The right was of course incontestable.

The expediency was a very different matter.

Froude was not accustomed to public speaking, and only long experience can teach that most difficult part of the process, the instinctive avoidance of what should not be said.

His brilliant lectures were all read from manuscript, and he had never been in the habit of thinking on his legs.

In 1874 he could at least say that he spoke only for himself.