Thomas Hood to his wife
September 17, 2008 by Carol
Filed under Short Love Letters
Thomas Hood (23 May 1799 – 3 May 1845) was primarily a humorist and poet although he had worked also as a banker and an engraver. Although of Scottish descent Thomas Hood was born in London above his fathers bookshop. Due to ill-health he returned to Scotland where he met his wife to whom this love letter was written.
Writer and friend of Hood, William Makepeace Thackeray, gave this assessment of Thomas Hood:”Oh sad, marvelous picture of courage, of honesty, of patient endurance, of duty struggling against pain! … Here is one at least without guile, without pretension, without scheming, of a pure life, to his family and little modest circle of friends tenderly devoted.” 
This is a picture of Jane his wife to whom he constantly wrote short love notes and letters although many of them were subject to shared jokes which perhaps only they would have known and shared.
My own dearest and best,
We parted manfully and womanfully as we ought. I drank only half a bottle of the Rhine wine, and only the half of that, ere I fell asleep on the sofa, which lasted two hours.
It was the reaction, for your going tired me more that I cared to show. Then I drank the other half, and as that did not do, I went and retraced our walk in the park, and sat down in the same seat, and felt happier and better Have you not a romantic old husband?
There are numerous stories of him playing practical jokes on friends and family but whilst living a relatively quiet life he was founder of various magazines but also write verses of poetry and criticisms of society at that time which prompted a number of other people to sit up and take notice enough to campaign for more justice for he poor and oppressed.
After his death the British Prime Minister proposed and granted a pension specifically set up to support the families of literary men who had done the country a great service.
