Just a patch of muddy water
In the open ocean lying,
And a gull above it flying.




The Ballad of Mr. Cooke.

A Legend of the Cliff House, San Francisco.



Where the sturdy ocean breeze
Drives the spray of roaring seas
That the Cliff-House balconies
Overlook:

There, in spite of rain that balked,
With his sandals duly chalked,
Once upon a tight-rope walked
Mr. Cooke.

But the jester's lightsome mien,
And his spangles and his sheen,
All had vanished, when the scene
He forsook;----

Yet in some delusive hope,
In some vague desire to cope,