THE IVY. 
Botanical Name, Hcdera helix. —Class, Pentandria .— 
Order, Monogynia. — Flowers, green .—Native place, 
Europe. 
Sentiment. 
WEDDED LOYE. 
ORIGIN OF THE SENTIMENT. 
The ancients used to place wreaths of Ivy 
around the altar of Hymen, to denote the 
indissoluble union which the marriage cere¬ 
mony cemented; the unchangeable green of 
the Ivy indicating that, as the union was to 
last through time, the love then pledged must 
be everlasting, or, rather, was to last until 
death separated. The tenacity with which 
the Ivy clings to its support was also a 
symbol of woman’s dependence upon her 
husband ; and the shelter afforded by the 
