He had hitherto taken no notice of the attacks in The Saturday Review.

The errors pointed out in them were of the most trivial kind, and mere abuse is not worth a reply.
But even Gibbon was moved from his philosophic calm when Mr.Somebody of Something "presumed to attack not the faith but the fidelity of the historian." Froude passed over in contemptuous silence impertinent reflections upon his religious belief.

His honesty was now in set terms impugned, and on the 15th of February, 1870, he addressed, through the editor of The Pall Mall Gazette, Mr.Frederick Greenwood, a direct challenge to Mr.Philip Harwood, who had become editor of The Saturday Review.

After a few caustic remarks upon the absurdity of the defects imputed to him, such as ignorance that Parliament could pass Bills of Attainder, because he had said that the House of Lords would not pass one in a particular case, he came to close quarters with the imputation of bad faith.

"I am," he said, "peculiarly situated"-- as Freeman of course knew--"towards a charge of this kind, for nine-tenths of my documents are in manuscript, and a large proportion of those manuscripts are in Spain.