3^6 JOURNEY OVER MOUNT GOTTHARD. 



fo that the roots of both trees muft necefTarily have in- 

 tertwined with each other. 



Altorf, as is well known, is the chief town of the 

 canton of Ury, where the government has its feat ; a 

 handfome place without walls, containing a number of 

 fubftantial and fpacious buildings both public and pri- 

 vate, and beautifully fituated. One cannot help being 

 furprifed at feeing, in a very confined valley, beiides 

 two large villages, fuch a capital place fhewing various 

 marks of opulence. Now this cannot arife from the 

 produce of the foil, which can never be fufficient to 

 furnifh the two villages of this valley with the neceffaries 

 of life. Trade too is very inconfiderable, and manu- 

 factories there are none. Whatever riches then they 

 have muft be earnt in the military fervice of foreign 

 Hates. The principal families have always one of their 

 number in the french, fpanifh, papal, or fome other 

 fervice. Thofe who remain at home, and form a part 

 of the regency, live moffcly on penhons received from 

 the court of France. Thefe penfions are granted not 

 only in order that the court may continually complete 

 the people they keep in pay from this country, but 

 efpeclally for having an arbitrary influence over the 

 whole helvetic body, by means of the noble-s thus 

 bought over to its interefr. The fame conduct is pur- 

 fued by the french court with the other catholic can- 

 tons. Thus, by means of an annual fum of about 

 40,000 louis-d'ors, the king of France obtains from 

 the catholic cliffcridls all he willies for from his connec- 

 tion with the confederate Hates. 



But it is this very thing that has Gripped the whole 

 Helvetic body of its former power and confequenc^. 



The 



