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Grenouille grabbed apparently at randolass stoppers, held the contents under his nose for an instant, splashed a bit of one bottle, dribbled a drop or two of another, poured a dash of a third into the funnel, and so on Pipette, test tube, lass, spoons and rods—all the utensils that allow the perfu—Grenouille did not so le one of the like a child busy cooking up sorass, and mud, which he then asserts to be soup Yes, like a child, thought Baldini; all at once he looks like a child, despite his ungainly hands, despite his scarred, pockmarked face and his bulbous old-man’s nose I took hier to me; he looks as if he were three or four; looks just like one of those unapproachable, incomprehensible, willful little prehuman creatures, who in their ostensible innocence think only of themselves, ant to subordinate the whole world to their despotic will, and would do it, too, if one let thealoical principles to guide them to a disciplined, self-controlled, fully human existence There was just such a fanatical child trapped inside this young otten everything around hi else in the laboratory but himself and these bottles that he tipped into the funnel with nimble aardness to mix up an insane brew that he would confidently swear—and would truly believe!—to be the exquisite perfume Amor and Psyche Baldini shuddered as he watched the fellow bustling about in the candlelight, so shockingly absurd and so shockingly self-confident In the old days—so he thought, and for a moment he felt as sad andout onto the city glowing ruddy in the twilight—in the old days people like that simply did not exist; he was an entirely new specimen of the race, one that could arise only in exhausted, dissipated tiht his lesson, the i at the end of this ridiculous performance that he would creep away like the shriveled pile of trash he had been on arrival! Veret involved with anyone at all these days, the world was si with absurd vermin!

Baldini was so busy with his personal exasperation and disgust at the age that he did not really comprehend as intended when Grenouille suddenly stoppered up all the flacons, pulled the funnel out of the ht hand, capped it with the palorously Only when the bottle had been spun through the air several ti back and forth like lemonade between belly and neck, did Baldini let loose a shout of rage and horror “Stop it!” he screeched “That’s enough! Stop it this moment! Basta! Put that bottle back on the table and don’t touch anything else, do you understand, nothing else! I ibberish The way you handle these things, your crudity, your priler, a barbaric bungler, and a beastly, cheeky, snot-nosed brat besides You wouldn’t ood licorice-water vendor, let alone a perfurateful and content that yourfluids! Do not dare it ever again, do you hear ain to set a foot across the threshold of a perfumer’s shop!”

Thus spoke Baldini And even as he spoke, the air around him was saturated with the odor of Aer than that of words, appearances, emotions, or will The persuasive power of an odor cannot be fended off, it enters into us like breath into our lungs, it fills us up, imbues us totally There is no remedy for it

Grenouille had set down the bottle, re it on his shirttail One, two steps back—and the cluether under Baldini’s tirade sent enough waves rolling out into the roo more was needed True, Baldini ranted on, railed and cursed, but with every breath his outward show of rage found less and less inner nourish, which hy his peroration could only soar to eood while, he had no need of Grenouille’s remark: “It’s all done” He knew that already

But nevertheless, although in theall about him, he stepped up to the old oak table to make his test He pulled a fresh snohite lace handkerchief from his coat pocket, the left one, unfolded it and sprinkled it with a few drops that he extracted fro pipette He waved the handkerchief with outstretched arm to aerate it and then pulled it past his nose with the delicate, well-practiced ain in little puffs, he sat down on a stool Where before his face had been bright red with erupting anger, all at once he had grown pale “Incredible,” he murmured softly to himself, “by God—incredible” And he pressed the handkerchief to his nose again and again and sniffed and shook his head and muttered, “Incredible” It was Amor and Psyche, beyond the shadow of a doubt Aenious blend of scents, so exactly copied that not even Pélissier hiuish it from his own product “Incredible …”

S ridiculous with handkerchief in hand, pressing it to his nose like an old maid with the sniffles By noas totally speechless He didn’t even say “incredible” any at the contents of thebottle, could only let out a monotone “Hmm, hmm, hmm … hmm, hmm, hmm … h up to the table soundlessly as a shadow

“It’s not a good perfuether very bad, this perfume has”

“Hmm, hmm, hmm,” said Baldini, and Grenouille continued, “If you’ll let me, maître, I’ll make it better Give me a minute and I’ll make a proper perfume out of it!”

“Hmm, hmm, hmm,” said Baldini and nodded Not in consent, but because he was in such a helplessly apathetic condition that he would have said “h and“hmm, han tothe alcohol froht on top of the perfu the contents of flacons a second time in apparently random order and quantity into the funnel Only at the end of the procedure—Grenouille did not shake the bottle this tilass, perhaps in deference to Baldini’s delicacy, perhaps because the contents seemed more precious to him this time—only then, as the liquid whirled about in the bottle, did Baldini awaken from his numbed state and stand up, the handkerchief still pressed to his nose, of course, as if he were arainst yet another attack upon his most private self

“It’s all done, ood scent”

“Yes, yes, fine, fine,” Baldini replied and waved him off with his free hand

“Don’t you want to test it?” Grenouille gurgled on “Don’t you want to,to test it?”

“Later I’s on my mind Go now! Come on!”

And he picked up one of the candlesticks and passed through the door into the shop Grenouille followed him They entered the narrow hallway that led to the servants’ entrance The old man shuffled up to the doorway, pulled back the bolt, and opened the door He stepped aside to let the lad out

“Can’t I come to work for you,on the threshold, hunched o

ver again, the lurking look returning to his eye

“I don’t know,” said Baldini “I shall think about it Go”