Bells
Henry recounts, “I went back to the screen and started digging south and west from it. No stone unturned. The bells began to strike the hour, and we all stopped what we were doing, even Mr Spivens, and looked up at the tower. With the rood gone, we could see the spire, rising above the smoke and dust unharmed. The bells sounded beautiful, undimmed by the destruction that lay around us.” Henry hears the bells' sounds in the course of searching for the stump. The bells sound as scheduled; the bombing did not destroy them. Such sounds are perceptible throughout the ruined cathedral and they create an ambiance of worship as they always do even for the bombing occurred.
“Lady Schrapnell’s Lash”
Henry explains, “Everyone under Lady Schrapnell’s lash was automatically sleep deprived, but I doubted that the nurse would take that into consideration, and at any rate it didn’t manifest itself so much as drowsiness as a sort of ‘ walking dead’ numbness, like people bombarded night after night in the Blitz had suffered from.” Lady Schrapnell’s framework hinders the people working under him from sleeping adequately. As a result, such workers are manifestly fatigued due to the long hours of work that the lady subjects them. Lady Schrapnell makes sleep and work mutually exclusive; working automatically disqualifies the workers from sleeping.
Time-lag
The nurse elucidates, “Time-lag isn’t a disease, Mr. Henry. It’s a biochemical imbalance brought about by disruption of the internal clock and the inner ear. You don’t need medical treatment All you need is rest and the present.” The nurse's explanation confirms that sleep is a key remedy in the optimal functioning of human bodies. Lack of sleep distorts the working of internal clocks. Resting is significant for human beings because it permits them to live in the present comfortably.
“The Victorian Era”
Henry thinks, “The Victorian era. Long dreamy afternoons boating on the Thames and playing croquet one emerald lawns with girls in white frocks and fluttering hair ribbons. And later, tea under the willow tree, served in delicate Sevres cups by bowing butlers, anxious minister to one’s every whim, and those same girls reading aloud from a slim volume of poetry, their voices floating like flower petals on the scented air."
As a historian, Henry understands the way of life during the Victorian era. Henry considers the Victorian era to be mystic and enjoyable. The imagery he envisions in his mind regarding the era surmises that he would be happy to undertake the assignment of going back to the highly relaxed and dreamy period.
