‘And do you ever grant it?’
‘Never, brother.’
‘How do you avoid it?’
‘I gets away as soon as possible, brother. If they follows me, I tries to baffle them, by means of jests and laughter; and if they persist, I uses bad and terrible language, of which I have plenty in store.’
‘But if your terrible language has no effect?’
‘Then I screams for the constable, and if he comes not, I uses my teeth and nails.’
‘And are they always sufficient?’
‘I have only had to use them twice, brother; but then I found them sufficient.’
‘But suppose the person who followed you was highly agreeable, Ursula? A handsome young officer of local militia, for example, all dressed in Lincoln green, would you still refuse him the choomer?’
‘We makes no difference, brother; the daughters of the gypsy-father makes no difference; and, what’s more, sees none.’