But
they were now leaving Italy, and entering a country where German was
spoken. Trent, in those days an important city, was then, and is still,
the meeting place of Italy and Germany. Both tongues are here spoken;
but while the Italian perhaps preponderates, the customs, manners, and
mode of thought of the people belong to those of the mountaineers of the
Tyrol rather than of the dwellers on the plains.
"You are choosing a stormy time," the landlord of the hostelry where
they put up said to Cuthbert. "The winter is now at hand, and storms
sweep across the passes with terrible violence. You had better, at the
last village you come to in the valley, obtain the services of a guide,
for should a snowstorm come on when you are crossing, the path will be
lost, and nothing will remain but a miserable death. By daylight the
road is good. It has been cut with much trouble, and loaded mules can
pass over without difficulty. Poles have been erected at short distances
to mark the way when the snow covers it.
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