The road for the most part winds by the brink of precipices,—­walled in with masonry of small stones, where Nature has not shored it up with vast monoliths,—­and is paved with limestone.  It is, of course, merely a mule-path, and it was curious to see, and thrilling to experience, how the mules, vain of the safety of their foothold, kept as near the border of the precipices as possible.  For my own part, I abandoned to my beast the entire responsibility involved by this line of conduct; let the halter hang loose upon his neck, and gave him no aid except such slight service as was occasionally to be rendered by shutting my eyes and holding my breath.  The mule of the fairer traveller behind me was not only ambitious of peril like my own, but was envious of my beast’s captaincy, and continually tried to pass him on the outside of the path, to the great dismay of the gentle rider; while half-suppressed wails of terror from the second lady in the train gave evidence of equal vanity and daring in her mule.  Count Giovanni strode stolidly before, the Cimbrian came behind, and we had little coherent conversation until we stopped under a spreading haw-tree, half-way up the mountain, to breathe our adventurous beasts.

Here two of us dismounted, and while one of the ladies sketched the other in her novel attitude of cavalier, I listened to the talk of Count Giovanni and the Cimbrian.  This Cimbrian’s name in Italian was Lazzaretti, and in his own tongue Brueck, which, pronouncing less regularly, we made Brick, in compliment to his qualities of good fellowship.  His broad, honest visage was bordered by a hedge of red beard, and a light of dry humor shone upon it:  he looked, we thought, like a Cornishman, and the contrast between him and the viso sciolto, pensieri stretti expression of Count Giovanni was curious enough.

Concerning his people, he knew little; but the Capo-gente of Fozza could tell me everything.  Various traditions of their origin were believed among them; Brick himself held to one that they had first come from Denmark.  As we sat there under the spreading haw-tree, Count Giovanni and I made him give us the Cimbrian equivalent of some Italian phrases, which the curious may care to see in correspondence with English and German.  Of course, German pronunciation must be given to the words:—­

  English.  Cimbrian.  German.

I go,            I gehe,                 Ich gehe. 
Thou goest,      Du gehst,               Du gehst. 
He goes,         Ar geht,                Er geht. 
We go,           Hamish gehen,           Wir gehen. 
You go,          Hamish setender gehnt,  Ihr geht. 
They go,         Dandern gehnt,          Sie gehen. 
I went,          I bin gegehnt,          Ich bin gegangen. 
Thou wentest,    Du bist gegehnt,        Du bist gegangen. 
He went,         Der iganget,            Er ist gegangen
Good day,        Uter tag,               Guten Tag. 
Good night,      Uter nast,              Gute Nacht.