Page:Famous Single Poems (1924).djvu/129

 his authorship. The Globe people assured Mrs. D'Vys that her son would receive full justice, but no correction was ever made.

"Unfortunately," continues D'Vys, "the little mother left with the gentleman with whom she talked the proof positive, and unfortunately she failed to ask his name"; and for the third time unfortunately D'Vys was never able to get his evidence back; yes, and even for the fourth time unfortunately D'Vys further records that a notebook filled with all his other rhymes about baseball and Mudville was carelessly left by him on a seat in Cambridge Common and could never again be found. From which it would appear that D'Vys certainly had a run of bad luck!

Out of this farrago one fact emerges: that D'Vys claims to have written the last eight stanzas of "Casey at the Bat" some time in August, 1886. He was always complaining about the fellow who had spoiled his poem by prefixing five other stanzas to it. Now let it be recalled that in the summer of 1888 the New York Sun had introduced the poem to the East by quoting the last eight stanzas only. Then finally consider a letter from Edward L. Cleveland, of Shelby, Montana, to the effect that he was indeed with Mr. D'Vys on that memorable Sunday at Franklin Park, and that D'Vys had really written out a part at least of "Casey at