These mottle marks on the jacket are a shorthand more cryptic than that of Samuel Pepys. They record the sequel to his diary of the Great Fire of London. They are the scorches left by the Second Great Fire of London. A fiery confetti spattered it during my vigil on the roof, nine storeys high, in the heart of the flaming city.
It the moths do not complete the job of the blitz. I may be able to tell my grand-children. "See that scorch on the coat collar? That was the Middle Temple library. And that scar on the sleeve? That was Wren's church of St. Bride's. And the cons-fellation of singe marks? That was when the court where Dr. Johnson Once lived went up in a Bessemer-blast of sparks. Maybe it was his dictionary exploded into derivations toda:
.. And that
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.