364 
lieve in every country in the world, 
mercenary and deceitful. With re- 
gard to the general inhabitants of 
these cantons, they seem to be frugal 
without meanness, brave without 
vanity, and hospitable witbout os- 
tentation: to strangers they are 
courteous and polite, without being 
either designing or troublesome. 
They value but litde those distinc- 
tions of rank, birth, and fortune, 
which, in the other countries of Eu- 
rope, and indeed in the other can- 
tons of Switzerland, are so cbsequi- 
ously cultivated, as they measure the 
dignity of the situation by the merit 
of the individual. Every man here 
knows the advantages of his own 
free government; and as he also 
knows himself to be a component 
part of it, is, from interest as well 
as principle, a real patriot. Such 
is their attachment to their country, 
that of the Swiss regiments in fo- 
reign service, many of the soldiers, 
after a long absence, pine and sick- 
en for their return. Should that 
liberty be refused them (which 
never is, from experience of the ill 
consequence) their death is inevit- 
able, as neither promotion nor emo- 
himent can dissipate the melan- 
choly that preys upon them. Home 
is the only cure of this singular 
malady, which is called the Swiss 
sickness *, and that infallible. In 
domestic life their private virtues 
flow from their public character; 
to their parents they are grateful 
and obedient, to their families affec- 
tionate and attentive, inflexible in 
friendship, mild as superiors, and 
benevolent as men. 
* They call it in German dos heim wehe, 
ANNUAL REGISTER, 1792. 
Character of the Genoese. 
From the same. 
HE Genoese are said to inherit 
the character of their Ligurian 
ancestors; but I rather think, if 
they retain any part of it, it is the 
worst, as they certaizly are the most 
turbulent, most superstitious, most 
vindictive, and most mercenary race 
in all Italy. Of the first charge, 
the history of their country affords 
a variety of instances ; of the second 
and third, the frequency of religious 
processions and assassinations. To 
prove the last, I need only to relate a 
circumstance that would be incred- 
ible, if it were not sufficiently 
vouched by the testimony of all 
travellers who have visited Genoa ; 
and that is, their voluntary servi- 
tude on board the gallies after the 
term of their sentence is elapsed. 
Examples of this are very frequent, 
the contract is generally tor twelve 
months, and the price of their li- 
berty eighteen shillings in Genoese 
money. I am really at a loss to 
account for such depravity; ‘but 
my surprise yields to my indigna- 
tion, not so much against the 
wretched slaves, as against the more 
wretched government that permits 
and encourages so infamous a com- 
pact. Thovgl the condition of the 
galley-slaves be better here than 
in France, nevertheless it is so bad, 
that were I not assured of the fact, 
I never had given it credit; chain- 
ed one to another, exposed to all 
weathers on board the gallies, sub- 
ject to arbitrary and severe ‘cor- 
rection ; ill clothed, worse fed, and 
There is no motive that induces us to 
recollect the places which we love, more than the music we have heard ‘in them 
aud from this it is that all songs and tunes that were popular in their country, are 
strictly forbidden among the Swiss regiinents on foreign service. 
finally, 
