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23 Birchington Road, West Hampstead, N.W.6.—Discusses the date and handwriting of Harley MS. 7650 (containing The Country Captain, a play by the Duke of Newcastle).

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Transcript

23, Birchington Rd.,
W. Hampstead, N.W.6,
5. iii. 1932.

Dear Dr. Greg,

Thank you very much for your generous acknowledgements in Dramatic Documents. I have been consulting Francis Needham, the Welbeck Librarian, about the hand of Harl. 7650 {1} and the E.S. {2} Though unable to identify the writer he tells me that the extra leaf in the Harl. MS. is in the hand of John Rolleston, Newcastle's secretary, and he dates it between ?1638 and 1649. May I ask what your dating of the MS., c. ?1635, is based on? I understand the play was performed about 1639.

Yours sincerely,
R. G. Howarth.

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{1} Harley MS. 7650 contains the text of The Country Captain, a play by the Duke of Newcastle.

{2} Perhaps a reference to The Elizabethan Stage, by E. K. Chambers.