The Poor Man of Toggenburg - Autobiography of Ulrich Bräker

capable of cutting one another's throats [lit. breaking each other's necks]. The poor opinion that I have long held of this nation was strengthened. The more I looked at their eyes and furious faces, the more comprehensible it was to me, that in their country so many scenes of murder and horror could have passed already, that they raged among themselves worse than tigers and dishonoured humanity itself.

17th May Since the French lodged here, though only for one night, in all places that they were billeted the general talk is only of these guests. Each one asks the other how he fared with them, and each one tells his story in many or few words, so that there is no end of the stories. There one tells how he played the hero against these brutal guests that nothing could satisfy, when they made their demands with drawn sabres and threats, how he had stood up to them boldly and in the end had made them as tame as sheep. Another complains that they ate and drank far too much and on the top of that stole as well. A third is quite satisfied with his guests. He says that although they had the best of everything they were well-behaved and polite. In short, from all I have seen and heard, I can rightly conclude that the guests, the hosts and the service cannot have been the same. If a well-behaved guest was lodged with a sensible host, all went well, and where not, it went badly." [Voellmy, v 2 pp 328-333]

"Away with thee, thou tumultuous throng, crowds of people, wild beasts in human form. [...] In these splendid days of May, when everything rejoices in new life, when no grief or lamentation is heard under the sun, everything enjoys its existence, its life. Thanks to thee, eternal thanks, good Genius, that in the last moments of my earthly life thou hast separated me from the raving crowd of mankind, and hast given me the privilege of becoming acquainted with nobler men, and hast provided me with companions in life to sweeten my last days, angels in human form [...] With them I walk up and down, stroll about the many-coloured meadows, converse with them in my thoughts as if they walked arm in arm with me, I show them a thousand wonders, a thousand beauties of Nature, draw their attention to some little beetle, some insect, how it enjoys its life, how its suns itself, and on the flowers and soft grass stretches out its horns, buzzes and hums and seems to marvel at itself and everything around it; how it fixes itself so as to defy the soft west wind that wants to blow it away; how the feathered citizens of the air make the bushes and forests ring with their jubilant song; every fly, every midge dances in the sunlight and enjoys its short life. [...]

20th May Bräker reports that fresh French troops have arrived in Thurgau; he compares them to locusts, not moving on until there is nothing left for them to eat. On 25th May he begins the hard slow journey back to St. Gallen, staying overnight in Schwellbrunn. [Chronik, pp 460-461]

22nd May A last visit to St. Gallen, but Bräker is at the end of his strength. [Chronik, p 461]

29th May Bräker writes to Dr. Sulzer in Winterthur about his state of health: "For half a year I have felt a weakness in all my limbs. And an unwillingness or vexation in all my business - whereby all flesh is gradually fading from my bones - so that I look just like a skillet - yet in all this I feel no particular pain - and always have a good appetite and enjoy restful sleep - . But since then for the last few weeks I have been afflicted with a hoarseness - that makes speech difficult for me and often causes pain in my throat - as if a fire was kindled in my gullet - it makes shooting pains, now in my throat and now in my ears - and with it comes a cough - which I have much trouble in bringing up - in short, that from day to day I grow weaker."

31st May Electors of new canton Säntis assemble in Appenzell. Bräker thinks St. Gallen would have been a better choice as chief town. [Chronik, p 461]