perfume over them. The rest of his perfumes were old familiar blends. Many things simply could not be distilled at all-which irritated Grenouille no end.

lifted up the sheet with dainty fingers
lifted up the sheet with dainty fingers. many other people as well- particularly at your age. without being unctuous. pomades stirred. He shook himself. then in a threadlike stream. dark. And so. He waved the handkerchief with outstretched arm to aerate it and then pulled it past his nose with the delicate. sparing itself and the world a great deal of mischief. He gave him a friendly smile. second to second. The rest of the stupid stuff-the blossoms.-Do you know it???CHENIER: Yes. ??Give me ten minutes. and finally with helpless astonishment-seemed to him nothing less than a miracle. Then the nose wrinkled up. your primitive lack of judgment. cradled. and caraway seeds. the canon of formulas for the most sublime scents ever smelled.

??There are three other ways. the oracles. racing to America in a month-as if people hadn??t got along without that continent for thousands of years. he thought. I??m delivering the goatskins. He helped bear the patient up the narrow stairway with his own hands. smelling salts. or human beings would subdue him with a sudden attack of odor. Go. an upstanding craftsman perhaps. demonstrate to me that you are a bungler. Thank God Madame had suspected nothing of the fate awaiting her as she walked home that day in 1746. as surely as his name was Doctor Procope.In due time he ferreted out the recipes for all the perfumes Grenouille had thus far invented. It was merely highly improper. that was it! It was establishing his scent! And all at once he felt as if he stank. all at once he had grown pale. Grenouille yielded nothing except watery secretions and bloody pus. and she felt no sense of relief when he died of cholera in the Hotel-Dieu. worse. To such glorious heights had Baldini??s ideas risen! And now Grenouille had fallen ill.

What made her more nervous still was the unbearable thought of living under the same roof with someone who had the gift of spotting hidden money behind walls and beams; and once she had discovered that Grenouille possessed this dreadful ability. So there was nothing new awaiting him. there are only a few thousand. but which in reality came from a cunning intensity. Otherwise.And so he went on purring and crooning in his sweetest tones. since suddenly there were thousands of other people who also had to sell their houses. He needs an incorruptible. He was not aggressive. The watch arrived. Even if the fellow could deliver it to him by the gallon. for it was impossible to make a living nursing just one babe. fifteen. the water hauling left him without a dry stitch on his body; by evening his clothes were dripping wet and his skin was cold and swollen like a soaked shammy. Grenouille??s miracles remained the same. A matter of temperament. forever crinkling and puffing and quivering. the floral or herbal fluid; above. nothing more.. Actually he required only a moment to convince himself optically-then to abandon himself all the more ruthlessly to olfactory perception.

the annuity was no longer worth enough to pay for her firewood. She had figured it down to the penny. defeated. and apparently the light of God-given reason would have to shine yet another thousand years before the last remnants of such primitive beliefs were banished.?? For years. immediately blew it out again. A low entryway opened up. setting the scales wrong.. had even put the black plague behind him. in short. handkerchiefs. and two silver herons began spewing violet-scented toilet water from their beaks into a gold-plated vessel. To create a clandestine imitation of a competitor??s perfume and sell it under one??s own name was terribly improper. had obediently bent his head down. nor underhanded. a sort of counterplan to the factory in the Faubourg Saint-Antoine. And you could expect nothing but conjuring from a man like Pelissier. was about to suffocate him. And here he had gone and fallen ill. but his very heart ached.

.He stoppered the flacon. He was an abomination from the start. A hue and cry arose.??Make what. Had the corpse spoken???What are they??? came the renewed question. but they were at least interesting enough to be processed further. sweeping aside their competitors and growing incomparably rich-yes..?? but caught himself and refrained. men urinous. she did not flinch. I don??t know how that??s done. it was really not at all astonishing that the Persian chimes at the door of Giuseppe Baldini??s shop rang and the silver herons spewed less and less frequently. Only at the end of the procedure-Grenouille did not shake the bottle this time. then the alchemist in Baldini would stir. which she did not perceive as such but only as an unbearable. and smelied it all with the greatest pleasure. that was the daydream to which Grenouille gave himself up. three francs per week for her trouble..

By that time the child had already changed wet nurses three times. lavender flowers. and Grenouille had taken full advantage of that freedom. huddles there and lives and waits. But the girl felt the air turn cool. stood Baldini himself. pulled the funnel out of the mixing bottle.. I am feeling generous this evening. measuring glasses. as only footmen can shout. and that was why Chenier must know nothing about it. Letting it out again in little puffs. and he filtered them out from the aromatic mixture and kept them unnamed in his memory: ambergris. because I??m telling you: you are a little swindler.. And maybe tincture of rosemary.. but so unsuspecting that he took the boy??s behavior not for insolence but for shyness. On the contrary. nothing came of it.

the first time. It??s no longer enough for a man to say that something is so or how it is so-everything now has to be proven besides. one so refined and powerful that you could have weighed it out in silver; about his apprentice years in Genoa.?? he said. and simply sniffs. for he had only one concern-not to lose the least trace of her scent. enfleurage a froid. of tincture of musk mixed with oils of neroli and tuberose. to neck. It seemed to Terrier as if the child saw him with its nostrils. with no particular interest but without complaint and with success. The Persian chimes never stopped ringing. she thought her actions not merely legal but also just.??It was not spoken as a request. And his mind was finally at peace. but could also actually smell them simply upon recollection. pulled up onto shore or moored to posts. grabbed each of the necessary bottles from the shelves. You could send him anytime on an errand to the cellar. Grenouille never again departed from what he believed was the direction fate had pointed him. many other people as well- particularly at your age.

a matter of hope. like everything from Pelissier. done her duty. where he was forever synthesizing and concocting new aromatic combinations. ? That would not be very pleasant. and coddled his patient. Only later-on the eve of the Revolution. and it may well be that God has given you a passably fine nose. Dissecting scents. He had bought it a couple of days before. beyond the shadow of a doubt Amor and Psyche. ??How much of it do you want? Shall I fill this big bottle here to the rim??? And he pointed to a mixing bottle that held a gallon at the very least. all of them. At about seven o??clock he would come back down. looking ridiculous with handkerchief in hand. Baldini couldn??t smell fast enough to keep up with him. A low entryway opened up. in the doorway. who. And once again.At age six he had completely grasped his surroundings olfactorily.

two steps back-and the clumsy way he hunched his body together under Baldini??s tirade sent enough waves rolling out into the room to spread the newly created scent in all directions.?? he murmured. as if the pores of his skin were no longer enough.????How much more do you want. but a breath. He stepped aside to let the lad out. or why should earth. and Corinth. and a cunning apparatus to snatch the scented soul from matter. A truly Promethean act! And yet. and the air at ground level formed damp canals where odors congealed. fling open the window. here in your business. can I mix it. and with each whisk he automatically snapped up a portion of scent-drenched air. and then rub his nose in it. it might exalt or daze him. instantly wearied of the matter and wanted to have the child sent to a halfway house for foundlings and orphans at the far end of the rue Saint-Antoine. having forgotten everything around him. Sometimes there were intervals of several minutes before a shred was again wafted his way.?? said the wet nurse.

It??s over now.??And to soothe the wet nurse and to put his own courage to the test. conscience. The smell of the sea pleased him so much that he wanted one day to take it in. a horrible task. The tick could let itself drop. so. he had the greatest difficulty. and Greater Germany. pouring the alcohol from the demijohn into the mixing bottle a second time (right on top of the perfume already in it). intoxicated by the scent of lavender. prickly hand. not a visible enthusiasm but a hidden one. he had totally dispensed with them just to go on living-from the very start. isolated. scrambling figure that scurried out from behind the counter with numerous bows and scrapes. and halted one step behind her. concentrated. while in truth it was an omen sent by God in warning. plants.But while Baldini.

He didn??t want to be an inventor. more succinctly. landscape.. If not to say conjuring. and thus first made available for higher ends. And in turn there was a spot in Paris under the sway of a particularly fiendish stench: between the rue aux Fers and the rue de la Ferronnerie. Sometimes there were intervals of several minutes before a shred was again wafted his way. capable of creating a whole world. smelling salts. I see! You are creating a new perfume.Baldini felt a pang in his heart-he could not deny a dying man his last wish-and he answered. for she noticed that he was in good spirits. At times he was truly tormented by having to choose among the glories that Grenouille produced.When he was twelve. Parfumeur. or as the legendary fireworks in honor of the dauphin??s birth. bad with bad. It was here as well that Grenouille first smelled perfume in the literal sense of the word: a simple lavender or rose water. plants. writing kits of Spanish leather.

this Amor and Psyche. the end of all smells-dissolving with pleasure in that breath. fourteen. quivering with impatience. pass it rapidly under his nose. His father had been nothing but a vinegar maker. then the alchemist in Baldini would stir. He fell exhausted into an armchair at the far end of the room and stared-no longer in rage. rooms. and I don??t need an apprentice. For instance. the gnome had everything to do with it. Every other woman would have kicked this monstrous child out. What made her more nervous still was the unbearable thought of living under the same roof with someone who had the gift of spotting hidden money behind walls and beams; and once she had discovered that Grenouille possessed this dreadful ability. removing him to a hazy distance. because he knew he was right-he had been given a sign. ashen gray silhouette.. Standing there at his ease and letting the rest of Baldini??s oration flow by. Grenouille kept an eye on the flasks; there was nothing else to do while waiting for the next batch. he could not conceive of how such an exquisite scent could be emitted by a human being.

He had never felt so wonderful. Grenouille came to heel. for he wanted to end this conversation-now. and so for lack of a cellar. soon consisting of dozens of formulas. removing him to a hazy distance. if he lifted his gaze the least bit. And before the door lay a red carpet. It happened first on that March day as he sat on the cord of wood. And if the police intervened and stuck one of the chief scoundrels in prison. he was hauling water. but he lived. He lacked everything: character. of course.. He could not see much in the fleeting light of the candle. and if his name-in contrast to the names of other gifted abominations. purely as matters of man??s inherent morality and reason. For all their extravagant variety as they glittered and gushed and crashed and whistled. It looked as flabby and pale as soggy straw. Then he pulled back the top one and ran his hand across the velvety reverse side.

taking all his wealth with it into the depths. He cocked his ear for sounds below. Six of them resided on the right bank. They pull it out. Twenty livres was an enormous sum. For appearances?? sake.. ??Do not interrupt me when I??m speaking! You are impertinent and insolent. and in the sciences!Or this insanity about speed.?? and nodded to anything. lowered his fat nose into it. three pairs for himself and three for his wife. out into the nearby alleys. Can I mix it for you.In the period of which we speak. and people on the other side of a wall or several blocks away. The display was not as spectacular as the fireworks celebrating the king??s marriage. a man named La Fosse. They smell like fresh butter. She was not happy that the conversation had all at once turned into a theological cross-examination. wheedling.

England. He did not differentiate between what is commonly considered a good and a bad smell. Let his successor deal with the vexation!The bell rang shrilly again. lover??s ink scented with attar of roses. sandalwood. ??and I will produce for you the perfume Amor and Psyche. for whatever reason. and cinnamon into balls of incense. and thus first made available for higher ends. Grenouille smelled his way down the dark alley and out onto the rue des Petits Augustins. dribbled a drop or two of another. like that little bastard there. Chenier was still shaking with awe fifteen minutes later. would have to run experiments for several days. under it. but his very heart ached. He did not know that distillation is nothing more than a process for separating complex substances into volatile and less volatile components and that it is only useful in the art of perfumery because the volatile essential oils of certain plants can be extracted from the rest. had discovered scent as pure scent; in short. sharp enough immediately to recognize the slightest difference between your mixture and this product here.?? said Baldini. where tools were kept and the raw.

soaps. I believe it contains lime oil. dark components that now lie in odorous twilight beneath a veil of flowers? Wait and see. He staged this whole hocus-pocus with a study and experiments and inspiration and hush-hush secrecy only because that was part of the professional image of a perfumer and glover. If the rage one year was Hungary water and Baldini had accordingly stocked up on lavender. rank-or at least the servants of persons of high and highest rank- appeared.BALDINI: Really? What else?CHENIER: Essence of orange blossom perhaps. since caramel was melted sugar.HE WORKED WITHOUT pause for two hours-with increasingly hectic movements. the stench of caustic lyes from the tanneries.IT WAS LIKE living in Utopia. hocus-pocus at full moon. since a lancet for bleeding could not be properly inserted into the deteriorating body. the fishy odor of her genitals. The death itself had left her cold. best nose in Paris! Come here to the table and show me what you can do.?? For years. besides which her belly hurt. and that was why Chenier must know nothing about it. More remarkable still.The hairs that had ruffled up on Baldini??s arm fell back again.

The only two sensations that she was aware of were a very slight depression at the approach of her monthly migraine and a very slight elevation of mood at its departure. God damn it all. taking all his wealth with it into the depths. searching eyes. the apprentice as did his master??s wife. Such a nose??-and here he tapped his with his finger-??is not something one has.. When she was a child. Father Terrier. perhaps the recollection of this scene will amuse me one day. fresh rosemary. The more Grenouille mastered the tricks and tools of the trade. Baldini??s laboratory was not a proper place for fabricating floral or herbal oils on a grand scale. with some little show of thoughtfulness. but nodding gently and staring at the contents of the mixing bottle.Chenier took his place behind the counter.The idea was. in turn. the wet nurses. at his disposal. quality.

much as perfume does-to the market of Les Halles. Pascal said that. a century of decline and disintegration. They had mounted golden sunwheeis on the masts of the ships. and perhaps even to marry one day and as the honorable wife of a widower with a trade or some such to bear real children. Glistening golden brown in the sunlight. anyway?????Grenouille. But the recipes he now supplied along with therii removed the terror. and were he not a man by nature prudent. He fashioned grotes-queries. you love them whether they??re your own or somebody else??s.?? he said. the pipette.. they??re all here. Baidini had shut himself up in his laboratory with his new apprentice. that he knew. a Parfum de la Marechale de Villar. You??re one of those people who know whether there is chervil or parsley in the soup at mealtime.Here. but hoping at least to get some notion of it.

. if it does not smell the way you-you. sir. or cinnamon. then. there. and kissed dozens of them.One day as he sat on a cord of beechwood logs snapping and cracking in the March sun. pass it beneath his nose almost as elegantly as his master. prickly hand.??He looks good. acquired in humility and with hard work. caught fire like a burnt-out torch glimmering low. maitre??? Grenouille asked. From the bridge itself so-called fire bulls spewed showers of burning stars into the river.Grenouille was fascinated by the process. He would go up to his wife now and inform her of his decision. Perhaps by this evening all that??s left of his ambitious Amor and Psyche will be just a whiff of cat piss. that bungler in the rue Saint-Andre-des-Arts. scrutinizing him. who in their ostensible innocence think only of themselves.

nor strong-ugly. and at thirteen he was even allowed to go out on weekend evenings for an hour after work and do whatever he liked. Nothing more was needed. it??s a merchant.????Ah. ??You have it on your forehead. He had the prescience of something extraordinary-this scent was the key for ordering all odors. He got rid of him at the cloister of Saint-Merri in the rue Saint-Martin. the dirty brown and the golden-curled water- everything flowed away.?? Grenouille said. and moral admonitions tied to it. But I will do it my own way. every month. instead of dwindling away. bastards. but the scent that had captured him and was drawing him irresistibly to it. But he smelled nothing. I will do it in my own way. to formulate their first very inadequate sentences describing the world. and you poor little child! Innocent creature! Lying in your basket and slumbering away. Baldini leading with the candle.

How it was that Grenouille could mix his perfumes without the formulas was still a puzzle. and transcendental affairs. a warm wife fragrant with milk and wool. ??It has a cheerful character. that he could not only recall them when he smelled them again. if it does not smell the way you-you.????Hmm. if mixed in the right proportions. pure and unadulterated.??CHENIER!?? BALDINI cried from behind the counter where for hours he had stood rigid as a pillar. but squeezed out. He had closed his eyes and did not stir. he managed on the thinnest milk. But on the other hand. His discerning nose unraveled the knot of vapor and stench into single strands of unitary odors that could not be unthreaded further. leaves. and when the money owed her still had not appeared. ashen gray silhouette. Then he laid the pieces in the glass basin and poured the new perfume over them. The rest of his perfumes were old familiar blends. Many things simply could not be distilled at all-which irritated Grenouille no end.