VALLEYS, PLAINS, AND LOWLANDS 



249 



where rivers empty into the sea and silt is 

 washed down. The Atlantic coast of America, 

 from Massachusetts to Florida, has a plenty of 

 them. They are almost useless for human oc- 

 cupation, and though the soil grows a rank 

 vegetation, it is not edible for man or beast. 

 Because they cannot be utilized to advantage, 

 they have been regarded with some contempt 

 by mankind ; and the preacher, the orator, and 

 the poet have always paralleled them with 

 human stagnation or vileness. But they do not 

 deserve such odious comparisons. Humble and 

 peaceful under the falling sunlight, they have 

 their share of the universal glory, and were 

 constructed by nature for a useful purpose. 

 They are the outer fortifications of the coast, 

 keeping back the sea, and growing strong vege- 

 tation to prevent the wear of water on the land. 

 How unsightly would be those lands if it were 

 not for their thick coverings of reeds and rushes ! 

 How beautiful are they now garmented in the 

 pale golden-greens of spring, the emerald-greens 

 of summer, or the golds and browns of autumn ! 

 I have seen ordinary marsh flags with a low, 

 summer sun behind them, when every blade 

 looked as transparent as cathedral glass, and 

 every leaf -edge was showing the colors of the 



