or hope, But only time for grief !A little weeping- would ease my heart. But in their briny bedMy tears must stop, for every drop Hinders needle and thread ! With fingers weary and worn. With eyelids heavy and red,A woman sat in unwomanly rags Plying her needle and thread—Stitch ! stitch ! stitch ! In poverty, hunger and dirt,And still with a voice of dolorous that its tone could reach the rich ! She sang this Song of the Shir
MrPunch's history of modern England . of want And the walk that costs a meal! Oh, but for one short hour! A respite however brief;No blessed leisure for love or hope, But only time for grief !A little weeping- would ease my heart. But in their briny bedMy tears must stop, for every drop Hinders needle and thread ! With fingers weary and worn. With eyelids heavy and red,A woman sat in unwomanly rags Plying her needle and thread—Stitch ! stitch ! stitch ! In poverty, hunger and dirt,And still with a voice of dolorous that its tone could reach the rich ! She sang this Song of the Shirt. The story of The Song of the Shirt is well told byMr. M. H. Splelmann in his History of Punch. Mark 13 Mr. PiincJis History of Modern England Lemon proved himself a great editor by deciding to publishthe poem against the expressed opinions of his colleagues,who thought it unsuitable for a comic journal, and also byhis omitting the one weak verse in the original MS. Strangeto say, the poem does not appear in the index. The sequel. PIN MONEY may be found in Peels correspondence, and does honour toa statesman who, while he lived, received scant justice fromPunch. Though the impact of Hoods burning verses onpublic opinion was immense and abiding, Hood himself a yearlater was dying in penury, of consumption. On November i6,1844, Peel wrote him a letter expressing admiration for hiswork, and offering him a pension. I am not conferring a Sly Robert Peel and Hood private obligation upon you, but am fulfilling the intentionsof the Legislature, which has placed at the disposal of theCrown a certain sum (miserable indeed in amount) in recog-nition of public claims on the bounty of the Crown. Allhe asked in return was that Hood would give him the oppor-
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1920, bookpublisherlondo, bookyear1921
