How hard and long was it, Aragorn?

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The words, bolded in the quote below, have annoyed me since I've first read The Council of Elrond chapter in FotR:

Originally Posted by Aragorn

I have had a hard life and a long; and the leagues that lie between here and Gondor are a small part in the count of my journeys.

Why doesn't it read, 'I have had a hard and long life,' as this unwashed person would state it?

Is the wording accidental, temporal, or is there some deeper reason the phrase was formed thus?