BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF PROFESSOR DUMAS. 259 



of seeing you.' Throwing on my coat, I hastily reiterated my apolo- 

 gies. I had only one chair. My visitor was pleased to accept it, while 

 I resumed my elevated perch on the drawing-stool. Baron Humboldt 

 had read the papers published by M. Prevosfand myself on blood, 

 which had just appeared in the " Bibliotheque Universelle," and was 

 anxious to see the preparations I had by me. His wish was soon 

 gratified. ' I am going to the Congress at Verona,' said he, ' and I in- 

 tend to spend some days at Geneva, to see old friends and to make new 

 ones, and more especially to become acquainted with young people 

 who are beginnhig their career. Will you act as my cicerone? I 

 warn you, however, that my rambles begin early and end late. Now, 

 could you be at my disposal, say, from six in the morning till mid- 

 night '? ' This proposal, which was of course accepted with alacrity, 

 proved to me a source of unexpected pleasure. Baron Humboldt was 

 fond of talking ; he passed from one subject to another without stop- 

 ping. He obviously liked being listened to, and there was no fear of 

 his being interrupted by a young man who for the first time heard 

 Laplace, Berthollet, Gay-Lussac, Arago, Thenard, Cuvier, and many 

 others of the Parisian celebrities, spoken of with familiarity. I listened 

 with a strange delight ; a new horizon began to dawn upon me. Save 

 the time devoted to some visits, I was allowed to remain the whole day 

 with Humboldt, who darted from point to point over the vast range of 

 his recollections, while I endeavored to keep pace with the uninter- 

 rupted flow of his narrative. Sometimes the mountain scenery would 

 remind him of the Cordilleras, though it must be confessed he did not 

 think much even of Mont Blanc. Sometimes he turned to science, 

 and then astronomy and physics, chemistry, and the natural history 

 branches would, in rapid succession, come in for their share in the 

 dialogue, or rather monologue, which, spoken in a low, somewhat mo- 

 notonous tone, would have scarcely appeared impressive had it not 

 been for some waggish pleasantry which now and then escaped, as it 

 were, involuntarily. But, at any rate, if his voice failed to be effec- 

 tive, the glance of his eye was sufficient to rivet his hearers' attention. 

 " At the end of a few days Baron Humboldt left Geneva. After 

 his departure the town seemed empty to me. I felt as if spellbound. 

 The memorable hours I had spent with that irresistible enchanter had 

 opened a new world to my mind. I had been more especially im- 

 pressed with what he had told me of Parisian life, of the happy col- 

 laboration of men of science, and of the unlimited facilities which the 

 Prench capital offered to young men wishing to devote themselves to 

 scientific pursuits. I began to think that Paris was the only place 

 where, under the auspices of the leaders of physical and chemical sci- 

 ence, with whom I had no doubt I should soon become acquainted, I 

 might hope to find the advice and assistance which would enable me 

 to carry out the labors over which I had been pondering for some 

 time. My mind was soon made up ' I must go to Paris.' " 



