The time of falling leaves,
And the flying of wild geese,

And winnowing of grain is come;
But Li Sien is a black butterfly

Upon a yellow chrysanthemum;

And we shall not be afraid for the passing of the year.

"Poet-lover of mine," she cried, "what were you
In the world, before the current bore you
Into the sluggish backflow?"

"But tell me truly-not

In flattery (for I am well aware

Fu-kien knows not my name)-why came you hither Out of the South? What journey did you follow ?"

"Oh, Li Sien, a hundred years ago,

Before I found the center of desire,

My heart was troubled with an aspiration

Empty and vain. I sought the Phoenix City,

Pekin, thinking to make myself a name,

To win the imperial degree-a dream

For fools to cherish. I have long forgotten."

Then lowly knelt Li Sien among the leaves,
And bowed her shining head upon the earth;
"O-mi-to-fu, forgive the sin I sinned,
That I have hindered from his destiny

A scholar who had else inscribed his name
Among the Eight Immortals! Oh unworthy!
That I should circumvent the gods, who planned
My lord for wisdom's crown of wisdom!"

Thus

Li Sien abased herself, and wept, then pleaded, "Leave me now, and let it not be said

My lord took pleasure in a harlot's lips,
Crimsoned by artifice, when from the mouth
Of sages treasure seven fold is gathered."

Then spoke Ching Yuen-ho, "The early morning
Of our eternity of love is yet

A redness in the east; why waste our day

In threshing chaff ?" And when she would not rise, But still entreated, "Go! It is not yet

Too late," he answered, "They do well, indeed,
Who name you 'Spider of the Crossroads.' Nay,
I am so bound with fetters of your weaving,
Albeit by mine own desire and will,

I cannot leave you. Ah, Li Sien, your eyes-
Your eyes are starlit water under the span
Of heaven-aspiring bridges. . . . . I shall find
No glory in the world beyond your eyes!"

At this her face grew gray and pitiful
Beneath the blossom-white and gay vermilion;
Nevertheless her voice was lightly scornful:
"A wanton's eyes! A precious bargain surely,
When you have paid for it with all your dreams!
But it shall not be said Li Sien had part
In such unrighteousness; my lord shall win
The heritage the fates apportioned to him."

Then she fled from him, for all her soul
Was shaken with the knowledge of the thing
She had to do. And Ching Yuen-ho pursued,
And came upon her, bowed beside her window,
Hiding her face upon her arms, her hair
Uncoiled, the amber pin that held it clenched
Like a dagger in her hand. . . . and some presage
Of dire disaster grew upon his mind,

So that he stood within the door, and said

No word.

At last from a great way off she spoke, Her voice as thin and gray as though she were Already dead: "So you shall leave me now, For that which held you thrall I have destroyed. It was not meet a follower of Confucius Should be diverted from his destined course For a woman's eyes-and she a courtesan!"

She hid her face, that he might have remembrance
Of that Li Sien whose eyes were starlit water
Under the span of heaven-aspiring bridges;
And listening, heard him draw a sudden breath
Sharply between his teeth; and heard him go
With stumbling, hasty step, the door behind him
Swinging and clattering in the wind; thereafter
A little space, the empty clink of bells.

Who would believe the dark could be so vivid
With beauty clamoring at the gates, with life
Resurgent, laying hold upon the soul,

When all one asked was sleep and soothing silence,
So that one might forget? Withdrawn, aloof,
Li Sien craved only death in life-that peace-
That utter loss of self-Nirvana-sleep.
But life insistent beat upon her blindness
With light and movement, vivid as a play
Upon a stage. The highroad's pageantry
Entered her window with a thousand sounds-
The creak of chair-poles, cry of an orange-vendor,
The oddly-cadenced rhythm of the song

Chanted by coffin-bearers, or the clash

Of brazen marriage music.

So for moons

Uncounted (moons unseen are very long)

Li Sien wore coarse and common blue, nor chose To make her body beautiful with silks,

Nor would she heed her handmaid when she said,
"Lady, the seller of flowers was here but now
With garlands wrought in many quaint devices,
Meet to adorn your hair. Oh, give me leave
To make you fair with powder and vermilion
And butterfly-embroidered robes again.

Bells on the highroad! When would passing bells
Lose poignancy and cruel significance ?
Bells on the highroad, stopping at the Inn-
Surely the bells were silver-then a voice

At the door-and all her blood stood still!

"Li Sien!

Oh, my beloved, do not hide your face.
I am returned the Imperial degree,
Appointment as a magistrate, the seal

Of office (I had it from the Emperor's hand-
But feel it here!)—I have them all-all!
Forgive my over-buoyancy, believe

It is not pride, but gladness in achievement

Of that which you had prized and purchased dearly.

For I was cleansed of pride and lustfulness

All in a moment, when your spirit rose

And stood up strong and shining, like a sword
Cleaving our lesser love of flesh. Li Sien,
Humble at heart, I take you in my arms,
And ask if you will come with me, and kneel
Before the tablets of my fathers' fathers,
In Fu-kien by the sea; and drink with me
From wine-cups linked together, so observing
All rites whereby the blessing of High Heaven
Shall shine on lawful love. . . .

When night was come,

The smell of spring a promise in the air,

This song he made her:

Her spirit is as the long waves of the sea.

Her spirit is as a night with stars,

Infinite.

Who shall understand

The magnitude thereof?

club

THE QUADRANGLE CLUB

In 1914 overtures to buy the land under the present Quadrangle Clubhouse were made to the Club by the Trustees of the University. The University desired to own the entire block upon which the building stands, that it might be cleared for the chapel. Furthermore it wanted to own the fee of the entire block and thereby the more easily secure the vacation of the alleys which twice bisect it. The negotiations eventuated in the contract executed in May, 1916. The University has obtained the desired vacation of the alleys.

The University's Committee on Buildings and Grounds and the Club's Building Committee after many joint and separate conferences received from the architect, Mr. Howard Shaw, the drawings for the proposed clubhouse. These were formally approved by both committees. When the work of drafting these plans began it was believed that the clubhouse could be built for the $100,000 provided for its cost by the University's offer. The proposed clubhouse by no means exceeds in size, materials, conveniences, or necessities the requirements demanded for such a club as this, in such a neighborhood as this, representing such an institution as the University of Chicago. The cost of building it, however, once estimated at $100,000, according to bids received in the autumn of 1919, will be $186,733, exclusive of architect's fees.

In this emergency the Trustees of the University offered under certain conditions to increase by 50 per cent the amount of money to be provided for a new building. The exact language of this offer is as follows:

The University is ready to proceed with the erection of the clubhouse provided for in the agreement between the University and the Club; that the University will increase its contribution for building the clubhouse from the $100,000 agreed upon to $150,000 whenever, before April 1, 1920, the Quadrangle Club shall formally satisfy the University that it has secured in cash, or that satisfactory arrangements have been made to secure, an amount sufficient to cover the cost of the building over and above the $150,000 to be contributed by the University, exclusive of furnishings; or, should the foregoing arrangement not be effected, that the Club be requested to extend for five years the time for building the clubhouse by the University, and that the University extend for five years the period of occupancy of the present building by the Club; it being understood that at the expiration of the said period the University will contribute toward the erection of the new building over and above the $100,000 stipulated in the contract a sum equal to that contributed by the Club, the University's contribution in no event to exceed $50,000.