Perfume: The Story of a Murderer Page #4

Not least upon

Monsieur Grimal himself.

As for Giuseppe Baldini,

the acquisition of Grenouille

miraculously transformed

his dwindling business

even surpassing its former glory.

While at last, for Jean-Baptiste,

the mysterious secrets

of the perfumer's craft

began to unfold.

Now, pay careful attention

to what I tell you.

Just like a musical chord,

a perfume chord contains

four essences

or notes, carefully selected

for their harmonic affinity.

Each perfume contains three chords:

The head, the heart and the base,

necessitating twelve notes in all.

The head chord contains

the first impression,

lasting a few minutes

before giving way

to the heart chord,

the theme of the perfume,

lasting several hours.

Finally, the base chord,

the trail of the perfume,

lasting several days.

Mind you, the ancient Egyptians

believed that one can only create

a truly original perfume

by adding an extra note,

one final essence

that will ring out

and dominate the others.

Legend has it that an amphora

was once found in a pharaoh's tomb

and when it was opened

a perfume was released.

After all those thousands of years,

a perfume of such subtle

beauty and yet such power,

that for one single moment

every person on earth believed

they were in paradise.

Twelve essences could be identified,

but the 13th,

the vital one,

could never be determined.

Why not?

Why not?

What do you mean, why not?

Because it's a legend, numbskull!

What's a legend?

Never mind.

Jean-Baptiste.

Jean-Baptiste?

What's the matter?

Master,

I have to learn

how to capture scent.

What are you talking about?

I have to learn

how to capture scent

and reprise it forever.

You mean, preserve.

You have to teach me that.

All right.

Calm down, my boy.

Calm down.

We have work to do.

"The soul of beings is their scent."

You said that, master.

Did I?

I will make you

as many perfumes as you want

but you have to teach me

how to capture

the smell of all things.

Can you do that?

Well, naturally.

Then teach me

everything you know

and I'll make you the best

perfume in the whole world.

Imagine, Jean-Baptiste,

ten thousand roses to produce

one single ounce of essential oil.

Now, keep the air flowing or the

bottom petals will begin to stew

while I set up the alembic.

And take care not to damage them.

We have to let them go to their

deaths with their scent intact.

Perfect.

Now, help me

with the Moor's head.

Temperature is vital.

When the quicksilver is here,

the heat is precisely correct

and the oil will gradually rise.

Note this mechanism is a remarkable

invention of my own devising.

You will observe how cold water

is pumped through here

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