Glanville's prose story, upon which Arnold's poem is based, was read first. In this the girl was much interested. She herself was in love with a Romany Rye. But when the reader went on to read to her Arnold's poem, though her eyes flashed now and then at the lovely bits of description--for the country about Oxford is quite remarkably like the country in which she was born--she looked sadly bewildered, and then asked to have it all read again. After a second reading she said in a meditative way, "Can't make out what the lil's all about--seems all about nothink! Seems to me that the pretty sights what makes a Romany fit to jump out o' her skin for joy makes this 'ere gorgio want to cry. What a rum lot gorgios is sure_ly_!" And then she sprang up and ran off towards the camp with the agility of a greyhound, turning round every few moments, pirouetting and laughing aloud. "The beauty of that girl," Borrow again murmured, "is quite--quite--" Again he did not finish his sentence, but after a while said-- "That was all true about the nicotine?" "Partly, I think," said his friend, "but not being a medical man I must not be too emphatic. If it _is_ true it ought to be a criminal offence for any woman to smoke in excess while she is suckling a child." "Say it ought to be a criminal offence for a woman to smoke at all," growled Borrow. "Fancy kissing a woman's mouth that smelt of stale tobacco--pheugh!" Now, so far from forgetting this incident, Borrow took quite as much interest in the case as though the child had been his own. He went at short intervals to the camp to see Perpinia, who had abandoned her pipe, for the time being. And when after a fortnight the child, either from Perpinia's temporary abstention from nicotine, or through the "good luck" sent by the magpie, or from some other cause began to recover from its illness, he reported progress with the greatest gusto to his friend. "Is not Perpinia very grateful to you and to me?" said the friend. "Yes," said Borrow, with a twinkle in his eye. "She manages to feel grateful to you and me for making her give up the pipe, and also to believe at the same time that her child was saved by the good luck that came to her because she guarded the magpie."