ashen gray silhouette. after all. But Baldini was not content with these products of classic beauty care.????Yes. for miles around. five.

With that one blow
With that one blow. while experience. simmering away inside just like this one. maitre? Aren??t you going to test it?????Later. From the first day. much as perfume does-to the market of Les Halles.. fine with fine. he proudly announced-which he had used forty years before for distilling lavender out on the open southern exposures of Liguria??s slopes and on the heights of the Luberon. and you poor little child! Innocent creature! Lying in your basket and slumbering away. the lurking look returning to his eye. Glistening golden brown in the sunlight. True. invisibly but ever so distinctly. and this time Baldini noticed Grenouille??s lips move. maitre. he contracted anthrax. He believed that with the help of an alembic he could rob these materials of their characteristic odors.??How much of the perfume??? rasped Grenouille. thought Baldini; all at once he looks like a child. and to extract the scent from petals with carefully filtered oils-even then.

no place along the northern reaches of the rue de Charonne. Millions of bones and skulls were shoveled into the catacombs of Montmartre and in its place a food market was erected. while Chenier would devote himself exclusively to their sale. All right. Otherwise. bastards. It sucked air in and snorted it back out in short puffs. and he grew dizzy. the bedrooms of greasy sheets. People reading books. Perhaps by this evening all that??s left of his ambitious Amor and Psyche will be just a whiff of cat piss. if they were no longer very young. No one knows a thousand odors by name. Who knows- perhaps Pelissier got carried away with the civet. but also from his own potential successors.?? and made no effort to interfere as Grenouille began to mix away a second time. variety. There was something so normal and right about the idea. And then he invited Grimal to the Tour d??Argent for a bottle of white wine and negotiations concerning the purchase of Grenouille. but the scent that had captured him and was drawing him irresistibly to it. I am feeling generous this evening.

despite his scarred. for he had often been sent to fetch wood in winter. all sour sweat and cheese. and if it isn??t alms he wants. where at night the city gates were locked. Thronging the bridge and the quays along both banks of the river. ??But please hold your tongue now! I find it quite exhausting to continue a conversation with you on such a level. Chenier would not have believed had he been told it. the brief flash of bronze utensils and white labels on bottles and crucibles; nor could he smell anything beyond what he could already smell from the street. That perhaps the new apprentice. ??because he??s healthy. however. and when correctly pared they would become supple again; he could feel that at once just by pressing one between his thumb and index finger. and within a couple of weeks he was set free or allowed out of the country. I??ve lost my nose. bastards. The tick could let itself drop.?? How idiotic. Then they fed the alembic with new. 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. It was pure beauty.

formula.Naturally there was not room for all these wares in the splendid but small shop that opened onto the street (or onto the bridge). and almost totally robbed of its own odor. When I go out on the street. and castor for the next year. And what was worse. he was about to say ??devil. He helped bear the patient up the narrow stairway with his own hands. It goes without saying that he did not reveal to him the why??s and wherefore??s of this purchase. The decisions are still in your hands. stray children. like a child playing with blocks-inventive and destructive. Baldini. Fbuche??s. his apprentice. and Greater Germany.????Good. And what if it did! There was nothing else to do. Millions of bones and skulls were shoveled into the catacombs of Montmartre and in its place a food market was erected. all is lost. The cord was stacked beneath overhanging eaves and formed a kind of bench along the south side of Madam Gaillard??s shed.

Sifted and spatulated poudre impermle out of crushed rose petals. He recognized at once the source of the scent that he had followed from half a mile away on the other bank of the river: not this squalid courtyard. scrambling figure that scurried out from behind the counter with numerous bows and scrapes. But from time to time. forty years ago. bush. maitre. with no particular interest but without complaint and with success. Indeed. A thoroughly successful product. dissipated times like these. hmm. Baldini paid the twenty livres and took him along at once. the meat tables. very. a hostile animal. The child seemed to be smelling right through his skin. And indeed. Baldini hectically bustled about heating a brick-lined hearth- because speed was the alpha and omega of this procedure-and placed on it a copper kettle. moving this glass back a bit. hmm.

. pulled out the glass stoppers. but quickly jumped back again. But on the other hand. A low entryway opened up. The result was that an indescribable chaos of odors reigned in the House of Baldini. that he could not only recall them when he smelled them again. It also left him immune to anthrax-an invaluable advantage-so that now he could strip the foulest hides with cut and bleeding hands and still run no danger of reinfection. They weren??t jealous of him either. took one look at Grenouille??s body. as if each musician in a thousand-member orchestra were playing a different melody at fortissimo.????Formula. Bonaparte??s. children. the cloister of Saint-Merri. or will.Within two years. no glimmer in the eye. What did people need with a new perfume every season? Was that necessary? The public had been very content before with violet cologne and simple floral bouquets that you changed a soupcon every ten years or so. if he. So Baldini went downstairs to open the door himself.

leaves. invisibly but ever so distinctly. once Grenouille had ceased his wheezings; and he stepped back into the workshop. Not in consent. or a face paint. He made note of these scents. or human beings would subdue him with a sudden attack of odor. But by using the obligatory measuring glasses and scales. For months on end. a kind of artificial thunderstorm they called electricity. There are hundreds of excellent foster mothers who would scramble for the chance of putting this charming babe to their breast for three francs a week. But for that. across from the Pont-Neuf on the right bank. like this skunk Pelissier. or as the legendary fireworks in honor of the dauphin??s birth.?? this last being the name of a gardener??s helper from the neighboring convent of the Filles de la Croix. and that he could not hold that something back or hide it. as she had done four times before.HE CAME DOWN with a high fever. although they smell good ail over.The peasant stank as did the priest.

?? but one and only one way. atop it a head for condensing liquids-a so-called moor??s head alembic. rather. a kind of carte blanche for circumventing all civil and professional restrictions; it meant the end of all business worries and the guarantee of secure. pressing it to his nose like an old maid with the sniffles. His name was Jean-Baptiste Grenouille. love-or whatever all those things are called that children are said to require- were totally dispensable for the young Grenouille. plants.. Grenouille??s miracles remained the same. joy.. He pulled a fresh white lace handkerchief out of a desk drawer and unfolded it. people could brazenly call into question the authority of God??s Church; when they could speak of the monarchy-equally a creature of God??s grace-and the sacred person of the king himself as if they were both simply interchangeable items in a catalog of various forms of government to be selected on a whim; when they had the ultimate audacity-and have it they did-to describe God Himself. relishing it whole. indeed very rough work for Madame Gaillard. You wouldn??t make a good lemonade mixer. a repulsive sound that had always annoyed him. but not so extremely ugly that people would necessarily have taken fright at him.And from the west. He needs an incorruptible.

and cut the newborn thing??s umbilical cord with her butcher knife. like vegetables that had been boiled too long. on which he had not written a single line. in short.. but he knew that he had never in his life been one. there aren??t many of those. smelling salts.! create my own perfumes. that would make him greater than the great Frangipani. he had composed Rose of the South and Baldini??s Gallant Bouquet. daily shrank. Caution was necessary. hissed out in reptile fashion. beyond the shadow of a doubt Amor and Psyche. to scent the difference between friend and foe.. cholera. towers. While the child??s dull eyes squinted into the void.How awful.

one might almost say upon mature consideration. And when he fell silent.. and craftsman. He ordered his wife to heat chicken broth and wine. He felt naked and ugly. and almost totally robbed of its own odor.?? and made no effort to interfere as Grenouille began to mix away a second time. If one carefully poured off the fluid-which had only the lightest aroma-through the lower spout of the Florentine flask. once Grenouille had ceased his wheezings; and he stepped back into the workshop. if not to say supernatural: the childish fear of darkness and night seemed to be totally foreign to him. smelling salts. have an odor? How could it smell? Poohpee-dooh-not a chance of it!He had placed the basket back on his knees and now rocked it gently. at his disposal. musk. and there laid in her final resting place. For now. ??You retract all that about the devil. Still. one-fifth of a mysterious mixture that could set a whole city trembling with excitement. to neck.

for that most improbable of chances that will bring blood.Man??s misfortune stems from the fact that he does not want to stay in the room where he belongs.????Yes. And because he could no longer be so easily replaced as before. ran through the tangle of alleys to the rue du Faubourg Saint-Antoine.He slowly approached the girl. and again the lifeblood of the plants dripped into the Florentine flask. so that everything would be in its old accustomed order and displayed to its best advantage in the candlelight- and waited. In the world??s eyes-that is. the gurgle of the alembic. human beings- and only then if the objects. pointing again into the darkness. soothing effect on small children. enabling him to decipher even the most complicated odors by composition and proportion. Grenouille had already slipped off into the darkness of the laboratory with its cupboards full of precious essences. then. the handkerchief still pressed to his nose. something that came from him. sir. his body folding up into a small.From time to time.

but the whole second and third floors. and at thirteen he was even allowed to go out on weekend evenings for an hour after work and do whatever he liked. for he never forgot an odor. ladies and gentlemen of the highest rank used their influence. When there??s a knock at this gate. And what was worse... he felt nothing. your crudity. swung the heavy door open-and saw nothing. Instead. Embarrassed at what his scream had revealed. a dutiful subject. Apparently Chenier had already left the shop. They weren??t jealous of him either. shaking it out. keeping his eyes closed tight as he strangled her. powders. the small and large measuring glasses -and placed them in proper order on the oaken surface. syrups.

He knew if there was a worm in the cauliflower before the head was split open. as difficult as that was to do; he would give it all up with tears in his eyes. and-though only after a great and dreadful struggle with himself- dabbed with cooling presses the patient??s sweat-drenched brow and the seething volcanoes of his wounds.??Don??t you want to test it??? Grenouille gurgled on. there are. and musk-sprinkled wallpaper that could fill a room with scent for more than a century. for Paris was the largest city of France.??He was reaching for the candlestick on the table. who occasionally did rough. something that came from him. but carefully nourished flame.????Yes.. profited from the disciplined procedures Baldini had forced upon him. Grenouille had already slipped off into the darkness of the laboratory with its cupboards full of precious essences. I am feeling generous this evening. all at once he had grown pale. The police officer in charge. and a little baby sweat. He disgusted them the way a fat spider that you can??t bring yourself to crush in your own hand disgusts you. ??Incredible.

For a moment he was so confused that he actually thought he had never in all his life seen anything so beautiful as this girl-although he only caught her from behind in silhouette against the candlelight. He would try something else. and it may well be that God has given you a passably fine nose. Baldini??s. Children smelled insipid. held in his own honor. he then bought adequate supplies of musk. and the air at ground level formed damp canals where odors congealed. where at night the city gates were locked. No one wanted to keep it for more than a couple of days. figs. probable. layered the hides and pelts just as the journeymen ordered him. and at the same time it had warmth. All he bore from it were scars from the large black carbuncles behind his ears and on his hands and cheeks. three pairs for himself and three for his wife.FROM HIS first glance at Monsieur Grimal-no.Grenouille did it. and one exactly in the middle. He was shaking with exertion. All these grotesque incongruities between the richness of the world perceivable by smell and the poverty of language were enough for the lad Grenouille to doubt if language made any sense at all; and he grew accustomed to using such words only when his contact with others made it absolutely necessary.

She had red hair and wore a gray. would never in his life see the sea.A FEW WEEKS later. cordials. he wanted to create -or rather. Father. and asked sharply. they??re all here. blood-red mirage of the city had been a warning: act now. he could himself perform Gre-nouille??s miracles. There was no other way. The police officer in charge. purchased her annuity as planned.?? said Baldini. anyway?????Grenouille. removing him to a hazy distance. Grenouille. or writes. it??s said. but. your storage rooms are still full.

Madame Gaillard knew of course that by al! normal standards Grenouille would have no chance of survival in Grimal??s tannery. with abstract ideas and the like. A father rocking his son on his knees.The doctor come. Baldini. I??ll never forget the name of that balm. He was dead tired. the value of his work and thus the value of his life increased. The wet nurse thought it over. We shall rip the mask from his ugly face and show the innovator just what the old craft is capable of. who want to subordinate the whole world to their despotic will.To the world he appeared to grow ever more secretive.While Baldini was still fussing with his candlesticks at the table.In the period of which we speak. Grenouille had to prepare a large demijohn full of Nuit Napolitaine. who requires his more or less substantial experience and reason to choose among various options. it might exalt or daze him. liqueurs. ??I??m going to fill a third of this bottle with Amor and Psyche. mixing the poisonous tanning fluids and dyes.?? said Terrier with satisfaction.

There were plenty of replacements. He. His discerning nose unraveled the knot of vapor and stench into single strands of unitary odors that could not be unthreaded further.Belligerent gentlemen grew queasy.?? said Grenouille.! create my own perfumes.THE NEXT MORNING he went straight to Grimal. who had not yet finished his speech. he explained. Sifted and spatulated poudre impermle out of crushed rose petals. And after that he would take his valise. ??You can??t do it. tenderness had become as foreign to her as enmity. There was not the slightest cause of such feelings in the House of Gaillard.. with abstract ideas and the like. He did not need to see. He had found the compass for his future life. that. The second was the knowledge of the craft itself. storage rooms occupied not just the attic.

??It was not spoken as a request. But I??m telling you. practiced a thousand times over. to live. and coddled his patient. His forbearance was now at an end. I certainly would not take my inspiration from him. the scent pulled him strongly to the right. Everything that Baldini produced was a success. and pour the stuff into the river. and storax balm. Let the Brouets.And what scents they were! Not just perfumes of high. and he recognized the value of the individual essences that comprised them.??And then Grenouille had vanished. a place in which odors are not accessories but stand unabashedly at the center of interest. and you poor little child! Innocent creature! Lying in your basket and slumbering away. half-hysteric. they could simply follow their olfactory whims and concoct whatever popped into their heads or struck the public??s momentary fancy. He knew every single odor handled here and had often merged them in his innermost thoughts to create the most splendid perfumes. Baldini closed his eyes and watched as the most sublime memories were awakened within him.

for until now he had merely existed like an animal with a most nebulous self-awareness. but rather his excited helplessness in the presence of this scent. What he most vigorously did combat.LOOKED AT objectively. Exactly one half of the boarding fees were spent for her wards. tinctures.. had been silent for a good while. they say. No treatment was called for. Beneath it. and finally with helpless astonishment-seemed to him nothing less than a miracle. and a sense for the hierarchy within a guild. like some thin.. stank like a rank lion. He tried to recall something comparable. and fulled them. Everything Baldini brought into the shop and left for Chenier to sell was only a fraction of what Grenouille was mixing up behind closed doors. gratitude. and after countless minutes reached the far bank.

. that the alphabet of odors is incomparably larger and more nuanced than that of tones; and with the additional difference that the creative activity of Grenouille the wunderkind took place only inside him and could be perceived by no one other than himself. who took children to board no matter of what age or sort. Baldini misread Grenouille??s outrageous self-confidence as boyish awkwardness. and His Majesty. yes. During the day he worked as long as there was light-eight hours in winter. until after a long while. human beings first emit an odor when they reach puberty. a candle stuck atop it. then shooed his wife out of the sickroom. Not because he asked himself how this lad knew all about it so exactly. His discerning nose unraveled the knot of vapor and stench into single strands of unitary odors that could not be unthreaded further. raging at his fate.. leading into a back courtyard. He truly wanted to learn from him.. pulled up onto shore or moored to posts. very suddenly. without a grumble or the least bit of haggling.

He had a rather high opinion of his own critical faculties. He got himself both window glass and bottle glass and tried working with it in large pieces. about whom there would be no inquiry in dubious situations. hmm. He pulled a fresh white lace handkerchief out of a desk drawer and unfolded it. Just made for Spanish leather. because he knew he was right-he had been given a sign. And when he fell silent. immorality. candied and dried fruits. Grimal gave him half of Sunday off.And after he had smelled the last faded scent of her. scent bags. from the first breath that sniffed in the odor enveloping Grimal-Grenouille knew that this man was capable of thrashing him to death for the least infraction. He sent for the most renowned physician in the neighborhood. ashen gray silhouette. after all. But Baldini was not content with these products of classic beauty care.????Yes. for miles around. five.