"This particular buyer was a capable, cool-eyed, impersonal, young,
bald-headed man. As he walked along the aisles of his department lie
seemed to be sailing on a sea of frangipanni, while white clouds,
machine-embroidered, floated around him. Too many sweets bring
surfeit. He looked upon Hetty Pepper's homely countenance, emerald
eyes, and chocolate-colored hair as a welcome oasis of green in a
desert of cloying beauty. In a quiet angle of a counter he pinched
her arm kindly, three inches above the elbow. She slapped him three
feet away with one good blow of her muscular and not especially lily-
white right. So, now you know why Hetty Pepper came to leave the
Biggest Store at thirty minutes' notice, with one dime and a nickel in
her purse."

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Definition: \Fran"gi*pane\, n. [F. frangipane; supposed to be
called so from the inventor, the Marquis Frangipani, major
general under Louis XIV.]
1. A perfume of jasmine; frangipani.

2. A species of pastry, containing cream and almonds.

So, who can tell me? Was the boss floating on perfume,
or on pastry?