Muñeca nocturna - Capítulo 28
This caught their attention. The Marquis then had word spread that Grenouille had left Montpellier and returned to Paris with his permission.
Li was handling family matters. But secretly he was extremely annoyed, because he had already planned a trip with Grenouille.
He traveled throughout France in order to gain followers to support his gas theory.
After some time, he calmed down, because even without going on trips, he hardly needed to do anything himself.
Through hard work, his reputation spread. A lengthy paper on the deadly gas Tayad was published in the journal *Science*.
According to the Russian messenger newspaper, many patients infected with a deadly gas have traveled long distances seeking medical treatment. The land was built in the summer of 1764.
The first "Vital Gas Freemasonry Chapter" was established, which had 120 members in Montpellier and in Marcel.
There were branches in Sai and Lyon. Later, he decided to go to Paris so that he could start from there to win over the entire civilized world.
While he had the support of the theory, to promote his expedition, he first needed to accomplish a great gaseous project.
It overshadowed all other experiments on healing cavemen, and in early December, he was led by a group of fearless...
Accompanied by his disciples, they set off for Mount Canigg, which lies on the same longitude as Paris and is considered the highest peak in the Pyrenees.
High mountain peak. This elderly man planned to have 114 people carry him to the 280-meter-high peak, where...
Stay for three weeks, breathing the purest, freshest, most vibrant air, so that, as he announced, it will be on time for Christmas.
On the eve of the event, he transformed into a robust twenty-year-old boy and descended the mountain again.
His disciples, having reached Verne—the last settlement at the foot of the terrible mountains—soon withdrew from the area.
The marquis was willing to accept the challenge, but he didn't mind at all. He took off his clothes in the freezing snow. Cheers erupted, and a celebration began.
A man was climbing a mountain. The last thing people saw was him excitedly raising his hands to the sky, singing as he disappeared into the blizzard.
A profile view.
On Christmas Eve, the disciples awaited the return of de la Tayard-Espina. But their wait was in vain.
He returned neither as an old man nor as a young man. In the early summer of the following year, a group of the bravest men went out to search, climbing...
The snow-capped peaks of Mount Kaniggu were searched year-round, but nothing of his was found—no clothes, nothing on his body.
Any part and small bones.
However, this did not cause any damage to his theories. On the contrary, a legend soon emerged:
He married the eternal, vital gas on the mountaintop, melting himself into it, and the gas melting into him, and so on.
He continues to drift eternally young across the peaks of the Pyrenees, unseen by anyone; whoever climbs the mountain to find him shares in his glory.
They never get sick or age throughout the year. Until the 19th century, people were still discussing Tayard's gas in medical lectures.
Theoretical justification, also used for healing in many mystical groups. Even today, on both sides of the Pyrenees Mountains, that is...
In Perpignan and Figueira da Foz, there also exist secret Tayyad Freemason clerics who, annually...
They once gathered together to climb Mount Kanigu.
They lit yellow fires there, supposedly to welcome the winter solstice and to commemorate St. John—but
In reality, it was to show respect for their master, Tayard-Espina, and to pay homage to his great spirit.
They worship in order to gain eternal life.
Section 8
Grenouille spent seven years on the first phase of his travels in France, but less than seven days on the second phase.
He no longer avoided bustling streets and cities, no longer took detours. He had a presence, money, and confidence.
Hurry up.
On the very evening he left Montpellier, he arrived at a small port city southwest of Egmoth, where he...
He boarded a cargo ship there bound for Marseille. In Marseille, he didn't leave the dock; the ship continued along the coast to pick him up.
He was sent east. Two days later he arrived in Toulon, and three days later in Mona, from which he continued on foot. He followed a...
A small path leading north leads up the hill.
He stood on the hillside in the back garden, before which stretched a vast basin several miles in circumference, surrounded by gently rising hills.
The hills and steep ridges rise up, and the vast depressions of the basin are dotted with newly cultivated fields, gardens, and olive groves.
The basin has a unique and pleasant climate. Although the sea is very close, visible from the hilltop, this...
It has none of the characteristics of the ocean; there is no salt or sand, and it is completely uncivilized, instead being remote and isolated. People go there...
Arriving here felt like arriving at a place many days' journey from the seaside. Although to the north were snow-capped mountains, this place...
Yet there was no sign of cold or barrenness; there was no biting wind; spring here was far more plentiful than in Montpellier.
It was early. A gentle mist hung over the fields like an invisible dome. The apricot and almond trees were in full bloom, their blossoms warm and gentle.
The warm air was filled with the fragrance of daffodils.
At the other end of the basin, perhaps two miles away, lies a city, or to be more precise...
A city clings to the edge of a towering mountain. From a distance, the city doesn't appear particularly impressive. There are no towering peaks there.
The cathedral, perched atop a building, has only a small chapel bell tower; there is no dominant castle, no special...
The luxurious buildings and city walls seemed not to serve a defensive purpose; houses protruded everywhere beyond the walls, especially...
This is especially true on the side facing down to the flat ground, which makes the city's appearance somewhat dilapidated. It seems this place was once...
It has always been a battleground, and it seems to have grown weary of putting up a serious resistance against the impending invaders.
But this is not due to weakness, but rather to laziness, or even to a feeling of power. It appears as if...
It must display luxury. At its feet lies a vast, fragrant basin, and it feels that is enough.
This unassuming yet confident place is Grasse, a city that has been for centuries.
The undisputed center for the production and trading of spices, cosmetics, soaps, and oils. Giuseppe Baldini said this.
He was always beaming with excitement when talking about the city. He said this city was fragrant Rome, a place perfumers yearned for, and who hadn't...
He left his mark here. He doesn't deserve to be a perfume connoisseur.
Grenouille surveyed the city of Grasse with a remarkably calm gaze. He wasn't looking for information about the cosmetics industry.
He gazed at the houses clinging to the hillside in this sacred place, but felt no joy. He came here because he knew it was a place...
He could learn perfume-making techniques better than anywhere else. He needed to master these techniques because he required them.
To serve his own goals. He took out a bottle of his perfume from his pocket and carefully applied it lightly.
He decided to go and set off immediately. An hour and a half later, just before noon, he arrived in Grasse.
He ate at an inn near a spacious square high up in the city. A small river flowed through the middle of the square.
The tanners washed the leather by the river and then laid it out to dry. The leather had a pungent odor, which caused some customers to...
His appetite had greatly decreased. But this did not affect Grenouille's appetite. He was familiar with the smell; it gave him a sense of security.
A feeling. In any city, it always first seeks out the tannery district. Then it feels as if...
He, who came from the foul environment and thus learned about other parts of this place, was no longer a stranger.
He spent the entire afternoon wandering around the city. The city was incredibly dirty, though, or rather precisely because of the waterlogging.
Too much water gushed from dozens of springs, flowing into irregular ditches and streams and down to the lower reaches of the city.
The streets and alleys were flooded with mud and sand; in some areas, houses were crammed together, leaving little space for passageways and steps.
The square was only a foot wide, and people had to squeeze past shoulder to shoulder in the mud. Even in the square and the few wider streets...
On the road, cars almost have no chance to avoid each other when they meet.
However, despite everything being dirty and chaotic, with narrow streets and alleys, the city's various industries were very active, as if...
It looked like it was about to explode. During his stroll, Grenouille saw no fewer than seven soap workshops, and a dozen cosmetics and...
The glove maker, countless small hotels, hair conditioner shops, spice shops, and about seven merchants who sold spices in large quantities.
These are, of course, merchants who own truly large spice shops. You often wouldn't recognize them from their houses. Facing the street...
The house appeared quite simple from the front. But behind it, in the storeroom and large basement, were barrels of...
Oils, piles of high-end herbal soaps, bottles of floral water, wine, alcohol, bags, boxes, and more...
The cabinets were crammed full of spices… Grenouille could smell each and every one of them through the thickest wall.
It was wealth that even monarchs lacked. If he were to examine more closely the ordinary shops and storerooms facing the street…
If he sniffs the ground, he will discover that behind these small, square-shaped houses of the common people lies the most luxurious architecture.
The estate's true quarters extend from the lush oleander and palm trees, along with small gardens featuring flowerbeds and beautiful fountains.
The houses, mostly U-shaped and facing south, are filled with sunlight. Bedrooms with silk wallpaper are luxurious.
The salon, with its wainscoting made of foreign timber, faces the ground and occasionally extends into the open-air dining area like a stage.
Just as Baldini described, people in the restaurant were eating from porcelain bowls using gold cutlery.
He stood for a long time in front of an inconspicuous palace. This building is located at the beginning of the Boulevard de la Drois.
It was a main street running from west to east through the city. It wasn't particularly spectacular, though its facade was certainly wider than the neighboring buildings.
It's a little bit, but definitely lacks any grandeur. A truck carrying barrels is parked at the gate; the barrels pass over a wooden plank.
They were unloaded. A man carrying identification entered the accounting office, then came out with another man, and the two disappeared through the door.
Grenouille stood on the opposite side of the street, watching the bustling scene. As for what was happening there...
He didn't care. Nevertheless, he stopped. Something had caught his attention.
He closed his eyes, intently inhaling the scents wafting towards him from the building opposite. First, the barrels...
The smell of vinegar and wine, followed by hundreds of strong warehouse odors, and then the smell of valuables, like pure gold.
The smell emanated from the walls like sweat, eventually giving way to the scent of a garden, presumably located within the house.
On the other side of the house. It's not easy to intercept the delicate fragrance emanating from the garden, because they are like thin lines.
It floated down the gable of the house and onto the street. Grenouille discovered magnolias, hyacinths, and daphne among them.
Azaleas… but the fragrance emanating from this garden seems different; it's an indescribably wonderful scent, the one he's never experienced before.