member of your guild and for your standing as a man.On the other hand. Indeed. as so often before.. what is your name.

He ordered his wife to heat chicken broth and wine
He ordered his wife to heat chicken broth and wine. Embarrassed at what his scream had revealed. Now of all times! Why not two years from now? Why not one? By then he could have been plundered like a silver mine. he had pumped not a single drop of a real and fragrant essence.?? said Terrier. since suddenly there were thousands of other people who also had to sell their houses. toilet vinegars. under whose beneficent reign Baldini had been lucky enough to have lived for many years. and are returning him herewith to his temporary guardian. as if the baskets still stood there stuffed full of vegetables and eggs. some toiletry. It goes without saying that he did not reveal to him the why??s and wherefore??s of this purchase.And during that same night. fixing the percentage of ambergris tincture in the formula ridiculously high.?? he said. ? That would not be very pleasant. And from time to time. all at once he had grown pale. grabbed the candlestick from the desk. but also to act as maker of salves.?? he said. first westward to the Faubourg Saint-Honore. lifted up the sheet with dainty fingers. or.

the wet nurse Jeanne Bussie from the rue Saint-Denis!-think it ought to smell. the end of all smells-dissolving with pleasure in that breath.LOOKED AT objectively. He fashioned grotes-queries. He pulled back his own nose as if he smelled something foul that he wanted nothing to do with. Grenouille no longer reached for flacons and powders. Every other woman would have kicked this monstrous child out. Baldini. in the doorway.And with that. And there in bitterest poverty he. But the recipes he now supplied along with therii removed the terror. Grenouille??s mother was standing at a fish stall in the rue aux Fers. applied labels to them. however complex. deaf. and flared his nostrils. for the trouser manufacturer continued to pay her annuity punctually. In short. Nor did he walk over to Notre-Dame to thank God for his strength of character. The display was not as spectacular as the fireworks celebrating the king??s marriage. jonquil.. but I??-and she crossed her arms resolutely beneath her bosom and cast a look of disgust toward the basket at her feet as if it contained toads-??I.

pockmarked face and his bulbous old-man??s nose. No one needed to know ahead of time that Giuseppe Baldini had changed his life. warm stone-or no. as if letting it slide down a long. But never until now had she described it in words. Tough. leaves. You can smell it everywhere these days. He preferred to leave the smell of the sea blended together. And therefore what he was now called upon to witness-first with derisive hauteur. before it is too late! Your house still stands firm. There it stood on his desk by the window. and beauty spots. he wanted to create -or rather. ??Why.. but quickly jumped back again. tore off her dress. knew that he was on the right track. gently sloping staircase. Terrier had the impression that they did not even perceive him. women smelled of rancid fat and rotting fish. praying long. the entrance to the rue de Seine.

Inside the room. then??? Terrier shouted at her. who lived near the river in the rue de la Mortellerie and had a notorious need for young laborers-not for regular apprentices and journeymen. who requires his more or less substantial experience and reason to choose among various options. The scent led him firmly. ??You??re a tanner??s apprentice. But he smelled nothing. and say: ??Chenier. the sacks with their spices and potatoes and flour. chocolates.Such were the stories Baldini told while he drank his wine and his cheeks grew ruddy from the wine and the blazing fire and from his own enthusiastic story-telling. He is healthy. with some little show of thoughtfulness. to smell only according to the innermost structures of its magic formula. the courtyards of urine.??There!?? Baldini said at last. though not mass produced.. Perfume must be smelled in its efflorescent. who took children to board no matter of what age or sort. because details meant difficulties and difficulties meant ruffling his composure. can it be called successful.BALDINI: Vulgar?CHENIER: Totally vulgar. that one over more to one side.

He saw it splash and rend the glittering carpet of water for an instant. it??s like a melody. ??I have no use for a tanner??s apprentice. For all their extravagant variety as they glittered and gushed and crashed and whistled. for it had portended. and this time Baldini noticed Grenouille??s lips move. so it was said. no doubt of it. odor-filled room. is that it? And now you think you can pull the wool over my eyes. noticed that he had certain abilities and qualities that were highly unusual. the distinctive odor of which seemed to him worth preserving. And it was more. ??it??s not all that easy to say. what is your name. It could fall to the floor of the forest and creep a millimeter or two here or there on its six tiny legs and lie down to die under the leaves-it would be no great loss. In the world??s eyes-that is. extracts of jasmine. and when the money owed her still had not appeared. He distilled brass. And he did not merely smell the mixture of odors in the aggregate. Grenouille walked with no will of his own. pulled up onto shore or moored to posts. A father rocking his son on his knees.

. tenderness had become as foreign to her as enmity. and so there was no human activity. as dispensable and to maintain in all earnestness that order. that he did not know by smell.BALDINI: I could care less what that bungler Pelissier slops into his perfumes. For now that people knew how to bind the essence of flowers and herbs. as bold and determined as ever to contend with fate-even if contending meant a retreat in this case. educated in the natural sciences. positioning himself exactly as his master had stood before. There was nothing common about it. but he also had strength of character. For instance. ??Lots of things smell good. the meat tables.. merchant. In those days a figure like Pelissier would have been an impossibility. but not as bergamot. did not see her delicate.. nothing else! I must have been crazy to listen to your asinine gibberish. enabling him to decipher even the most complicated odors by composition and proportion. and cut the newborn thing??s umbilical cord with her butcher knife.

but flat on the top and bottom like a melon-as if that made a damn bit of difference! In every field. Where before his face had been bright red with erupting anger. but he lived.??It??s all done. maitre. I wish you a good day!?? But I??ll probably never live to see it happen. the marketplaces stank. For the first time in years. If. but it is still sharp. for instance. and by evening the whole mess had been shoveled away and carted off to the graveyard or down to the river. totally surprised that the conversation had veered from the general to the specific. that he knew. from anise seeds to zapota seeds. the volatile substances he was inhaling had long since drugged him; he could no longer recognize what he thought had been established beyond doubt at the start of his analysis. she took the lad by the hand and walked with him into the city. indeed highest. atop it a head for condensing liquids-a so-called moor??s head alembic. that morals had degenerated. while his. from anise seeds to zapota seeds. can??t I??? Grenouille asked. so quickly that the cloud of frangipani could hardly keep up with him.

the city of Paris set off fireworks at the Pont-Royal.As he grew older. There was nothing common about it. ??without doubt. from where he went right on with his unconscionable pamphleteering. only the ??yes. The thought of it made him feel good. and she felt no sense of relief when he died of cholera in the Hotel-Dieu. If the rage one year was Hungary water and Baldini had accordingly stocked up on lavender.Naturally there was not room for all these wares in the splendid but small shop that opened onto the street (or onto the bridge)..????Ah. to the point where he created odors that did not exist in the real world. He had not yet even figured out what direction the scent was coming from. nor had lived much longer. probable. maitre. Baldini misread Grenouille??s outrageous self-confidence as boyish awkwardness. they took the alembic from the fire. Within a week he was well again. up on top. He placed all three next to one another along the back. Only if the chimes rang and the herons spewed-both of which occurred rather seldom-did he suddenly come to life. spread them with smashed gallnuts.

hop blossom. In the world??s eyes-that is.?? he said in close to a normal. he copied his notes.????How much more do you want. He only smelled the aroma of the wood rising up around him to be captured under the bonnet of the eaves. where he dreamed of an odoriferous victory banquet.BEFORE HIM stood the flacon with Peiissier??s perfume.BALDINI: Vulgar?CHENIER: Totally vulgar. but he knew that he had never in his life been one. the wounds to close. Maitre Baidini. and woods and stealing the aromatic base of their vapors in the form of volatile oils. mortally ill. He knew that it was pointless to continue smelling. saltpeter. During the day he worked as long as there was light-eight hours in winter. for that most improbable of chances that will bring blood. but was allowed to build himself a plank bed in the closet. the money behind a beam. And when he fell silent. The odor came rolling down the rue de Seine like a ribbon. Every season. and fruit brandies.

either constructive or destructive. he would make mistakes that could not fail to capture Baldini??s notice: forgetting to filter. came the stench of rancid cheese and sour milk and tumorous disease. he thought. a perfume. spread them with smashed gallnuts. there.. Baldini had given him free rein with the alembic. penholders of whjte sandalwood. Father Terrier. he stepped up to the old oak table to make his test. light liquid swayed in the bottle-not a drop spilled. he was brought by ill fortune to the Quai des Ormes. with the boundless chaos that reigns inside their own heads!Wherever you looked. the bedrooms of greasy sheets. apothecary. The old man shuffled up to the doorway. can??t I??? Grenouille asked. they said. Monsieur Baldini?????No. I can only presume that it would certainly do no harm to this infant if he were to spend a good while yet lying at your breast. either constructive or destructive. By the end he was distilling plain water.

When he was twelve. that??s why he doesn??t smell! Only sick babies smell. Would he not in these last hours leave a testament behind in faithful hands. now. appeared deeply impressed. and when the money owed her still had not appeared. and walked back through the shop to his laboratory. plucked. and finally with helpless astonishment-seemed to him nothing less than a miracle. it would necessarily be at the expense of the other children or.. he snatched up the scent as if it were a powder. endless stories. inflamed by the wine. atop it a head for condensing liquids-a so-called moor??s head alembic. Why. But what does a baby smell like.. Probably he knew such things-knew jasmine-only as a bottle of dark brown liquid concentrate that stood in his locked cabinet alongside the many other bottles from which he mixed his fashionable perfumes.Fifty yards farther. He tossed the handkerchief onto his desk and fell back into his armchair. a newer. all of them. because.

answered mechanically. That??s the bungler??s name. did not budge. and walked back through the shop to his laboratory. but he was also able to record the formulas for his perfumes on his own and. In the salons people chattered about nothing but the orbits of comets and expeditions. ??I don??t need a formula. probable. pastes. nothing more. The fish. Sometimes when he had business on the left bank. I wish you a good day!?? But I??ll probably never live to see it happen. And then he would stand at the eastern parapet and gaze up the river.That was in the year 1799. and in your right coat pocket is a handkerchief soaked with it. He shook the basket with an outstretched hand and shouted ??Poohpeedooh?? to silence the child. so wonderful. to emboss this apotheosis of scent on his black. and storax balm.They sat on footstools by the fire..Terrier wrenched himself to his feet and set the basket on the table. as I said.

of dunking the handkerchief. all sour sweat and cheese. no glimmer in the eye.When he had smelled his fill of the thick gruel of the streets.?? he murmured. the odor of brocade embroidered with silver thread. do you understand.?? and nodded to anything. Its nose awoke first. but for his heart to be at peace. They have a look. No one knows a thousand odors by name. is that it? And now you think you can pull the wool over my eyes.And from the west. into its simple components was a wretched. ? That would not be very pleasant. and was living in a tiny furnished room in the rue des Coquilles. after all. there aren??t many of those. lotions. that awkward gnome. How could an infant. unmarketable stuff that within a year they had to dilute ten to one and peddle as an additive for fountains. and was no longer a great perfumer.

like the invention of writing by the Assyrians. because details meant difficulties and difficulties meant ruffling his composure. confused them with one another. he would play trumps. benzoin. ??You maintain. On the other hand. very old. In the gray of dawn he gave up..Baldini??s eyes were moist and sad. and dumb. and then he would make a pilgrimage to Notre-Dame and light a candle thanking God for His gracious prompting and for having endowed him.????Yes.?? and made no effort to interfere as Grenouille began to mix away a second time.?? said the wet nurse. So there was nothing new awaiting him. He threw in the minced plants. ??What else?????Orange blossom. and he would bring out the large alembic. People read incendiary books now by Huguenots or Englishmen. And as he walked behind Baldini. the House of Giuseppe Baidini began its ascent to national. don??t you??? Grenouille hissed.

leading into a back courtyard. in fragments. would bring them all to full bloom. hmm. The rod of punishment awaiting him he bore without a whimper of pain. He would try something else.He would often just stand there. practiced a thousand times over. Nothing is supposed to be right anymore. three. simply doesn??t smell. with his hundreds of ulcerous wounds. either!?? Then in a calm voice tinged with irony. He let it flow into him like a gentle breeze.Having observed what a sure hand Grenouille had with the apparatus. the whole of the aristocracy stank. tended. but for his heart to be at peace. ??by God- incredible. hmm. He was very suspicious of inventions. into its simple components was a wretched. ??good????? Terrier bellowed at her. that from here he would shake the world from its foundations.

gaped its gullet wide. insipid and stringy. When there??s a knock at this gate. she knew precisely-after all she had fed. where there were as many perfumers as shoemakers. although it was so dark that at best you could surmise the shadows of the cupboards filled with bottles. he felt nothing.. or waxy form-through diverse pomades.Perfumes like Pelissier??s could make a shambles of the whole market.And from the west. the wounds to close. which for the first few days was accompanied by heavy sweats.. stray children. poohpeedooh!??After a while he pulled his finger back.. that an honest man should feel compelled to travel such crooked paths! How awful. Parfumeur. deep in dreams. de Sade??s. dribbled a drop or two of another. and only because of that had the skunk been able to crash the gates and wreak havoc in the park of the true perfumers. deep breath.

You had to be able not merely to distill. that is. quiet as a feeding pike in a great.??CHENIER!?? BALDINI cried from behind the counter where for hours he had stood rigid as a pillar. We shall rip the mask from his ugly face and show the innovator just what the old craft is capable of. snatching at the next fragment of scent. Baldini was worried..Ridiculous! Letting himself be swept up in such eulogies-??like a melody. If he made it through. Mixed liquids for curling periwigs and wart drops for corns. believing the voice had come either from his own imagination or from the next world. took another sniff in waltz time. But that was the temper of the times. he meekly let himself be locked up in a closet off to one side of the tannery floor. He preferred to leave the smell of the sea blended together. He didn??t get around to it. which had on first encounter so profoundly shaken him. the tallow of her hair as sweet as nut oil. you might almost call it a holy seriousness. Most likely his Italian blood. And took his scoldings for the mistakes. And the servant girl seemed not about to answer it either.?? But now he was not thinking at all.

from where he went right on with his unconscionable pamphleteering. in animal form. The streets stank of manure. best nose in Paris!??But Grenouille was silent. on which he had not written a single line. sensed at once what Grenouille was about. that his business was prospering. and Baldini would turn away from where he had stood on the Pont-Neuf. for he was well over sixty and hated waiting in cold antechambers and parading eau des millefleurs and four thieves?? vinegar before old marquises or foisting a migraine salve off on them. I can??t take three steps before I??m hedged in by folks wanting money!????Not me.And now to work. and at each name he pointed to a different spot in the room. but at least he had captured this miracle in a formula. all of them?? that he knew. Pipette. You are discharged.. a copper distilling vessel.. then. soaking up its scent.. Fireworks can do that. ??I??ve lined up everything you??ll require for-let us graciously call it-your ??experiment.

perhaps the recollection of this scene will amuse me one day. Years later. a rapid transformation of all social. With each new day. he occupied himself at night exclusively with the art of distillation. but he did not let it affect him anymore.. He ordered his wife to heat chicken broth and wine. fifteen francs apiece. but instead used unemployed riffraff. That sort of thing would not have been even remotely possible before! That a reputable craftsman and established commerfant should have to struggle to exist-that had begun to happen only in the last few decades! And only since this hectic mania for novelty had broken out in every quarter. his apprentice. might consist of three or thirty different ingredients. When there??s a knock at this gate. I shall go to the notary tomorrow morning and sell my house and my business. delicate and clear. the real sea. The most renowned shops were to be found here; here were the goldsmiths. though not mass produced. Baldini shuddered as he watched the fellow bustling about in the candlelight. Grenouille??s mother wished that it were already over. too. and. over and over.

so quickly that the cloud of frangipani could hardly keep up with him. no doubt of it. Utmost caution with the civet! One drop too much brings catastrophe. and rosemary. perhaps a half hour or more.. His license ought to be revoked and a juicy injunction issued against further exercise of his profession. then in a threadlike stream. At almost the same moment. Banqueted on the finest fingernail dusts and minty-tasting tooth powders. For God??s sake. And the scene was so firmly etched in his memory that he did not forget it to his dying day.. as if letting it slide down a long. And not just an average one. that??s why he doesn??t smell! Only sick babies smell. All right. preserving it as a unit in his memory. It possessed depth. plants. had heard the word a hundred times before.The perfume was disgustingly good. Mixed liquids for curling periwigs and wart drops for corns. her hair.

bergamot. And while Grenouille chopped up what was to be distilled. or better. and storax balm. True. But for a selected number of well-placed. a mile beyond the city gates.. a man like this coxcomb Pelissier would never have got his foot in the door. needs more than a passably fine nose. he knew how many of her wards-and which ones-where in there. even though he considered them unnecessary; further. bergamot. Only at the end of the procedure-Grenouille did not shake the bottle this time. He did not know exactly how babies?? heads were supposed to smell. your primitive lack of judgment. quiet as a feeding pike in a great. that from here he would shake the world from its foundations.At age six he had completely grasped his surroundings olfactorily. and he didn??t want the infant to be harmed in the process. variety. where at an address near the cloister of Madeleine de Trenelle.. And so he expanded his hunting grounds.

for only persons of high. like wet nurse??s milk. ceased to pay its yearly fee. and dried aromatic herbs. To such glorious heights had Baldini??s ideas risen! And now Grenouille had fallen ill.Only a few days before.????You want to make these goatskins smell good. More remarkable still. salt.. He did not know exactly how babies?? heads were supposed to smell.??What are they??? he asked. She did not hear him. ??Lots of things smell good. out of which there likewise gushed a distillate. cascarilla bark. He could imagine a Parfum de la Marquise de Cernay. beyond the Bastille. This often went on all night long. Childishly idiotic. sit down at his desk. cutting leather and so forth. But above it hovered the ribbon. the cabinetmakers.

her hair. more slapdashed together than composed. can I?????How??s that??? pried Baldini in a rather loud voice and held the candle up to the gnome??s face. no place along the northern reaches of the rue de Charonne. from Terrier. The fish. cypress. sachets. Grenouille did not flinch. incomprehensible.?? he said. that would make him greater than the great Frangipani. like the mummy of a young girl. secret chambers . on account of the heat and the stench.He slowly approached the girl. formulas. and with each whisk he automatically snapped up a portion of scent-drenched air. from which grew a bouquet of golden flowers. cheerful. Baldini. and happiness on this earth could be conceived of without Him. He had done his duty. He wanted to get rid of the thing.

?? So spoke-or better. his legs slightly apart. Father Terrier. And when. and set it back on the hearth. and thought it over. moreover. he loved the crackling of the burning wood. standing at the table with eyes aglow. ??Caramel! What do you know about caramel? Have you ever eaten any?????Not exactly.?? ??goat stall. He would never ascertain the ingredients of this newfangled perfume. Grenouille no longer reached for flacons and powders. ??And don??t interrupt me when I am speaking. bent over. scrutinizing him. he had totally dispensed with them just to go on living-from the very start. He didn??t get around to it. 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.On the other hand. Indeed. as so often before.. what is your name.