%peart%

a. [ A variant of pert, a. ] Active; lively; brisk; smart; -- often applied to convalescents; as, she is quite peart to-day. [ O. Eng. & Colloq. U. S. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

There was a tricksy girl, I wot, albeit clad in gray,
As peart as bird, as straight as bolt, as fresh as flowers in May. Warner (1592). [ 1913 Webster ]