From the Marquess of Salisbury, father of the late Prime Minister, Froude received permission to search the Cecil papers at Hatfield, which, though less numerous than those in the Record Office, are invaluable to students of Elizabeth’s reign.  His investigations at Hatfield were begun in April, 1862, and led, among other consequences, to one of his most valued friendships.  With Lady Salisbury, afterwards Lady Derby, he kept up for more than thirty years a correspondence which only ended with his death.  It was Froude who introduced Lady Salisbury to Carlyle, and she thoroughly appreciated the genius of both.  Her intimate knowledge of politics was completed when Lord Derby sat in Disraeli’s Cabinet.  But she was always behind the scenes, and it was from her that Froude obtained most of his political information.  Their earliest communications, however, referred to the Elizabethan part of the History, especially to the career and influence of William Cecil, Lord Burghley.  A preliminary letter shows the thoroughness of Froude’s methods.  The date is the 5th of March, 1862.

“Dear lady Salisbury,—­If Lord Salisbury has not repented of his kind promise to me, I shall in a few weeks be in a condition to avail myself of it, and I write to ask you whether about the beginning of next month I may be permitted to examine the papers at Hatfield.  I am unwilling to trouble Lord Salisbury more than necessary.  I have therefore examined every other collection within my reach first, that I might know clearly what I wanted.  Obliged as I am to confine myself for the present to the first ten years of Elizabeth’s reign, there will not be much which I shall have to examine there, the great bulk of Lord Burleigh’s papers for that time being in the Record Office—­but if I can be allowed a few days’ work, I believe I can turn them to good account.  With my very best thanks for your own and Salisbury’s goodness in this matter, I remain, faithfully yours,

“J.  A. Froude.”

A few days later he writes:  “I have seen Stewart and looked through the catalogue.  There appear to be about eight volumes which I wish to examine.  The volumes which I marked as containing matter at present important to me are Vols. 2 and 3 on the war with France and Scotland from 1559 to 1563, Vols. 138, 152, 153, 154, 155 on the disputes relating to the succession to the English Crown, and the respective claims of the Queen of Scots, Lady Catherine Grey, Lord Darnley, and Laqy Margaret Lennox.  I noted the volumes only.  I did not take notice of the pages because as far as I could see the volumes appeared to be given up to special subjects, and I should wish therefore to read them through.”

His growing admiration for Cecil appears in the following extracts: 

“I could only do real justice to such a collection by being allowed to read through the whole of it volume by volume—­and for such a large permission as that I fear it may be dangerous to ask.  Lord Salisbury, however, whatever my faults may be, could find no one who has a more genuine admiration for his ancestor.”