Swiss mercenaries
The Reverend James Wood, writing in the "Nuttall Encyclopaedia" in 1907, said that such a tune "when played in foreign lands, produces on a Swiss an almost irrepressible yearning for home", repeating 18th century accounts the "mal du Suisse" or "nostalgia" diagnosed in Swiss mercenaries. Singing of "Kuhreihen" was forbidden to Swiss mercenaries because they led to "nostalgia" to the point of desertion, illness or death. The 1767 "Dictionnaire de Musique" by Jean-Jacques Rousseau claims that Swiss mercenaries were threatened with severe punishment to prevent them from singing their Swiss songs. The Romantic connection of "nostalgia", the "Kuhreihen" and the Swiss Alps was a significant factor in the enthusiasm for Switzerland, the development of early tourism in Switzerland and Alpinism that took hold of the European cultural elite in the 19th century.