One whiff of its atmosphere as you entered the door gave an appetite and raised the highest expectations.

For any bookman can estimate a library by scent--if an expert he could even write out a catalogue of the books and sketch the appearance of the owner.

Heavy odour of polished mahogany, Brussels carpets, damask curtains and tablecloths; then the books are kept within glass, consist of sets of standard works in half calf, and the owner will give you their cost wholesale to a farthing.

Faint fragrance of delicate flowers, and Russia leather, with a hint of cigarettes; prepare yourself for a marvellous wall-paper, etchings, bits of oak, limited editions, and a man in a velvet coat.

Smell of paste and cloth binding and general newness means yesterday's books and a man racing through novels with a paper knife.