1984
Chapter 8
‘Theframe’sfixedtothewall,’saidtheoldman,‘butIcouldunscrewitforyou,Idaresay.’
‘Iknowthatbuilding,’saidWinstonfinally. ‘It’saruinnow. It’sinthemiddleofthestreetoutsidethePalaceofJustice.’
‘That’sright. OutsidetheLawCourts. Itwasbombedin—oh,manyyearsago. Itwasachurchatonetime,StClementDanes,itsnamewas.’ Hesmiledapologetically,asthoughconsciousofsayingsomethingslightlyridiculous,andadded: ‘Orangesandlemons,saythebellsofStClement’s!’
‘What’sthat?’saidWinston.
‘Oh—"Orangesandlemons,saythebellsofStClement’s." ThatwasarhymewehadwhenIwasalittleboy. HowitgoesonIdon’tremember,butIdoknowitendedup, "Herecomesacandletolightyoutobed,Herecomesachoppertochopoffyourhead." Itwasakindofadance. Theyheldouttheirarmsforyoutopassunder,andwhentheycameto "Herecomesachoppertochopoffyourhead"theybroughttheirarmsdownandcaughtyou. Itwasjustnamesofchurches.AlltheLondonchurcheswereinit—alltheprincipalones,thatis.’
Winstonwonderedvaguelytowhatcenturythechurchbelonged. ItwasalwaysdifficulttodeterminetheageofaLondonbuilding. Anythinglargeandimpressive,ifitwasreasonablynewinappearance,wasautomaticallyclaimedashavingbeenbuiltsincetheRevolution,whileanythingthatwasobviouslyofearlierdatewasascribedtosomedimperiodcalledtheMiddleAges. Thecenturiesofcapitalismwereheldtohaveproducednothingofanyvalue.
