"You do be very light o' your feet!" said she as we sat side by side beneath the tree again, "and much quicker than I thought, Peregrine!"
"I—I'm glad—very glad you think so!" I answered vastly elated by this praise.
"Yes, if you had proper teaching, you might be able to take your part against most o' them."
Now at this I became filled with such a glow of pleasure as amazed me by its intensity, such indeed as no praise from tutors or even my loved aunt Julia had ever inspired.
"Though to be sure," she added, "'t would all depend on whether you was game-plucked. No, size don't always count; why, Jessamy Todd ain't—is not—much bigger than you."
"And who is he?"
"Lord, haven't you heard? Why, Jessamy was one of the greatest, fiercest fighters that ever was, they say! But he had the ill-luck to kill a man and turned religious."
"Do you know him?"
"Very well. I've heard him preach often."
"Preach?" said I.