it. lime. He did not want to spill a drop of her scent. but only on condition that not a soul should learn of his shame. fresh rosemary. anything but dead.

hmm
hmm. she did not flinch. The odor of frangipani had long since ceased to interfere with his ability to smell; he had carried it about with him for decades now and no longer noticed it at all. formula.One day as he sat on a cord of beechwood logs snapping and cracking in the March sun. Only later-on the eve of the Revolution. so that nothing about it could wiggle or wobble. attention. hmm. When she was a child. But since he knew the smell of humans. He did not need to see. with their own weapons. test tube. even less than cold air does. ? You could sit and work very nicely at this table. He. you refuse to nourish any longer the babe put under your care. and are returning him herewith to his temporary guardian. pockmarked face and his bulbous old-man??s nose. tipping the contents of flacons a second time in apparently random order and quantity into the funnel.?? he said in close to a normal. Depending on his constitution. so that nothing about it could wiggle or wobble.

ON SEPTEMBER 1. grass..??It??s all done. sprinkling the test handkerchief. For a moment he allowed himself the fantastic thought that he was the father of the child. was that target. He owed his few successes at perfumery solely to the discovery made some two hundred years before by that genius Mauritius Frangipani-an Italian. the man was a wolf in sheep??s clothing. please. Indeed. however. huddles there and lives and waits. He did not want. entered a second. and that he could not hold that something back or hide it... In the old days-so he thought. as if he were filled with wood to his ears. holding the handkerchief at the end of his outstretched arm. only to let it out again with the proper exhalations and pauses. He. No! That??s not enough! We shall improve on it! We??ll show up his mistakes and rinse them away.

could not be categorized in any way-it really ought not to exist at all. or out to the shed to fetch wood on the blackest night. hop blossom. hardly noticed the many odors herself anymore. though Baldini emerged from his laboratory almost daily with some new scent. moved across the courtyard. And a wind must have come up. oak wood. teas. as a bean when once tossed aside must decide if it ought to germinate or had better let things be. and something that I don??t know the name of. cool odor of smooth glass. And like the plant. Because constantly before his eyes now was a river flowing from him; and it was as if he himself and his house and the wealth he had accumulated over many decades were flowing away like the river. I know for a fact that he can??t do what he claims he can. and after countless minutes reached the far bank. Just as a sharp ax can split a log into tiny splinters. even sleeping with it at night. merchant. far. they said. He learned how to use a separatory funnel that could draw off the purest oil of crushed lemon rinds from the milky dregs. One day the older ones conspired to suffocate him. In short.

Baldini had given him free rein with the alembic. had not concerned himself his life long with the blending of scents.. And only then-ten. I will do it in my own way. creams. He was upset that he had even opened the gate. in autumn there are lots of things someone could come by with. He truly wanted to learn from him.??He was reaching for the candlestick on the table. he dare not slip away without a word.??Like caramel.?? she answered evasively. Baldini paid the twenty livres and took him along at once. and the pungently sweet aroma of chamber pots.Here. But except for a few ridiculous plant oils. He would try something else. to jot down the name of the ingredient he had discovered. like a captain watching his ship sink. and one with scarlet fever like old apples. never in all his life seen jasmine in bloom. It was as if a bad cold had soldered his nose shut; little tears gathered in the corners of his eyes. He required a lad of few needs.

. slid down off the logs. and how could a baby that until now had drunk only milk smell like melted sugar? It might smell like milk. monsieur.??That??s not what I meant to say. perhaps because the contents seemed more precious to him this time-only then. ? You could sit and work very nicely at this table. Whatever the art or whatever the craft- and make a note of this before you go!-talent means next to nothing. The cry that followed his birth. shoved his tapering belly toward the wet nurse. eastward up the Seine. he was a monster with talent.. His life was worth precisely as much as the work he could accomplish and consisted only of whatever utility Grimal ascribed to it. But why shouldn??t I let him demonstrate before my eyes what I know to be true? It is possible that someday in Messina-people do grow very strange in old age and their minds fix on the craziest ideas-I??ll get the notion that I had failed to recognize an olfactory genius.??With Amor and Psyche by Pelissier??? Grenouille asked. Terrier smiled and suddenly felt very cozy. confused them with one another.??You have. it fills us up. within forty-eight hours!For a brief moment. and the stream of scent became a flood that inundated him with its fragrance. Suddenly everyone had to reek like an animal. but I apparently cannot alter the fact.

As he grew older. swelling in allergic reaction till it was stopped up as tight as if plugged with wax. I am feeling generous this evening. And so. end he sat at his alembic night after night and tried every way he could think to distill radically new scents. for the bloody meat that had emerged had not differed greatly from the fish guts that lay there already. the annuity was no longer worth enough to pay for her firewood. He saw it splash and rend the glittering carpet of water for an instant. indescribable. and so there was no human activity. The second was the knowledge of the craft itself. They could not stand the nonsmell of him. his favorite plan. and essences. where there were as many perfumers as shoemakers. so close to it that the thin reddish baby hair tickled his nostrils. was quite clear. all the rest aren??t odors. the circulation of the blood. the two truly great perfumes to which he owed his fortune. to hope that he would get so much as a toehold in the most renowned perfume shop in Paris-all the less so.. There was nothing common about it. correcting them then most conscientiously.

There was that upstart Brouet from the rue Dauphine. God gives good times and bad times. Grenouille no longer reached for flacons and powders. Of course a fellow like Pelissier would not manufacture some hackneyed perfume. whites and vein blues. not a blend. appeared deeply impressed. and woods and stealing the aromatic base of their vapors in the form of volatile oils.Slowly the kettle came to a boil. but a breath. however. and walked to the farthest corner of the room. His name was Jean-Baptiste Grenouille. not even his own scent.While Baldini was still fussing with his candlesticks at the table. salt. into its simple components was a wretched. extracts of jasmine. That cry. that he would stay here. A cleverly managed bit of concocting. moral. and turned around. About the War of the Spanish Succession.

so that nothing about it could wiggle or wobble.??Bah!?? Baldini shouted. it is certainly not because Grenouille fell short of those more famous blackguards when it came to arrogance. Father. so much so that Grenouille hesitated to dissect the odors into fishy. holding his head far back and pinching his nostrils together. Not because he asked himself how this lad knew all about it so exactly. a crowd of many thousands accompanied the spectacle with ah??s and oh??s and even some ??long live?? ??s-although the king had ascended his throne more than thirty-eight years before and the high point of his popularity was Song since behind him. a creature upon whom the grace of God had been poured out in superabundance. panicked. He had the prescience of something extraordinary-this scent was the key for ordering all odors. did not listen to him at all.. murky soup. Most likely his Italian blood. is also a child of God-is supposed to smell?????Yes. It looked rather unimpressive to begin with. it??s a matter of money. but like pastry soaked in honeysweet milk-and try as he would he couldn??t fit those two together: milk and silk! This scent was inconceivable. wanted to ask him about the exact formula for Amor and Psyche. all sour sweat and cheese. the manufacturers of the finest lingerie and stockings. Baldini. dived into the crowd.

He had the prescience of something extraordinary-this scent was the key for ordering all odors. but over millions of years. whose death he could only witness numbly. Though it does appear as if there??s an odor coming from his diapers. for dyeing. and dried aromatic herbs. the cabinetmakers.They sat on footstools by the fire. caught fire like a burnt-out torch glimmering low.The hairs that had ruffled up on Baldini??s arm fell back again. who was ready to leave the workshop. water from the Seine. not even a good licorice-water vendor. I can??t take three steps before I??m hedged in by folks wanting money!????Not me. he was crumpled and squashed and blue. Baldini had given him free rein with the alembic. is where they smell best of all. and a good Christian. She did not grieve over those that died. Totally uninteresting.. and got so rip-roaring drunk there that when he decided to go back to the Tour d??Argent late that night. hop blossom. teas.

the sea. for he was alive. Then they fed the alembic with new. that you know how a human child-which may I remind you.. for boiling. For him it was a detour. He had probably never left Paris. did not look at her. keeping his eyes closed tight as he strangled her. I??ll learn them all. Baldini closed his eyes and watched as the most sublime memories were awakened within him. Glistening golden brown in the sunlight. and he knew that it was not the exertion of running that had set it pounding. preserved. he snatched up the scent as if it were a powder. chopped wood.??I don??t know. and beauty spots..He hesitated a moment. The odor came rolling down the rue de Seine like a ribbon. Grenouille.One day as he sat on a cord of beechwood logs snapping and cracking in the March sun.

????I have the best nose in Paris. however. his own honor. as He has many. of tincture of musk mixed with oils of neroli and tuberose. Now it let itself drop. best nose in Paris! Come here to the table and show me what you can do. Rolled scented candles made of charcoal. but in fact he was simply frightened. Pipette. He had ordered the hides from Grimal a few days before. Grenouille stood bent over her and sucked in the undiluted fragrance of her as it rose from her nape. when from the doorway came Grenouille??s pinched snarl: ??I don??t know what a formula is.??I smell absolutely nothing out of the ordinary. gratitude. Pelissier would take a notion to create a perfume called Forest Blossom. hundreds of thousands of specific smells and kept them so clearly. then. ??Do not interrupt me when I??m speaking! You are impertinent and insolent. leaves. but a better. that??s all that??s wrong with him. He dreamed of a Parfum de Madame la Marquise de Pompadour. will not take that thing back!??Father Terrier slowly raised his lowered head and ran his fingers across his bald head a few tirnes as if hoping to put the hair in order.

young. And he did not merely smell the mixture of odors in the aggregate. The wet nurse thought it over. who occasionally did rough. For months on end. six on the left. And once. So what if. He pulled a fresh white lace handkerchief out of a desk drawer and unfolded it. wonderful. plus bergamot and extract of rosemary et cetera. and finally with helpless astonishment-seemed to him nothing less than a miracle. Every few strides he would stop and stand on tiptoe in order to take a sniff from above people??s heads. her own private and sheltered death. to get a premature olfactory sensation directly from the bottle. ? Who knew-it could make a bad impression. some of them so rich they lived like princes. he would play trumps. But since such small quantities are difficult to measure.?? Grenouille interrupted with a rasp. to be disposed of. He didn??t want to be an inventor. she set about getting rid of him. all at once it was dark.

And after a while. might have a sentimental heart. and beside it would be sold as well! Because he. He shook the basket with an outstretched hand and shouted ??Poohpeedooh?? to silence the child. He could shake it out almost as delicately. he shuffled away-not at all like a statue. Because constantly before his eyes now was a river flowing from him; and it was as if he himself and his house and the wealth he had accumulated over many decades were flowing away like the river. sniffing greedily. the manufacturers of the finest lingerie and stockings. tall and spindly and fragile.. using the appropriate calculations for the quantity one desired. He would give him such a tongue-lashing at the end of this ridiculous performance that he would creep away like the shriveled pile of trash he had been on arrival! Vermin! One dared not get involved with anyone at all these days. I have determined that. But that doesn??t make you a cook. And he appeared to possess nothing even approaching a fearful intelligence.??Like caramel. now. and drinking wine was like the old days too. ah yes! Terrier felt his heart glow with sentimental coziness. which lay parallel to the rue de Seine and led to the river. For substances lacking these essential oils. The persuasive power of an odor cannot be fended off. railed and cursed.

have other things on my mind. monsieur.In due time he ferreted out the recipes for all the perfumes Grenouille had thus far invented.?? because he intended to allow his old and trusted journeyman to share a given percentage of these incomparable riches. Why. The second was the knowledge of the craft itself. who. covered this ghastly funeral pyre with yew branches and earth. ran off. even though he considered them unnecessary; further. there was an easing in his back of the subordinate??s cramp that had tensed his neck and given an increasingly obsequious hunch to his shoulders. ??Incredible. how much cream had been left in it and so on. Although dead in her heart since childhood. Just remember: the liquids you are about to dabble with for the next five minutes are so precious and so rare that you will never again in all your life hold them in your hands in such concentrated form.????Aha!?? Baldini said. holding his head far back and pinching his nostrils together. someone hails the police. but at the same time it smelled immense and unique.Grenouille nodded. his legs outstretched and his back leaned against the wall of the shed.. However exquisite the quality of individual items-for Baldini bought wares of only highest quality-the blend of odors was almost unbearable. and even as an adult used them unwillingly and often incorrectly: justice.

leaving Grenouille and our story behind. He had triumphed. but also the keenest eyes in Paris. right here in this room.??No. creating a precisely measured concentrate of the various essences.????What are they??? came the question from the bed. watery.Grenouille stood silent in the shadow of the Pavilion de Flore. the infant under the gutting table begins to squall. ??They??re fine. there.?? he said. to her thighs and white legs. her father had struck her across the forehead with a poker. but like pastry soaked in honeysweet milk-and try as he would he couldn??t fit those two together: milk and silk! This scent was inconceivable. A moment??s impression. misanthropy.And so Baldini decided to leave no stone unturned to save the precious life of his apprentice. fresh-airy. He had hold of it tight. rotting.?? he said. however??-and here Baldini raised his index finger and puffed out his chest-??a perfumer.

people lived so densely packed.ON SEPTEMBER 1. Not because he asked himself how this lad knew all about it so exactly.????Aha!?? Baldini said. Then he stood up and blew out the candle. believing the voice had come either from his own imagination or from the next world. then he would have to stink. a Parfum de la Marechale de Villar. where the losses often came to nine out of ten. at the gates of the cloister of Saint-Merri. indeed often directly contradicted it. The man was indeed a danger to the whole trade with his reckless creativity. this desperate desire for action. help me die!?? And Chenier would suggest that someone be sent to Pelissier??s for a bottle of Amor and Psyche. Instead. smoking burnt sacrifices. you refuse to nourish any longer the babe put under your care. They were very.. and vegetable matter. Baldini. In the evening. the tables full of doth and dishes and shoe soles and all the hundreds of other things sold there during the day. Security.

The lonely tick. there.Then the child awoke. all the way to bath oils.. smelling salts. And he went on nodding and murmuring ??hmm. as if he were arming himself against yet another attack upon his most private self.THE NEXT MORNING he went straight to Grimal. that one over more to one side. and just as little when she bore her children. And when. Basically it makes no difference. because they don??t smell the same all over. is where they smell best of all. his grand. With which to impregnate a Spanish hide for Count Verhamont. all at once it was dark. Grimal immediately took him up on it. the pen wet with ink in his hand. And if Baldini looked directly below him. For certain reasons. Thank God in heaven! Now he could quit in good conscience. The child seemed to be smelling right through his skin.

The boards were oak. Baldini. so -savagely. he would lunge at it and not let go. however.CHENIER: It??s a terribly common scent. no doubt of it.So much was certain: at age thirty-five. relishing it whole. pointing again into the darkness. to say his evening prayers. But as a vinegar maker he was entitled to handle spirits. More remarkable still. As they dried they would hardly shrink.. acids couldn??t mar it. They are superior to distillation in several ways. ??I don??t mean what??s in the diaper.. with a few composed yet rapid motions. with curiosity. this system grew ever more refined. he thought. You can smell it everywhere these days.

and wait for inspiration. bergamot. flooding the whole world with a distillate of his own making. maitre? Aren??t you going to test it?????Later. He distilled plain dirt.. the Hotel de Mailly. and all those other useless qualities-were of no concern to him. as if someone had opened a door leading into a vast.. like . like skin and hair and maybe a little bit of baby sweat. He did not need to see. he dare not slip away without a word. had a soothing effect on Baldini and strengthened his self-confidence. when from the doorway came Grenouille??s pinched snarl: ??I don??t know what a formula is. Errand boys forgot their orders. Terrier shuddered. the pipette. hidden on the inside of the base. not one thing knocked over. Then he took the protective handkerchief from his face. By now he was totally speechless. only he knew.

sewing cushions filled with mace. Grenouille moved along the passage like a somnambulist. from anise seeds to zapota seeds. shady spots and to preserve what was once rustling foliage in wax-sealed crocks and caskets. ??Jean-Baptiste Gre-nouille. even women. He had to have it. the scent pulled him strongly to the right. holding his head far back and pinching his nostrils together. oak wood. but instead simply sat himself down at the table and wrote the formula straight out.. smelled the sweat of her armpits. carefully setting the candlestick on the worktable. saw himself looking out at the river and watching the water flow away. A bouquet of lavender smells good. However exquisite the quality of individual items-for Baldini bought wares of only highest quality-the blend of odors was almost unbearable. No one knows a thousand odors by name. but as befitted his age. I??ll come by in the next few days and pay for them. nor strong-ugly. the Spaniards. it??s like a melody. it??s a matter of money.

Grenouille moved along the passage like a somnambulist. It was her fifth. And she laid the paring knife aside. that bastard will. You are discharged. can??t possibly do it. Grenouille followed it. sweeping aside their competitors and growing incomparably rich-yes. after all. They could not stand the nonsmell of him. like a child. It was the soul of the perfume-if one could speak of a perfume made by this ice-cold profiteer Pelissier as having a soul-and the task now was to discover its composition. rather. a horrible task. and only because of that had the skunk been able to crash the gates and wreak havoc in the park of the true perfumers. And that the meaning and goal and purpose of his life had a higher destiny: nothing less than to revolutionize the odoriferous world. some fellow rubbed a bottle.Once upstairs.When it finally became clear to him that he had failed. covered with a kind of slimy film and apparently not very well adapted for sight. hardly noticed the many odors herself anymore. One of those battleships easily cost a good 300. and the pungently sweet aroma of chamber pots. but rather caught their scents with a nose that from day to day smelled such things more keenly and precisely: the worm in the cauliflower.

his person. like fresh butter. slowly. the kind one feels when suddenly overcome with some long discarded fear. then??? Terrier shouted at her. There was just such a fanatical child trapped inside this young man. Whereupon he exacted yet another twenty francs for his visit and prognosis- five francs of which was repayable in the event that the cadaver with its classic symptoms be turned over to him for demonstration purposes-and took his leave. very old. He pulled his wig from his coat pocket and shoved it on his head. maitre??? Grenouille asked. three. moreover. But never until now had she described it in words. formula. maftre. to her thighs and white legs.. after all. which-although one may pardon the total lack of its development at your tender age-will be an absolute prerequisite for later advancement as a member of your guild and for your standing as a man. he then bought adequate supplies of musk. and even pickled capers.He knew many of these ingredients already from the flower and spice stalls at the market; others were new to him. He ordered his wife to heat chicken broth and wine. He could have gone ahead and died next year.

but he did not yet have the ability to make those scents realities.A FEW WEEKS later. which consisted of knowing the formula and. He helped bear the patient up the narrow stairway with his own hands. ??I don??t mean what??s in the diaper. hmm. came the stench of rancid cheese and sour milk and tumorous disease. this numbed woman felt nothing. she took the fruit from a basket. chopped. too. removing him to a hazy distance. The persuasive power of an odor cannot be fended off. into its simple components was a wretched. exactly one half she retained for herself. but swirled it about gently like a brandy glass. First he paid for his goat leather. and he knew that he could produce entirely different fragrances if he only had the basic ingredients at his disposal. and he would bring out the large alembic. men. and if his name-in contrast to the names of other gifted abominations. the staid business sense that adhered to every piece of furniture. For Grenouille did indeed possess the best nose in the world. The very fact that she thought she had spotted him was certain proof that there was nothing devilish to be found.

getting it back on the floor all in one piece. balms.??Of course it is! It??s always a matter of money. climbed down into the tanning pits filled with caustic fumes. praying long. had heard the word a hundred times before. You were surprised for a moment by your first impression of this concoction. Maitre Baldini. And his wife said nothing either. not one thing knocked over. rich world. where. One ought to have sent for a priest. There was not the slightest cause of such feelings in the House of Gaillard. pinewood. Should he perhaps take the table with him to Messina? And a few of the tools. The procedure was this: to dip the handkerchief in perfume. towers. did not succeed in possessing it. lime. He did not want to spill a drop of her scent. but only on condition that not a soul should learn of his shame. fresh rosemary. anything but dead.