The examiner. [volume] (Louisville, Ky.) 1847-1849, 1847-10-30


ivy, -
..I'he wanlon ivy wrath d In zinorous twincs,'
more than any other uncultured evergreen
that we possess yet it is difficult satisfac-
torily TO answer why We have this regard FOR
it. AS a lover Of the lone, the ivy-mantled
ruin, have often questioned with myself
the cause and basis Of my regard Tor that
which was but fragment Of whist might
have been formerly splendid, and intrlns-
cally possessed but little to engage admire
lion. vet wreaihsd in the veldure Of the ivy,
was admired but was never satisfied, per-
haps unwilling to admit the answer that my
mind seemed to give. The ivy is Deepen.
dent plant, and ,ielishts.n waste and ruin.
We do not otter tolerate its growth wheI,
the building is in repair and perfect; but, II
time dilapidate the edfice, the ivy taises'
possession Of the fragment, and We call it
beautiful; it adorns the castle, but is an in
dispensable requisite to the remains of the
monastic pile. There is an abbey in the
North Of England, which has been venera-
ted by all its late Possessors. 1t is trimmed
made neat. and looks, perhaps, much as it
did formerly, except being in ruins. The
situation is exquisite, the remains are sPien-
did, yet with many it fails to excite such in
terest as it should do. Il is a'bare reality.
A ruin in the West Of England once inter-
ested me greatly. The design OF revisiting
and drawing it was expressed at the time.
A few days only elapsed: but the inhabi-
tant of neighboring cottage had most kind.
ly labored hard in the interval, and pulled
down "all the nasty ivy. that the gentleman
might see the ruin" He did see it, but
every charm had departed. These two ill.,
stances, from many that might be advanced,
manifest that ivy most frequently gives to
these ancient edifces the idea Of beauty,
and contributes chiefly to influence our feel
ings when viewing them. The ruins OF a
fortress, or warlike tower, may often his
torically interest us from the renown of its
founder or its possessor, some scene trans
acted, some villain punished, hero tri-
umphant, or cause promoted, to which we
wished success but the quiet, secluded,
monastic cell, or chapel, has no tale to tell ;
history hardly stays TO note even its found.
er's name; and all the rest is doubt and
darkness; yet, shrouded in its ivied folds,
we reverence the remains. we call it pictur.
esque, We draw, we engrave, We Autograph
the ruin. We do not regard this ivy as q
relic of ancient days; as having Swallowed
the religious recluse, and with it often
doubtless, piety and faith; for it did moi
hang around the building in old time. but is
comparatively a modern upstart, sharer Of
monastic spoils, a usurper Of that which has
been abandoned by another. The tendril
pendent iiom the orient window, lightly de-
fined in the ray which it excludes, twining
with graceful ease round some slender shaft,
or woven amid the tracery OF the ford arch,
is elegantly ornamental. and gives embel
lishment to beauty; but the main body o.
the ivy is dark, sombre, massy; yet, strip
it from the pile, and we call it sacrilege, the
interest of the whole is at an end, the effecl
ceases
some moment seen, then lost for ever"
Yet what did the ivy effect what has de
parted with it This evanescent charm
perhaps consists in the obscurity. in the so
briefly of light it occasioned, in hiding tn,
bare reality, and giving To fancy and imagi
nation room TO expand, a plaything Il
amuse them.-Journdl of a Naturalist.