"Knew what?"
"You be in love—good lad! good lad!" and he flourished his pipe in the air.
"In love!" I exclaimed; "in love—I?"
"Sure as sure!"
"But love, according to Aristotle, is—"
"Love, Peter, is what makes a man forget 'is breakfus', an' 'is work, an' 'is—"
"But I work very hard—besides—"
"Love is what makes a man so brave as a lion, Peter, an' fall a-tremblin' like a coward when She stands a-lookin' up at 'im; love makes the green earth greener, an' the long road short—ah! almost too short, sometimes, the love of a woman comes betwixt a man an' all evils an' dangers—why don't 'ee up an' ax 'er, Peter?"
"She'd laugh at me, Ancient."
"Not she."