Unluckily for Freeman's statement the period was before his appointment to be Legal Member of Council in India, and long before he had begun to write his History of England.

The most charitable explanation of an erroneous statement is usually the correct one, and it was probably forgetfulness which made Freeman say that he did not hear of Froude's having placed copies of the Simancas manuscripts in the British Museum till 1878, whereas he had himself discussed it in The Pall Mall Gazette eight years before.

If Froude had made such an astonishing slip, there would have been more ground for imputing to him an incapacity to distinguish between truth and falsehood.

Freeman's "Last Words on Mr.
Froude" show no sign of penitence or good feeling, and they end with characteristic bluster about the truth, from which he had so grievously departed.

But Froude was never troubled with him again.
Although a refuted detractor is not formidable in the flesh, the evil that he does lives after him.