A Visit from St. Nicholas S. Colman, 1840), pages 102-104. The New-York Historical Society has a later manuscript of the poem in Moore's handwriting, forwarded by T. W. C. Moore along with a cover letter dated March 15, 1862 giving circumstances of the poem's original composition and transmission after a personal "interview" with Clement C. Moore. After "A Visit from St. Nicholas" appeared under Moore's name in the 1837 "New-York Book of Poetry", newspaper printings of the poem often credited Moore as the author. For example, the poem is credited to "Professor Moore" in the 25 December 1837 "Pennsylvania Inquirer and Daily Courier". Although Moore
Saint Nicholas tomb that could be visited serves as the almost solitary definitive proof that he was a real historical figure. In his treatise "De statu animarum post mortem" (written 583), the theologian Eustratius of Constantinople cites Saint Nicholas of Myra's miracle of the three counts as evidence that souls may work independent from the body. Eustratius credits a lost "Life of Saint Nicholas" as his source. Nearly all the sources Eustratius references date from the late fourth century to early fifth century, indicating the "Life of Saint Nicholas" to which he refers was probably written during this time period, shortly after