- 200 -

On the morning of Friday 24th July he again made himself ready for travel. However sorry he was, and however much he would have preferred to stay longer in Zürich, he thought it better to be off before he outstayed his welcome. So he took leave of his dear friends and patrons and their womenfolk. Above all, in Herr Füssli's home, from the happy family that he would like to set up as an example for all families. Where else could he have enjoyed so many good things, and he had never heard or seen anything despicable referring to them, no, he heard nothing but good of them. Nobody can say anything evil of them, for even if it were possible that such people had enemies and rivals, yet they could not find support if they said so publicly. The dear kind Frau Councillor also took care of his dog and gave him a piece of meat to put in his pocket for it. The poor animal was the only one to be happy to be let out of prison. For the whole time it had been a pitiful detainee. When he got a short way from the town he let it run free again and it showed its joy by all kinds of leaps and caprioles. The Poor Man was of quite another frame of mind.

Filled with melancholy sentiments yet overcome with happiness over all the favours done to him, he strolled on his way. Herr Councillor Füssli had given him a note to his son-in-law Herr Pastor Wirz at Kilchberg. He thought he would be there quite early in the forenoon, but he was mistaken. For every ten paces he stood still and looked back at dear Zürich, and often could not prevent bright drops from rolling down his cheeks [...]"

[Bräker praises the city and his friends in it, but adds that it is as well he does not live there as he would get used to it and not derive so much pleasure as he does on a visit. He wishes the city prosperity and success in its efforts to counteract superstition and prejudice, and thanks God that such a fine place exists, such a great contrast to his own homeland.]

"And so he arrived all unawares in Kilchberg. It did not take him long (no need to enquire for it) to find the house described to him by Councillor Füssli, and he knew the lady of it at once because she was the image of her father. Then Pastor Wirz appeared. He gave him the note and made as if to go on. But Herr Wirz' table was already laid and he had to eat with them. After the meal Herr Wirz showed him his neat little house, pretty little rooms and a wonderful prospect from all the windows. But what moved the Poor Man most was Herr Wirz' wonderful enjoyment and happiness in his two healthy, cheerful and handsome children. The younger, hardly six weeks old, was shown sleeping in his cradle, the other, more than a year old, was playing actively at the table or jumping about the room. What a happy lot for the Poor Man, to see before him such handsome, promising little boys, such a devoted couple, such a tender-hearted father and mother, and to remember his own first years as a father, how he felt when his eldest boy climbed onto his knee and babbled "Daddy" for the first time. [...] After a short stay and some commonplace questions and answers, he took leave of Herr Wirz and his dear little family and tramped, as aforementioned, on his way to Horgen and Wädenschwil, the object of his journey.

Two sights caused him to stand still for a long while in thought. One was the beautiful town of Horgen together with another wonderful view back towards dear Zürich and the last - no, he hopes not the last farewell to dear Zürich! But Horgen, once the birthplace of his once so dear Anne, God knows what he might have murmured there. The other sight was Küsnacht. The view straight opposite there attracted him. For a long, long while he gazed across the lake, meditating on how this beautiful place had once had to endure terrible wrath of the elements [...]"

161

Probably Hans Kaspar Hirzel (1746-1827) and his son Hans Jakob, both prominent politicians in Zürich, not the Dr. Hirzel that Bräker had met in 1782. [Chronik, p 351]

162

Ursula Locher was the sister of Pastor Imhof's wife Katharina.

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