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 
How char- 
acterized, 
Reeds and 
rushes. 
