He might or might not agree with the point of view, or
accept the historian's own theory of causes or of the
connection of events. But he was aware that his e} T es
had been opened and that he was allowed to see for
himself, to form his own opinions and, so to speak, to
write his own histor}\ The materials were provided for
him. The curtain was drawn up. The scene lay before
him, and the scene was Henry's England and Elizabeth's
England, and no less a drama than the Great Reforma-
tion was enacted before him. He felt, moreover, that
though a costume might be wrong or a piece of furni-
ture out of date, the representation was as a whole
truthful.
That it was picturesque no one ever disputed. I will
not enter here into the question of Froude's style, on
which it is hard to say too much. Eut there can be
no doubt that for the purposes of history it has the
supreme merit of transparency. Of course it fascinated
people ; often without their knowing it. They might
not be quite sure why they read on and on, but they
were quite sure they did not want to stop. The}*" felt
also that they were in the hands of a master. The secret
of simplicity was his, and also of sincerity. And if there
never was any such flourish of trumpets about Froude



292 STUDIES OF MEN

as about his contemporary Macaulay, he won his way
silently to the hearts of his readers, and if you once
made friends with him, friends you remained.
