It was not often that he forgot his two objects of holding up Froude as the fluent, facile ignoramus, and himself as the profound, erudite student.
Just after reading Freeman's furious articles on Becket, I turned to Froude's "Index of Papers collected by me October, November, and December, 1856." It covers twenty-one pages, very closely written, and I will give a few extracts to show what sort of preparation this sciolist thought necessary for his ecclesiastical pamphlet.

The first entry, representing four pages of text, is "Hanson's Description of England.

Diet, habits, prices of provisions from Parliamentary History." Another is "Dress and loose habits of the London clergy in 1486.

From Morton's Injunctions." "State of the Abbey of St.Albans in 1489 shows that Froude was well acquainted with that subject many years before he wrote his Short Study on it.

"The Bishops of all the Sees in England under Henry, date of appointment, etc.," is another of these items, which also comprise "Extracts from the so-called Privy Purse Expenses of Henry VIII." "Bulla Clementis Papae VII.