‘Am I to take any credentials?’
The president of the _Company of the Joyous Peach Blossom_ unbuttoned
his coat, and drew from the breast-pocket a small parcel wrapped in
yellow silk. Unwinding the silk, fold by fold, with reverent care,
he displayed to view a square tablet of translucent stone, of a
colour like that of an olive tree seen at a distance with the light
upon it. It was a piece of jade, a stone whose beauty is not yet
appreciated in Europe, but which the Chinese estimate far above onyx
or mother-o’-pearl or chalcedony.
Taking the tablet from his hand, I perceived that it was engraved
with the figure of a dragon, whose extended claws each showed five
talons.
‘This is an Imperial talisman,’ I observed.
‘It is a passport,’ the other responded. ‘The sight of that tablet
will gain you admittance to the presence of her Imperial Majesty.’ He
sighed as he added: ‘You are to be envied, monsieur.’
‘That remains to be seen.’ I proceeded to fix the amount of my
remuneration and expenses, which M. Bignaud paid without demur.