THE REDOLENT WORLD 



ecstasy which is wakened by the odor of Rus- 

 sia, calf, sheep, and morocco, or by the awe- 

 inspiring mustiness with which a book makes 

 solemn affidavit of its age? A sandal-wood 

 paper-knife, also, which is a paper-knife and 

 nothing more to him that hath no nose to 

 smell, to the evolved nostril is a Mercurial 

 passport to all the dream-land wonders of 

 the Orient. 



Possibly some of us have hitherto ignored 

 the significance of the services rendered by 

 our unhonored noses. But if we will here- 

 after take note of their findings in the realm 

 of poetry and romance, we shall discover 

 that the winged meditations which they 

 rouse act as ventilators to musty thoughts 

 and sentiments. 



From even this fragmentary survey of 

 the olfactory treasures which nature has 

 stored up for us, it is evident that though 

 blind and deaf, if we could only smell the 

 world, we should still pronounce it good. 

 For nature is redolent, not alone in the sea- 

 son when all her flowery censers are swing- 

 ing in the breeze, but also when the autumnal 



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