CHAPTER IX 94
CHAPTER IX
But the privations , or rather the hardships , of Lowood lessened . Spring drew on : she was indeed already come ; the frosts of winter had ceased ; its snows were melted , its cutting winds ameliorated . My wretched feet , flayed and swollen to lameness by the sharp air of January , began to heal and subside under the gentler breathings of April ; the nights and mornings no longer by their Canadian temperature froze the very blood in our veins ; we could now endure the play-hour passed in the garden : sometimes on a sunny day it began even to be pleasant and genial , and a greenness grew over those brown beds , which , freshening daily , suggested the thought that Hope traversed them at night , and left each morning brighter traces of her steps . Flowers peeped out amongst the leaves ; snow- drops , crocuses , purple auriculas , and golden-eyed pansies . On Thursday afternoons ( half-holidays ) we now took walks , and found still sweeter flowers opening by the wayside , under the hedges .
I discovered , too , that a great pleasure , an enjoyment which the horizon only bounded , lay all outside the high and spike-guarded walls of our garden : this pleasure consisted in prospect of noble summits girdling a great hill-hollow , rich in verdure and shadow ; in a bright beck , full of dark stones and sparkling eddies . How different had this scene looked when I viewed it laid out beneath the iron sky of winter , stiffened in frost , shrouded with snow ! -- when mists as chill as death wandered to the impulse of east winds along those purple peaks , and rolled down " ing " and holm till they blended with the frozen fog of the beck ! That beck itself was then a torrent , turbid and curbless : it tore asunder the wood , and sent a raving sound through the air , often thickened with wild rain or whirling sleet ; and for the forest on its banks , THAT showed only ranks of skeletons .
April advanced to May : a bright serene May it was ; days of blue sky , placid sunshine , and soft western or southern gales filled up its duration . And now vegetation matured with vigour ; Lowood shook loose its tresses ; it became all green , all flowery ; its great elm , ash , and oak skeletons were restored to majestic life ; woodland plants sprang up profusely in its recesses ;