Orwell, George — Nineteen eighty-four [586]

It was like the two halves of a countersign. But there must be another line after ‘the bells of Old Bailey’. Perhaps it could be dug out of Mr Charrington’s memory, if he were suitably prompted. — Orwell, George, Nineteen eighty-four, 586

Note

The nursery rhyme as ‘countersign’ — shared memory as passcode among dissidents, transmitted across generations of vaporised grandparents. ‘Dug out of Mr Charrington’s memory’ is a plant the reader should notice.