To fix their attention, was not very easy.
The Wren was employ’d in constructing a nest;
And the Linnet had join’d in a song, the Redbreast:
The Bittern was gone to the river, to fish,
And procure, before dinner, his favorite dish:
The Swallow was building; the Harrier[3] hunting,
The Bantam was sitting, and so was the Bunting.
In vain, then, our Travellers hop’d to obtain
But a word, or a hint, that might soften their pain.
From county to county they thus made their way,