LA MORT WHY-WHY.
Two years had passed like a dream in the pleasant valley which, in farlater ages, the Romans called Vallis Aurea, and which we call Vallauris.Here, at a distance of some thirty miles from the cave and the tribe,dwelt in fancied concealment Why-Why and Verva. The clear stream waswarbling at their feet, in the bright blue weather of spring; the scentof the may blossoms was poured abroad, and, lying in the hollow of Why-Why's shield, a pretty little baby with Why-Why's dark eyes and Verva'sgolden locks was crowing to his mother. Why-Why sat beside her, and wasbusily making the first European pipkin with the clay which he had foundnear Vallauris. All was peace.
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There was a low whizzing sound, something seemed to rush past Why-Why,and with a scream Verva fell on her face. A spear had pierced herbreast. With a yell like that of a wounded lion, Why-Why threw himselfon the bleeding body of his bride. For many moments he heard no soundbut her long, loud and unconscious breathing. He did not mark the yellsof his tribesmen, nor feel the spears that rained down on himself, norsee the hideous face of the chief medicine-man peering at his own. Vervaceased to breathe. There was a convulsion, and her limbs were still.Then Why-Why rose. In his right hand was his famous club, "the watcherof the fords;" in his left his shield. These had never lain far from hishand since he fled with Verva.
He knew that the end had come, as he had so often dreamt of it; he knewthat he was trapped and taken by his offended tribesmen. His first blowshattered the head of the chief medicine-man. Then he flung himself, allbleeding from the spears, among the press of savages who started fromevery lentisk bush and tuft of tall flowering heath. They gave back whenfour of their chief braves had fallen, and Why-Why lacked strength andwill to pursue them. He turned and drew Verva's body beneath the rockywall, and then he faced his enemies. He threw down shield and club andraised his hands. A light seemed to shine about his face, and his firstword had a strange tone that caught the ear and chilled the heart of allwho heard him. "Listen," he said, "for these are the last words of Why-Why. He came like the water, and like the wind he goes, he knew notwhence, and he knows not whither. He does not curse you, for you arethat which you are. But the day will come" (and here Why-Why's voicegrew louder and his eyes burned), "the day will come when you will nolonger be the slave of things like that dead dog," and here he pointed tothe shapeless face of the slain medicine-man. "The day will come, when aman shall speak unto his sister in loving kindness, and none shall do himwrong. The day will come when a woman shall unpunished see the face andname the name of her husband. As the summers go by you will not bow downto the hyaenas, and the bears, and worship the adder and the viper. Youwill not cut and bruise the bodies of your young men, or cruelly strikeand seize away women in the darkness. Yes, and the time will be when aman may love a woman of the same family name as himself"--but here theoutraged religion of the tribesmen could endure no longer to listen tothese wild and blasphemous words. A shower of spears flew out, and Why-Why fell across the body of Verva. His own was "like a marsh full ofreeds," said the poet of the tribe, in a song which described theseevents, "so thick the spears stood in it."
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When he was dead, the tribe knew what they had lost in Why-Why. Theybore his body, with that of Verva, to the cave; there they laid thelovers--Why-Why crowned with a crown of sea-shells, and with a piece of arare magical substance (iron) at his side. {208} Then the tribesmenwithdrew from that now holy ground, and built them houses, and forsworethe follies of the medicine-men, as Why-Why had prophesied. Manythousands of years later the cave was opened when the railway to Genoawas constructed, and the bones of Why-Why, with the crown, and thefragment of iron, were found where they had been laid by his repentantkinsmen. He had bravely asserted the rights of the individual conscienceagainst the dictates of Society; he had lived, and loved, and died, notin vain. Last April I plucked a rose beside his cave, and laid it withanother that had blossomed at the door of the last house which coveredthe homeless head of SHELLEY.
The prophecies of Why-Why have been partially fulfilled. Brothers, ifthey happen to be on speaking terms, may certainly speak to theirsisters, though we are still, alas, forbidden to marry the sisters of ourdeceased wives. Wives _may_ see their husbands, though in Society, theyrarely avail themselves of the privilege. Young ladies are stillforbidden to call young men at large by their Christian names; but thistribal law, and survival of the classificatory system, is rapidly losingits force. Burials in the savage manner to which Why-Why objected, willsoon, doubtless, be permitted to conscientious Nonconformists in thegraveyards of the Church of England. The teeth of boys are still knockedout at public and private schools, but the ceremony is neither formal noruniversal. Our advance in liberty is due to an army of forgotten Radicalmartyrs of whom we know less than we do of Mr. Bradlaugh.
In the Wrong Paradise, and Other Stories Page 18
