His busy schedule prevented him from writing to his father earlier to ask him for money to fix up her stable. He is almost always on horseback, and is therefore delighted to hear from his brother Lajos that their father has given him the brown stallion he bought in Vienna during the winter.
Euer Gnaden, Bester Vater![a]
Die außerordentlich viele Geschäften die ich hatte und izt[1] noch habe hinderten mich Euer Gnaden früher zu schreiben, und zu bitten daß Euer Gnaden mir Geld schicken möchten um daß[2] ich mein Stall ein wenig in bessere Stand setzten könne.[b] Mein dienst wird fast immer zu Pferd seyn, und ich muß dahero etwelche haben um wechseln zu können, ich habe von meinen Brudern Louis gehört, daß Euer gnaden die Gnade hatten mir den Braun den Eur Gnaden den Vinter in Wien Gekauft haben, geschenkt[3] haben, ich küsse die Hand dafür tausendmahl. bitte um den Segen, und kann nichts mehr schreiben indem der Herr Obristlieutenant[c] auf mich schon wartet und bleibe
Meines Besten Vaters
dankbarster Sohn Stephan Széchényi[d]
[1] A variant of the archaic form ‘itzt’ of the determiner ‘jetzt’ used by Széchenyi.
[2] One letter deleted.
[3] Missing word: zu
[a] Ferenc Széchényi wrote the following on the cover of the 39 letters in the package: “Briefe meiner 3 guten u[nd] braven Söhne Louis, Paul u[nd] Stephan, als Sie für König u[nd] Vaterland sich opferten. – Gott erhalte u[nd] segne Sie. Für das Familienarchiv”, English translation: “Letters from my 3 good and brave sons, Lajos, Pál and István, when they sacrificed themselves for the King and the Fatherland – May God keep and bless them. For the family archives.”
[b] When he joined the army, he brought three horses and two grooms from home.
[c] Baron Ferenc Ertel, Lieutenant Colonel in the General Staff of the noble insurrection was the commander of István Széchenyi at that time. He designed and built the defensive camp at Győr, between the Rába, the Rábca and the Danube rivers. The fortification of the three-quarter square mile area was completed in two weeks.
[d] Lieutenant István Széchenyi, who had been assigned to the general staff of the national insurrection, was placed under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Baron Ferenc Ertel, commander of the Győr fortification, by the commander-in-chief’s order of 26 April. He reported to his post on 28 April. Ertel put him in charge of supervising the works related to the fortification and of keeping the accounts. Széchenyi wrote the letter during the works of the fortification, in May 1809.
Recommended reference:
István Széchenyi to Ferenc Széchényi, Győr, 15 May 1809. 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.