The Poor Man of Toggenburg - Autobiography of Ulrich Bräker

o'clock. For the road was very bad and tiring. I had firmly resolved to go to St. Gallen, not on account of my trivial business affairs but rather on account of dear friends who had heartily longed to see and speak with me. But my feet were in no state to let me go further. I stayed with my dear kind friends in Herisau, free of charge. I must not name them, these noble friends to humanity, for fear of offending them. [...] Forgive me, brothers, you who are still plagued with the passion of envy. I know how it is. One can't drive out a passion as quickly as a bird from the roof. But forgive me! It does my heart so much good, when I can mention my patrons by name, and that you will, if God permits it, allow me. You will also consider what sort of pitiful human creature I should be in this world without them. [...]

Well, I enjoyed this time also a few moments of pleasure, which seemed to reimburse me for the bad state of my affairs. So on Wednesday I set off for home again in good time. Well, I came tired and uneasy in mind back home again. Since then I have asked my lenders and creditors to have patience, and they were so kind as to let me have another week's grace. Before then my good Genius will deal out into my hands something like twenty louis d'ors." [Voellmy, v 3 pp 187-189]

1st Feb. Bräker visits his business partners in Mollis and declares his money problems, referring to them as "illness...but if a doctor is to help - he must have the correct means, if they are lacking it is all in vain - enough, they have caught the same illness as myself". On the way home he comforts himself by the view of the Glarus mountains, which put his own problems in perspective. [Chronik, p 375]

1st Mar. Bräker again tells his readers that he has not had time to keep up with his diary. He lists books that he has read, all concerned with history and politics, a few on travel, and makes short comments on them. He continues this for the months of April to August, and is particularly critical of travel books on Switzerland. [Chronik, p 378]

3rd May Bräker's son Johannes marries Anna Dorothea Brunner, and on 3rd September their daughter Dorothea is baptised. On 30th October Bräker records the child's death. [Chronik,pp 378-379]

[She was conceived before the wedding, which is somehow just what one would expect from Bräker's rather feckless son. But Bräker later writes about Anna Dorothea in a way that suggests that he was fond of her and thought his son had chosen well.]

21st June Bräker attends the annual meeting of the Moral Society for the last time.

[It was in effect the last meeting of the Society; political dissension added to the controversies of 1787-88 had resulted in its collapse, though it was still officially in existence in 1793 and an attempt was made to revive it in 1797.]

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In 1791 revolution was still years away from Bräker's homeland, but the year 1792 was to bring it a long step nearer, by the resolution of the French government to extend revolution to oppressed peoples (as they saw it) outside their own borders. The historical notes that I have supplied are intended to show in outline the progress of the Revolution as it approached and finally reached the Toggenburg, and to supply some background information about the events which affected Bräker himself.

The promoters of revolution in Switzerland were profoundly influenced by events in France, and also owed much to French literature and political philosophy published before the Revolution, such as Rousseau's "Contrat social" [Social contract] published in 1762. The Helvetic Republic was to be eventually established by French armed force, an outcome not wanted by the revolutionaries or their opponents. There were, however, events and ideas in