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at a reasonable profit. Then I procured 76 pounds of raw cotton from Herr Heinrich Hartmann, at two guilders the pound, and so was established as a cotton-dealer, and was a great deal prouder of the fact than it deserved. For about a year I continued my saltpetre-boiling at the same time; and since my ready money was small, I had all the more often to lay it out, time and again I went to St. Gallen and did not do too badly out of it. My profit in that year was not over twelve guilders, however, but I thought it a great deal at the time.

62. Plans for a home (1760):

Now that I was thus playing the man of business, I thought to myself: my darling cannot now raise any objection to my proposals. But not so, by far! The cunning creature wished to try my devotion in still another manner. Well, whatever was included in my own plans, that might well be accepted. One day some time after this, when I spoke to her very seriously on the subject of marriage, the word was: where shall be our house and home? I suggested several dwellings to her, which at that time were to be had for rent. "I'll have none of that", said she, "while I live I will not take anyone who has not his own house!" - "Quite right!" I replied. But had this thought not been in my own mind also, I would have questioned it.

So from that time on I made enquiries about every cottage that was for sale at a low price, but could not settle on any. At last I decided to build one for myself, and told my fair one so. She was content with this, and again offered money for the purpose. Then I revealed my intention to my father, he too promised to help me to the best of his ability, and kept his word in full. Now I looked round for a site, and bought a plot of land for about a hundred thalers, then some timber from various places. I received a few pine-trees as a gift. Then I summoned all my strength, felled the trees, which for the most part grew in a narrow ravine by a brook, and hauled them up - my dear father helped me bravely - to the sawmill and then to the timber-yard. But the sawing and carpentering cost money, every day I had to undo the purse-strings, and that was only the start of my troubles. For until then all had progressed well, the yarn business stopped up all the holes. I reported everything faithfully to my Dulcinea, and my doings for the most part met with her gracious approval.

Throughout that summer, autumn and winter I made all the necessary preparations with regard to wood, stone, lime and bricks, so that I should be able to start building in good time in the following spring, and move in with my young bride as soon as might be. As well as carrying on with my little trade, during the winter I knocked together some furniture and utensils. For I thought: a house should have its household goods, I may not expect much from my dear one, and from my father even less (I was even now giving him money for my keep, little though it was). Surely nothing was more ill-judged than in this manner merely to please a woman, and - I am willing to admit it - to please my own vanity also by having a stately home of my own, to plunge myself into a labyrinth from which only God and good luck could guide me out again. And a few of my neighbours were always sneering maliciously at me every time I passed by them. Some were more frank about it and said straight out to my face: " Ulrich, Ulrich! you will find it hard to keep this up." Some of them, moreover, had the kindness to lend a hand to help me out, according to their powers, simply on my word of honour, and father's.

Moreover, this year 1760 was truly a miracle year, most greatly blessed by Heaven with a rare abundance of the fruits of the earth, and by remarkable benefit from the exceedingly low price of all kinds of victuals. A pound of bread was ten pence, a pound of butter ten kreutzer. I could fetch home a quarter of apples, pears or potatoes for twelve kreutzer, a measure of wine for six kreutzer, and a measure of brandy for seven batzen. All, rich and poor, had plenty. My cotton-dealing would certainly have gone very well for me at this time, if I had only known more about the business and had more time and money to spend on it. So this year passed pretty quickly for me. Sometimes, indeed, there was a falling-out between me and my fair one, whenever she spoke disparagingly of my way of life and wanted to prescribe rules of conduct for me, I became rebellious, as I do still today, but we always made it up again before long - and soon fell out

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