Autograph letter signed : place not specified, to William Powell, 1800 May 7.

Apologizing for writing to Powell, but saying that he has been unable to get a response from Mr. Richardson and Mr. Peake; saying that he had informed Peake of "my wish to put an end to my engagement at Drury Lane on the close of the Season, if it might be done to the convenience, and with the approbation of the other parties concern'd"; adding that he had been reluctant to talk about a benefit night with Powell earlier until he had Richard Brinsley Sheridan's approval of his decision to retire: "I intended, in such case, to advertise it as my last benefit; which wou'd in all probability, make a material difference in the receipt -- and really the non performance of covenants at the Theatre, has render'd money a scarce article with me"; explaining that the delay in getting a response will cause problems for him: "for by it, I shall of course be deprived of the performance of Mr. [John Philip] Kemble and Mrs. [Sarah] Siddons, who you inform me are shortly to retire for the remainder of the Season"; asking Powell to "gain from Mr. Sheridan an immediate answer" to his questions about how to proceed; concluding "May I be indulged with getting up what may be done with credit and profit to myself and the Theatre, or, after having devoted more than fifty years of my life, with some degree of credit to the profession of an Actor, am I not only to have my benefit at the fag end of the Season, but then be furnish'd with such performances as are generally devoted to Doorkeepers &c &c &c."