Crawford's intimate knowledge of many countries resulted in an unequalled series of brilliant romances, including varied characters from the glassblowers of Venice, the silversmiths of Rome, the cigarette makers of Munich, and the Bosphorus, simple sailors on the coast of Spain. But whether the scene be in modern India or the palaces of Babylon, the story fascinates the reader. "A Cigarette-Maker's Romance" is just such a story, in which a commoner finds herself in love with a handsome young man who works with her in a cigarette-making shop. He claims to be a Russian count who is temporarily down on his luck . . . but everyone thinks he's mad!