Hatton composed various songs to poems by Robert Herrick (including his famous "To Anthea"), Ben Jonson and Charles Sedley at this time which were published in and before 1850. Others became the property of Thomas Oliphant. In his August 1850 Preface, Hatton says that they were written 'at different times under various circumstances. Some few of them were composed previous to my departure to America in the autumn of the year 1848, and presented as little souvenirs to several of my friends on my leaving England. The rest with one exception were written entirely for my own amusement during the time I was away, and all of them were composed without any view to their publication... On my return to England I was urged by one of my friends... to make a complete collection of these little compositions and publish them in a consolidated form. The kindness of my friends in restoring me some of my MSS. has enabled me to do this, and I now send these songs forth into the world, satisfied if they should be the means, in however humble a degree, of adding to the material of musical enjoyment, or of contributing anything to the regeneration of the popular taste in an important department of chamber music.' It was also during the 1840s that he wrote "Simon the Cellarer", another abiding favourite (which he sold to Oliphant for 'a £10 note'). This was incorporated into the ballad opera "Diamond cut diamond" by Henri Drayton in 1859. Charles Santley, who championed "To Anthea" and "Simon the Cellarer" and sang them with Hatton accompanying, lived long enough to record them both, twice, in the early 20th century, preserving his association with the composer.