Partake the nature of their fenny bed;

Here on its wiry stem, in rigid bloom,

Grows the salt lavender that lacks perfume;

Here the dwarf sallows creep, the septfoil harsh,

And the soft slimy mallow of the marsh;

Low on the ear the distant billows sound,

And just in view appears their stony bound;

No hedge nor tree conceals the glowing sun,

Birds, save a wat’ry tribe, the district shun,

Nor chirp among the reeds where bitter waters run.