x MEMOIR
his father’s name had been ascertained. At this
period also he helped to form the first republican
literary club of the University, and his slight, alert
figure, clad in white breeches and black velveteen
coat, with long fair curls lying on his shoulders, was
foremost at every debate and discussion, his ready
eloquence carrying with it the body of opinion of his
fellow-students.
But this happy and congenial life was brought
to an abrupt termination. Scarcely had his first
examination in philosophy been passed with dis-
tinction, when the failure of certain Dutch corre-
spondents involved in their ruin his father’s bank.
The luxurious ménage was hastily suppressed, and
Alfred Edersheim resolved in the future to earn his
own living and make his own way. Im spite of the
urgent remonstrances of his family, who would wil-
lingly have shared with him what remained of their
fortune, he set out with only a few dollars in his
pocket for Pesth.
His choice of a university in which to earn his
livelihood and pursue his studies was influenced
by the newly awakened national life of Hungary.
Here more freedom and a larger liberty were to