The Poor Man of Toggenburg - Autobiography of Ulrich Bräker

6th and 7th Mar. "God, how good, how good it is that Thou hast set us an evening of rest, it is a sign of how good Thou art to Thy creatures. How much good it does all flesh to rest, O how much good! When I sit down on a Saturday evening, when it is time to rest, withdraw myself from all my business, hasten away from it all, sick and tired of all my thoughts, look down quietly over all the noisy confusion - God, how sweet it is, how much good it does me! Heavens, how many hundreds of such evenings have already brought me refreshment, rapture, strength! Restful, agreeable silence, mournful night, I bid you a thousand times welcome! Yet a little while I will think between these solitary walls, then for a little while read from the writings of a wise man, then lay my bones down to soft rest and let my soul dream on. But write - not another syllable!" [Voellmy, v 2 pp 174-5]

14th Mar. "...Two objects presented themselves to me this week, which I should like to describe, according to the impression that they made on my mind. The first is a visit that a pastor made to a sick person, who must soon travel out of the land of the living. He sat beside her bed and spoke with her. As was indeed commensurate with his office. Meanwhile I observed these two faces as they opposed each other. What a difference, thought I. Here the angel of death with his scythe is already sitting on her brow, eye, mouth and cheek. How the poor creature trembles, shakes and quakes, eagerly snapping up each word of comfort and groaning for help! O where is inward sympathy! I would very much like to read warm love of her soul in the visage of a shepherd of souls. But alas, I am a poor physiognomist. No, he has prayed fine prayers and told her to speak all the words after him, which she did. But yet I remarked, that all the while she would have preferred to use her own words. [...]" [Voellmy, v 2 pp 175-176]

17th and 18th Mar. [Bräker writes a sermon on contentment with one's lot but finds he cannot finish it...]
"[...] So much I wrote yesterday and would have liked to pursue these thoughts further. But only with great difficulty could I steal a short time for it. I thought: tomorrow night, when it's our holiday eve, you will have leisure aplenty to write a whole basketful on this subject. Now it is night. I stood in a daze and thought and could not find anything more of these thoughts. Deafened by the uproar into the night I sought for the sugar-sweet ideas of yesterday and wanted to compel them forth. But oho, as I was thinking I would get some peace, my bedfellow hissed all kinds of stuff in my ears, of which I heard only the half, and for very bedazement did not answer. She set upon me vehemently, I answered confusedly and in vexation: so yet more vehement! Eh, said I, for God's sake leave me in peace this little hour, which I have been looking forward to all day. That brought on the thunder and lightning. I became quite confused, threw the pen away and growled nonsensical stuff: What devil is amusing himself, venting his anger by spoiling my best hour of the day? Whoever thou art, black stirrer-up of trouble, thou art a prime gallows-bird, I'll have thee know. But that will not get thee much, thou wilt never be white nor pretty, thou jealous

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rogue, thou! Yes, now I'm alone. But what's the use? I could scribble down such lamentable things till tomorrow." [Voellmy, v 2 pp 178-179]

10th Apr. Bräker makes his first business journey to Glarus, lodging at the home of the choirmaster Johann Balthasar Streiff, whose family are cloth-printers. [Chronik, p 162]

21st Apr. The minutes of the Moral Society note that "Herr Ulrich Prägger" was awarded the prize of one ducat for the essay on clerical benefices. There were five entries, including one by Ambühl. In this he argued for severe limitation of benefices. [The Chronik adds a note that he often had differences of opinion with the clergy]. [Chronik, pp 132 and 138]

Bräker's wife may have taken this as referring to herself. She may well have been jealous and not without reason if Grethel was a real person.