Golden Lotus
Ah! yes, the rumor of that war came to us. But what was the cause of it?
Tranquil Beauty
How politics interest her!
Pearl
Yes! when that young man is her teacher.
Arrow-Bearer
The cause of it was peculiar. A Prince, kinsman to the Tartar usurper, conceived the foolish idea of mustering an army of bandits to hurl upon the hated Christians in the north of China. But the horde, once let loose, got out of hand. It rushed against the barbarian strangers, whose presence has for a long time been tolerated in the neighbourhood of the Palace. Then the armies of the Western nations came to sack Peking, whence the Tartar Emperor fled with his entire Court.
Golden Lotus
Doubtless it is unhappy for us that the usurper has made peace
Arrow-Bearer
Who knows? Perhaps China might have fallen under a more evil dominion still.
Tranquil Beauty
Is the lesson not finished yet?
