He wanted to see him; he didn’t think that he would be at the district meeting. He is just leaving for Köpcsény to have lunch with Baroness Mainau, but will return around five o’clock. He asks where to meet.
Hochgeehrter Freund, ich habe eine wichtige Bitte an Dich. Würde zu Dir kommen seyn, dächte ich nicht ‘Du seyest im Circle. So eben fahre ich nach Kitsee[a] um bei der B.[1] von Meinau[b] zu essen, gedenke aber bis 5 Uhr Abends zuruck zu seyn. – Wo kann ich Dich sehen? Oder willst Du zu mir kommen? Befehle mit Deinem Freund und Diener
St.[2] Széchenyi
12ten Nov.[c] in Eile
[1] Baronin
[2] Stephan
[a] Köpcsény (Moson County) was the estate of Prince Miklós Esterházy (1765–1833).
[b] Marie Louise Plaideux (1786–1835) was the lover of Prince Miklós Esterházy, whom Széchenyi had known for a long period. At Christmas 1827, Esterházy acquired the island of Mainau, north of Lake Constance, to care for his illegitimate children born to her. In addition, he made his son Nicolaus Paulus Plaideux (1814–1834) a baron (Baron von Mainau), and he did the same to his two daughters and their mother. For more, Stefan Körner: Nikolaus II. Esterházy und die Kunst. Biografie eines manischen Sammlers Vienna, 2013. 346-350.
[c] The letter is dated 1825 by Gyula Viszota, the time of the Diet and Széchenyi’s whereabouts in November justify this. The explanation for the naming of Madame Plaideux (as Széchenyi had earlier called her in his diary) in the letter may be that the purchase of the island and the ennobling of his illegitimate family – of which Széchenyi was likely aware – could be an old plan of Prince Esterházy. See Körner 2013, p. 346, footnote 21.
Recommended reference:
István Széchenyi to Pál Felsőbüki Nagy, Bratislava, 12 November 1825. Edited and annotated by Szilvia Czinege. Published in Correspondence of István Széchenyi. Digital edition. Edited by Szilvia Czinege and Zoltán Fónagy. https://szechenyilevelezes.abtk.hu/ Abbreviation for further references: SzIL-Digit.