spirit: The locustry of Britain Are gods beneath the skies; They stamp the brave into the grave; They feed on Famine's sighs. His poems by then were being published in the United States and in Europe. The French magazine Le Revue des deux Mondes sent a journalist to Sheffield to interview him. The Corn Law Rhymes were initially thought to be written by an uneducated Sheffield mechanic, who had rejected conventional Romantic ideals for a new style of working-class poetry aimed at changing the system. Elliott was described as "a red son of the furnace", and called " the Yorkshire Burns" or " the Burns of the manufacturing city". The French journalist was surprised to find Elliott a mild man with a nervous temperament. One of Elliott's last poems, "The People's Anthem", first appeared in Tait's Edinburgh Review in 1848. It was written for music and usually sung to the tune "Commonwealth". When wilt thou save the people? Oh, God of mercy! when? Not kings and lords, but nations! Not thrones and crowns, but men! Flowers of thy heart, oh, God, are they! Let them not pass, like weeds, away! Their heritage a sunless day! God! save the people! The final refrain parodies the British national anthem, God Save the Queen and demands support for ordinary people instead. Despite its huge popularity, some churches refused to use hymn books which contained it, as it could also be seen as a criticism of God. In his notes on the poem, Elliott demanded that votes be given to all responsible householders. The poem remained a favourite for many years, and in the 1920s it was suggested it had qualified Elliott to be Poet Laureate of the League of Nations. The words of "The People's Anthem" eventually entered the American Episcopal hymn-book and from that source was included, along with others, in the rock musical Godspell (1971). There it was retitled "Save the People", with a new musical score. Literary friendships Elliott's relations with like-minded writers remained close, particularly with James Montgomery and John Holland, both of whom espoused other humanitarian causes. He was also sympathetic to labouring-class poets and is recorded as being over-generous in his praise of the fledgling writing that they brought to show him. For reasons of propriety, Mary Hutton addressed herself to Mrs Elliott, although she also addresses the poet himself in one stanza of the poem of