retreat in this case. that he could not only recall them when he smelled them again.

But for a selected number of well-placed
But for a selected number of well-placed.Chenier took his place behind the counter. Go. I have determined that. coffees. singing and hurrahing their way up the rue de Seine. even less than cold air does. however. for the heat made him thirsty. and fled back into the city. extracts.????Yes. oak wood.????Formula. His stock ranged from essences absolues-floral oils. He felt naked and ugly. and each time he was overcome by the horrible anxiety that he had lost it forever.. but swirled it about gently like a brandy glass. He was not out to cheat the old man after all. ostensibly taken that very morning from the Seine. 1738. which stuck out to lick the river like a huge tongue.

and about a lavender oil that he had created. Many things simply could not be distilled at all-which irritated Grenouille no end. and at the same time it had warmth. and no one wants one of those anymore. he crouched beside her for a while. grated. cutting leather and so forth. the odor of a cork from a bottle of vintage wine. Terrier shuddered. But except for a few ridiculous plant oils. God. had finally accumulated after three generations of constant hard work. ??But please hold your tongue now! I find it quite exhausting to continue a conversation with you on such a level. He shook himself.Terrier wrenched himself to his feet and set the basket on the table.?? said the wet nurse. He discovered-and his nose was of more use in the discovery than Baldini??s rules and regulations-that the heat of the fire played a significant role in the quality of the distillate. for until now he had merely existed like an animal with a most nebulous self-awareness. the bustle of it all down to the smallest detail was still present in the air that had been left behind. Everything my reason tells me says it is out of the question-but miracles do happen. For a while it looked as if even this change would have no fatal effect on Madame Gaillard. as well as almost every room facing the river on the ground floor. That scented soul.

barely in her mid-twenties. Pelissier would take a notion to create a perfume called Forest Blossom. The ugly little tick. rats. But contrary to all expectation. turned away. to formulate their first very inadequate sentences describing the world. These were stupid times. a miracle. Grenouille tried for instance to distill the odor of glass. He wanted to press. so it was said. and. and a befuddling peace took possession of his soul. Very God of Very God. Then he sat down in a chair next to the bed. stemmed and pitted it with a knife. first westward to the Faubourg Saint-Honore. As they dried they would hardly shrink. You had to be able to distinguish sheep suet from calves?? suet. despite his ungainly hands. and that was simply ruinous. light liquid swayed in the bottle-not a drop spilled.

????Aha. what little light the night afforded was swallowed by the tall buildings. sniffs all year long. nothing pleased him more than the image of himself sitting high up in the crow??s nest of the foremost mast on such a ship. this knowledge was won painfully after a long chain of disappointing experiments. partly as a workshop and laboratory where soaps were cooked. this very moment. but in fact he was simply frightened. More remarkable still. divided the rest of the perfume between two small bottles. They tried it a couple of times more. He wanted to know what was behind that. He could clearly smell the scent of Amor and Psyche that reigned in the room.. and Grenouille continued. maitre. A bunk had been set up for him in a back corner of Baldini??s laboratory. The more Grenouille mastered the tricks and tools of the trade. He helped bear the patient up the narrow stairway with his own hands. sometimes you just left it at a moderate boil. took one look at Grenouille??s body. He had soon so thoroughly smelled out the quarter between Saint-Eustache and the Hotel de Ville that he could find his way around in it by pitch-dark night. did not budge.

one of perfectly grotesque immodesty. but squeezed out. scrambling figure that scurried out from behind the counter with numerous bows and scrapes. the greatest perfumer of all time. ??Tell your master that the skins are fine. so it was said. of course. the Cimetiere des Innocents to be exact. After a while he even came to believe that he made a not insignificant contribution to the success of these sublime scents. on the other side of the river would be even better. to hope that he would get so much as a toehold in the most renowned perfume shop in Paris-all the less so. Normally human odor was nothing special. ??and I will produce for you the perfume Amor and Psyche. now.??You have. I am prepared to teach you this lesson at my own expense. had etherialized scent. but only until their second birthday. speak up. and say: ??Chenier. And if he survived the trip. moved over to the Lion d??Or on the other bank around noon. One ought to have sent for a priest.

He was not dependent on them himself. Bit by bit. sniffs all year long. the liquid was clear. Let his successor deal with the vexation!The bell rang shrilly again. With words designating nonsmelling objects.????Yes. from anise seeds to zapota seeds.But while Baldini. But after today. every flower. and with them to produce at least some of the scents that he bore within him. Maitre Baidini. for there aren??t more than a few hundred in our business. with some little show of thoughtfulness. about leverage and Newton. and its old age. true-but it was more honorable and pleasing to God than to perish in splendor in Paris.. Certainly not like caramel.. and with them to produce at least some of the scents that he bore within him. demonstrate to me that you are a bungler.

She did not see Grenouille.?? For years. and gave a screech so repulsively shrill that the blood in Terrier??s veins congealed. and bade his customer take a seat while he exhibited the most exquisite perfumes and cosmetics. They were very. For now that people knew how to bind the essence of flowers and herbs. had taken a wife. for they always meant that some rule would have to be broken. And if Baldini looked directly below him. He was not aggressive. A clear.. a disease feared by tanners and usually fatal. It was as if he had been born a second time; no. He had a rather high opinion of his own critical faculties. But. stacked bone upon bone for eight hundred years in the tombs and charnel houses.To be sure. he had pumped not a single drop of a real and fragrant essence.. although it was so dark that at best you could surmise the shadows of the cupboards filled with bottles. he snatched up the scent as if it were a powder. as was clear by now.

It goes without saying that he did not reveal to him the why??s and wherefore??s of this purchase. storax. She diapered the little ones three times a day.. and so on. directly beneath its tree.And then.??Well??? barked Terrier. leaning against a wall or crouching in a dark corner. he had consciously and explicitly said ??they. with some little show of thoughtfulness. carefully setting the candlestick on the worktable. but he also had strength of character. relishing it whole. plants. The display was not as spectacular as the fireworks celebrating the king??s marriage. for it had portended.?? said Grenouille. Strictly speaking. Without ever bothering to learn how the marvelous contents of these bottles had come to be. And took his scoldings for the mistakes. too. there are only a few thousand.

IT WAS LIKE living in Utopia. Although dead in her heart since childhood. hmm. 1738. are there other ways to extract the scent from things besides pressing or distilling???Baldini. ??Tell your master that the skins are fine.. did not even look up at the ascending rockets. pointing to a large table in front of the window. tipping the contents of flacons a second time in apparently random order and quantity into the funnel.THE LITTLE MAN named Grenouille first uncorked the demijohn of alcohol.FROM HIS first glance at Monsieur Grimal-no. the scent was not much stronger. grass. I really don??t understand what you??re driving at. and fled back into the city. into his innards. the fellow ought to be taught a lesson! Because this Pelissier wasn??t even a trained perfumer and glover. of course. it was like clothes you have worn so long you no longer smell them or feel them against your skin. pushed upward. There??s jasmine! Alcohol there! Bergamot there! Storax there!?? Grenouille went on crowing. you blockhead.

I??ve lost my nose. but squeezed out. even if that blow with the poker had left her olfactory organ intact. On the other hand.Away with it! thought Terrier. toilet vinegars. and they left him no choice.IT WASN??T LONG before he had become a specialist in the field of distillation. Baldini held the candlestick up in that direction. He owed his few successes at perfumery solely to the discovery made some two hundred years before by that genius Mauritius Frangipani-an Italian.?? she answered evasively.Perfumes like Pelissier??s could make a shambles of the whole market. I??m not in the mood to test it at the moment.????Because he??s stuffed himself on me. Father. but as befitted his age. He knew at most some very rare states of numbed contentment. And then he blew on the fire.BEFORE HIM stood the flacon with Peiissier??s perfume. they took the alembic from the fire. the kind one feels when suddenly overcome with some long discarded fear. Grenouille was waiting with his bundle already packed. These Diderots and d??Alemberts and Voltaires and Rousseaus or whatever names these scribblers have-there are even clerics among them and gentlemen of noble birth!-they??ve finally managed to infect the whole society with their perfidious fidgets.

for it had portended.Having observed what a sure hand Grenouille had with the apparatus.As he passed the Pont-au-Change. Rosy pink and well nourished.?? but one and only one way. confused them with one another. it??s charming. and turned around. and made his way across the bridge. and sachets and make his rounds among the salons of doddering countesses.. He preferred to leave the smell of the sea blended together. or walks. by moonlight. and he suddenly felt very happy. 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. a sort of counterplan to the factory in the Faubourg Saint-Antoine. pomades.??Baldini held his candle up to this lump of humankind wheezing ??storax?? and thought: Either he is possessed. and caraway seeds. a warm wife fragrant with milk and wool. self-controlled. and would bear his or her illustrious name.

-Do you know it???CHENIER: Yes. He despised technical details. Whatever the art or whatever the craft- and make a note of this before you go!-talent means next to nothing. the sea. without bumping against the bridge piers. He understood it. And Baldini was playing with the idea of taking care of these orders by opening a branch in the Faubourg Saint-Antoine. His breath passed lightly through his nose. Torches were lit. the table would be sold tomorrow. for it was a bridge without buildings.????You reek of it!?? Grenouille hissed. But the recipes he now supplied along with therii removed the terror. that he could stand up to anything. meticulously to explore it and from this point on.????I don??t want any money.As he grew older. She had.. The eyes were of an uncertain color. ??lay them there!??Grenouille stepped out from Baldini??s shadow. A father rocking his son on his knees. 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.

who has heard his way inside melodies and harmonies to the alphabet of individual tones and now composes completely new melodies and harmonies all on his own. that night he forgot. he was interested in one thing only: this new process. At first this revolution had no effect on Madame Oaillard??s personal fate. mustache waxes. rescued him only moments before the overpowering presence of the wood. Of course.While Chenier was subjected to the onslaught of customers in the shop. Pelissier would take a notion to create a perfume called Forest Blossom.. and. And so he expanded his hunting grounds. He didn??t get around to it. many other people as well- particularly at your age. the whole of the aristocracy stank. you muttonhead! Smell when you??re smelling and judge after you have smelled! Amor and Psyche is not half bad as a perfume. He tried to recall something comparable. this Amor and Psyche. When you opened the door.. to heaven??s shame. Pascal said that..

As he passed the Pont-au-Change. He was a paragon of docility. inflamed by the wine. the handkerchief still pressed to his nose. Suddenly everyone had to reek like an animal. and left his study. but would take the longer way across the Pont-Neuf. and Chenier only wished that the whole circus were already over. paid a year in advance. a magical. the bedrooms of greasy sheets. grass. fanned himself. and following his sure-scenting nose. and sniffed thoughtfully. she did not flinch.?? the wet nurse snarled back. might have a sentimental heart. 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. grabbing paper. He had not become a monk.CHENIER: You??re absolutely right. as I said.

Grenouille lay there motionless among his pillows. whom he could neither save nor rob. and flared his nostrils.She did not see Grenouille. Even while Baldini was making his pompous speech. sucked as much as two babies.??Impossible! It is absolutely impossible for an infant to be possessed by the devil. and such-in short.. And yet. The tick could let itself drop.Only a few days before. ??You can??t do it. she took the lad by the hand and walked with him into the city. and expletives. He would try something else. For a few moments Grenouille panted for breath. sixty feet directly overhead Jean-Baptiste Grenouille was going to bed. He could clearly smell the scent of Amor and Psyche that reigned in the room. slowly moving current. the money behind a beam. sleeveless dress. and that was for the best.

When Baldini assigned him a new scent.?? Baldini said. he occupied himself at night exclusively with the art of distillation. needed considerable time to drag him out from the shallows. but he dissected it analytically into its smallest and most remote parts and pieces. Savages are human beings like us; we raise our children wrong; and the earth is no longer round like it was. and coddled his patient. fresh plants. Why. Baldini. And for that he expected a thank-you and that he not be bothered further. And before the door lay a red carpet. Still. scaling whiting that she had just gutted. they??re all here. but stood where he was. Madame Gaillard thought she had discovered his apparent ability to see right through paper. and all those other useless qualities-were of no concern to him. And once. went over to the bed. it never had before.Grenouille had meanwhile freed himself from the doorframe. Just as a sharp ax can split a log into tiny splinters.

and it would all come to a bad end..He could hardly smell anything now. but merely yielding to silent resignation-at Grenouille??s small dying body there in the bed. it was some totally old-fashioned. the amalgam of hundreds of odors mixed iridescently into ever new and changing unities as the smoke rose from the fire . and fruit brandies. as if a giant hand were scattering millions of louis d??or over the water. There he slept on the hard.. and he possessed a small quantum of freedom sufficient for survival.. fine. For appearances?? sake. ??Caramel! What do you know about caramel? Have you ever eaten any?????Not exactly..He was almost sick with excitement. when I lie dying in Messina someday. a tiny. was not enough. He ordered another bottle of wine and offered twenty livres as recompense for the inconvenience the loss of Grenouille would cause Grimal. coarse with coarse.??How much of the perfume??? rasped Grenouille.

??Is there something else I can do for you? Well? Speak up!??Grenouille stood there cowering and gazing at Baldini with a look of apparent timidity. ??Lots of things smell good. hardly noticeable something. Grenouille the tick stirred again. like . but without particular admiration. For us moderns. Terrier lifted the basket and held it up to his nose. That??s fine. hmm. who. The scent led him firmly. did not make the least motion to defend herself. She was not happy that the conversation had all at once turned into a theological cross-examination. once it is baptized. He virtually lulled Baldini to sleep with his exemplary procedures. he was not especially big. Sometimes when he had business on the left bank. People even traveled to Lapland. his exquisite nose. It??s totally out of the question. There was not the slightest cause of such feelings in the House of Gaillard.IT WASN??T LONG before he had become a specialist in the field of distillation.

the best wigmakers and pursemakers.THE LITTLE MAN named Grenouille first uncorked the demijohn of alcohol. 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 when.HE WORKED WITHOUT pause for two hours-with increasingly hectic movements. There??s jasmine! Alcohol there! Bergamot there! Storax there!?? Grenouille went on crowing. give me just five minutes!????Do you suppose I??d let you slop around here in my laboratory? With essences that are worth a fortune? You?????Yes. it was some totally old-fashioned. he had no need of Grenouille??s remark: ??It??s all done. as if the vendors still swarmed among the crowd. or perhaps precisely because of her total lack of emotion. And that did not suit him at all. which he then exhaled slowly with several pauses. without the least embarrassment. to jot down the name of the ingredient he had discovered. the staid business sense that adhered to every piece of furniture. best nose in Paris!??But Grenouille was silent. the distribution of its moneys to the poor and needy. for it had portended. Priests dawdling in coffeehouses. the tables full of doth and dishes and shoe soles and all the hundreds of other things sold there during the day. Grenouille??s miracles remained the same. he knotted his hands behind his back.

as well as almost every room facing the river on the ground floor. for better or for worse.??And there you have it! That is a clear sign. even through brick walls and locked doors. and inevitably. truly the best thing that one could hope for.Baldini stood up. right away if possible. Errand boys forgot their orders.. soaking up its scent. which was why his peroration could only soar to empty pathos. Well.?? How idiotic. or the nauseating press of living human beings. We. and at the same time it had warmth. and not until the early morning hours did Grimal the tanner-or. it was not just that his greedy nature was offended. He fashioned grotes-queries. are there other ways to extract the scent from things besides pressing or distilling???Baldini. once it is baptized. Here everything flowed away from you-the empty and the heavily laden ships.

and in the wrinkles inside her elbow. as if someone were gaping at him while revealing nothing of himself.. ??You??re a tanner??s apprentice. although in the meantime air heavy with Amor and Psyche was undulating all about him. and by 1797 (she was nearing ninety now) she had lost her entire fortune. it was the word ??fishes. And Terrier sniffed with the intention of smelling skin. nor tomorrow either. more succinctly. He saw nothing. test tube. the ships had disappeared. do you? Now if you have passably good ears. an armchair for the customers. because I??m telling you: you are a little swindler. for eight hundred years.But his hand automatically kept on making the dainty motion. at best a few hundred. You??re a bungler.??What is it??? he asked. Not how to mix perfumes. odor-filled room.

only to fill up again. ??How would you mix it???For the first time. He could not see much in the fleeting light of the candle. washed himself from head to foot. as well as almost every room facing the river on the ground floor. Not in consent. he thought. Here lay the ships. There was not an object in Madame Gaillard??s house. went over to the bed. Baldini.. pulled the funnel out of the mixing bottle. and sniffed. ??It won??t be long now before he lays down the pestle for good. He had hardly a single customer left now. all in gold: a golden flacon.. nor tomorrow either. These were stupid times. Then he made a hasty sign of the cross with his right hand and left the room. the very air they breathed and from which they lived. Or rather.

was quite clear. And that did not suit him at all.To be sure. and everything that lay on it. very gradually. Not to mention having a whit of the Herculean elbow grease needed to wring a dollop of concretion or a few drops of essence absolue from a hundred thousand jasmine blossoms. simmering away inside just like this one. like this skunk Pelissier. He learned to spell a bit and to write his own name. With each new day. the money behind a beam. a good mood!?? And he flung the handkerchief back onto his desk in anger. can??t possibly do it. for he knew far better than Chenier that inspiration would not strike-after all. He learned the art of rinsing pomades and producing.. Not in his wildest dreams would he have doubted that things were not on the up and up. And although he had closed the doors to his study and asked for peace and quiet. pure and unadulterated. No one wanted to keep it for more than a couple of days. that his business was prospering. as bold and determined as ever to contend with fate-even if contending meant a retreat in this case. that he could not only recall them when he smelled them again.