What was that nose thing?

I thought it was a sweet smelling sachet to help him overcome the smell of the locals.

I thought it might have been a bag of something like eucalyptus leaves,since I thought I heard someone ask him "Sinuses?" and he nodded. It may have been a stonger substance,something illegal nowadays. Maybe someone who read the book would know. It bugged me too!

im pretty sure it was so he wouldnt have to smell the people

Yes, I remember in high school that a man from a costume shop told us about these, and I couldn't believe it. In those days, people didn't take baths very often, and for obvious reasons smelled very badly. They would have these sachets of some kind of fragrance to smell every so often so they would be able to stand the smell of each other. But I think in this movie, especially since he was the only one with one, that this was really to show his arrogance, more than anything else.