presents that flowed to her: an ancient coral necklace from Persia which she treasured because coral is the emblem of longevity; delightful miniature drawings on rice paper of flowers, people, ships and butterflies; a magnificent lacquer black bronze mirror decorated with four twigs, flowers and fruit; a carved ivory set of chessmen, with a droll little king who seemed to be smiling; an old silver chain with twelve links representing the Buddhist "Wheel of Life;" a goblet of gilt silver, oval shaped, with cover, finely engraved with floral scrolls, among which were three flying birds. Sometimes they seemed to be in one spot, sometimes in another; silver hairpins, with solid gold tops beaten into the form of a reclining lion; gorgeous rugs, musk laden, of unrivaled delicacy of tone, yellow and blue that shone with luminosity, soft reds, lush greens; a veritable fortune in jades, a green jade bird, a gray jade fish, a white jade horse, a brown jade ring; jades, emeralds, lapis lazuli, diamonds in endless variety. But occasionally he sent her a simple verse written in grass characters upon a square of silk;
"The dew is icy at dawn.
It is autumn
Everything is melancholy,
Quiet, limpid,
Clouds, like swans, are floating in the sky"
These verses she treasured more than all the elaborate
gifts for they had been copied in An Lu-shan's own
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