.. forget me, Jerry?"
"What--Ann? Lord love ye--no! She ain't one to forget or change--never
was, an' I've knowed her since a little child. An' she's never loved
afore--hated men! An' why? Because 't was always her beauty as they
wanted--her body--an' never a thought of her mind, d'ye see! An'
now--she's to travel to see the world, is she! An' with the Earl--an'
him such a great gentleman! 'T is wonderful good fortun' for her,
Peregrine, wonderful!"
"Yes, he is a very great gentleman and a truly noble man, Jerry."
"An' now, what o' yourself, lad?"
"I shall continue to live with you, Jerry; I shall go on smithing and
tinkering--yes, harder than ever--"
"No!" said the Tinker, sitting back on his heels and shaking his head
at me with the utmost vehemence. "Tinkering ain't for you, Peregrine,
an' you can do better things than swingin' a sledge--ah, a sight
better!"
"What do you suppose I can do?" sighed I miserably.
"Paint pictoors!"
"Impossible! I shall never be a real painter, Jerry."
"Well, then--write!"
"Impossible! I shall never be a poet, Jerry."
"Well, have you ever thought o' writin' a nov-el?"
"Never!"
"Well, what about it?"
"Impossible! Of what should I write?"
"Why, about HER--Anna, for sure, your Diana as would ha' made a better
goddess than the real one, I reckon."
"Why, yes," said I, lifting my head, "I might do that, no matter how
badly. To write of her would be better than to talk of her.
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