"Why, my dear, I've luckily had it all explained to me by a gentleman deeply concerned in the Potteries, who consequently understands everything connected with China--it's his business--and he informs me on the best authority that the disturbance originally broke out thus:--You see there happens to be a place in America called the Boundary-line, the natives of which employed a gentleman named McLeod to seize upon one of our East India ships and destroy its cargo of tea--these Boundary-line people being jealous, as I'm told, of the spread of temperance in this country. Whereupon our merchants in India naturally became incensed; and they applied, it seems, to the Emperor of China for a considerable quantity of opium--of opium, don't you see?--with the view of selling it to America at a very reduced price, so that the Boundary-line people might be tempted to buy the injurious drug, and thus become the instruments of their own punishment." "Now I begin to understand," said Miss Dibsley. "Euphemius Hipson, my dear, you can assist me to another lump of sugar?" "Oh! yes Miss Dibsley," said the young gentleman, jumping up nervously and spilling his tea over his new pepper-and-salt habiliments; "and if you'd like a bit more of this cake, here's such a nice--" "Euphemius, my darling," cried Mrs. Hipson, "Silence! Would you like to take some more cake, Miss Dibsley? Euphemius, go and sit down. Well, my dear, as I was saying, the Emperor of China, secretly instigated by his political crony, old Mehemet Ali--a very clever man, I need not tell you--positively refused to supply any opium to our merchants; and he seems to have acted with great obstinacy, for the French king and the Sultan together vainly endeavoured to counteract the policy of the Pacha, who had succeeded in persuading the Emperor that we wanted all this opium for _home-consumption_--in fact (only think!) that the British were going to destroy themselves with _opium_, and that thus he should lose his best customers for _tea_." "I see it all," remarked Miss Dibsley; "Euphemius, take my cup; and I think I'll try the bread and butter." "Well, the opium _we could not get_, though the applications that Lord Palmerston made were unknown; however we could punish Mehemet Ali for his part in the transaction, and _you_ know as well as _I_ how matters ended in Syria. I must tell you that his Celestial Majesty never once interposed to protect the Pacha, but left him to his fate--this I know to be the case. Well, our quarrel with China still remained open--" "Cream, Euphemius," said Miss Dibsley. "We refused to take tea----" "There's a good lad: a little bit more sugar."