August Wilhelm von Hofmann

“ Nothing could have surpassed the kindness with which the young aspirant was received by the very men to whom he had hitherto been looking up with mingled feelings of reverence and awe. As an illustration of the sympathetic interest which the most illustrious savants of the period accorded to the labors of their youthful fellow-workers in the field of science, Dumas is fond of describing his own début in the Academy of Sciences. ”

“ In 1822 Dumas might have settled at Geneva, and many circumstances led him to think seriously of doing so. An incident, however, which happened at that time, and which at first sight seemed in no way likely to influence a well-matured plan of life, induced him within a few days to change his mind. He made the acquaintance of a man, among whose varied gifts the fascinating sway he exercised over youthful minds was not the least. Let me try to give the story in the very words in which I heard it from Dumas's mouth. ”

“ It is well known what a powerful patron he proved to Liebig, who has left us a charming account of his first acquaintance with the famous traveler; and it is certainly worthy of note that two inquirers, whose labors subsequently carried them to the head of chemical science, should each have been befriended on the very threshold of his career by the same master mind, so that in later years they never ceased to acknowledge in affectionate terms the debt of gratitude which they owed to Alexander von Humboldt. Dumas's removal to Paris took place in 1823. ”