The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1908-01-27
COUNT HAS $4,000 A YEAR.

|
COUNT HAS $4,000 A YEAR.
Something About the Man Who Has
| Welded $12,OOO.OOO.
Count Laszlo Jeno Maria Henrik
Simon Szechenyi, to give him for once
| his full name. is % years old, springs
from one of tho oldest and most illus
| trious families of Hungary, maintains
| a racing stable and is said to have an
income of $4,000 year in his own right
| In addition to all this he is a lieutenant
| of the Ninth Hussars, the favorite regi-
ment Of the Emperor Franz Josef. From
! the time when the wild horde of Huns
from the northern forests began to
| harass the Roman eagles his forefath-
| ers have occupied a notable position in
| the annals of his warlike race.
The counts father is Count Tiber
! Szechenyi, president of the parliament
of noblemen, who lives in a palace of
ancient architecture, which is one of
| the noblest in the Hungarian capital.
| fications extend throughout Hungary.
| The count himself is a sportsman and
| an athlete, an expert horSeman and
| tennis player. He is something of a
| fop in matters of personal adornment
| and enjoys the reputation of being the
| most carefully dressed man in all Hun
gary.
AS BELTS a man whose grandfather
founded the Hungarian Jockey club.
Count I4aszlo keeps a racing stable of
80 thoroughbreds and has gone to great
personal expense to breed some of the
finest horses in Hungary. He has
achieved some local celebrity as a
mountain slider, a Hungarian sport
which is said to call for mettle and a
steady nerve. His chief sport, however,
is tennis. in which he is said to excel.
He received his military training in
the Franz Josef gymnasium and inter
natus, an institution reserved for the
sons Of noblemen. After taking his de-
service of his country.
Visit to Counts E,statet.
The young count met Miss Wander
bilt in the summer of 1907 while she
was visiting Europe with her mother.
The VanderbiltS visited his estate in
Hungary, and it is understood that the
engagement was arranged during this
visit. In the fall Count Laszlo came to
America and was the guest of the Van
derbilts at Ochre Point. The formal an
nouncement of the engagement was
made by Mrs. Vanderbilt October g.
Society was unprepared for the an
nouncement, for Mrs. Vanderbilt had
kept the secret well, but since that time
interest has attached to every move
ment made by the young couple. The
license was taken out Saturday, Janu-
ary II, and the invitations were issued
January IT,
AS regards the counts family the
earliest Szechenyi of whom recorded
history speaks was Michael. COM
mander of the fortress of Veszprem,
who appears in the middle of the six
teenth century. The real founder OF
the name, however, was George (1592-
1880, grandson of Michael, who was
archbishop of Esztergom and prince
primate of Hungary.
Through his connections at the court
he obtained for his brother Lawrence
the large estate at Sarvar and left him
also a large share of his immense for
tune. Their titles. Counts of Sarzar
and FeIso Videk. date from the year
1897. Paul Szechenyi (1642-1710)
was archbishop of Kalocsa, and there
were several others who achieved ma
tional prominence in military, eccles-
1astical and political life:
The first half of the nineteenth CEN
tury witnessed an extraordinary re-
1uvenation of Hungary, to which there
is scarcely a parallel in history. Dur
ing this period three master minds
helped to shape its destiny. These
were Count Stephen Szechenyi- Louis
kossuth and Francis Dea. of whom
only Kossuth is known to western read
ers. Count Stephen. or, as he is known
to his countrymen, Szechenyi the Great
(1791-1S60), was the son of Francis,
and who founded the Hungarian ma
tional museum.
Fought Against Napoleon.
stephen entered the army at II and
for signal bravery during the wars
against Napoleon rose to be a captain
OF hussars. Frequent visits to Greece
lnbued him with a great respect for
the remnants of classical culture
While excursions to England and
france caused him to contrast the con-
o1tlons which he found there with
those obtaining in his own country
A close study of political conditions
ana dedicate his powers to the econ
ornlc and social welfare of his people.
ne wrote newspaper articles and is
sueo pamphlets in an attempt to cor
rect existing abuses, and thus incurred
the hostility of the more bigoted MEM
pers OF the aristocracy. He introduced
sclentihc methods of agriculture and
estaplshed the first savings bank OF
iaungary' After performing many
useIul works for his people he accept,
ed the portfolio of TRANSPORTATION and
tSter OF nnance. after the formation of
the hrst responsible cabinet in 1S4S.
ne was unable to turn the tide OF
events and resigned a few months
later imagining that his reforms wers
responsible for the bloody events
Whlch followed. he suffered great
mental agony and retired to a sanitar
Iulh h at Doeollng- His mind gradually
recovered its force Later.
Among members of the family ub n
nave become known since vas ReIe
ozecnenyl, a traveller and explorer who
puDlshed book on America in 1S63
IL is generally believed in Rudanest
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