A Pint of History Please

Exploring the History of Ceredigion's Pubs

Polluting a well

Source: Cardigan Observer 13/08/1881       Date: 1881
Copyright:       Type: Newspaper
Description:

Transcript:
RUM DOINGS AT VERWIG. The usually quiet little village of Verwig that nestles so snugly under the shelter of the hill, with its old parish church and its new board school, its neat little chapel and its cozy old "pub." if we are to believe the evidence given in the case of Lewis Thomas Lewis against Catherine Davies, and Catherine Davies against Lewis Thomas Lewis and wife, for making use of obscene and offensive language, and inciting to commit a breach of the peace-has been anything but a proper place in which to bring up young children correctly, during the past few weeks. The history of the struggle which culminated on Tuesday last in an armistice for six months being insisted on by the Powers, the forfeiture of £10 to be the penalty in case of infringement, is brief, but to a certain extent interesting, as showing that men and women, even at Verwig, have a good deal of human nature about them, especially when drinking water is polluted. It would appear from the evidence of Mr. Lewis T. Lewis, a blacksmith, that the inhabitants of Verwig obtain their drinking water from one well, and being great water drinkers some of them were naturally incensed when it was found that the offspring of Catherine Davies had temporarily forgotten their native innocence and had polluted the bubbling spring in a manner indescribable in polite society. Complaint of the conduct of her children was forthwith made to Catherine, who, mother-like, declined to believe that they could be capable of such wickedness. She was greatly aggrieved by the story that she imagined had been hatched up against her little ones, and she took a very original course in connection with the matter. In order to make it impossible that a similar complaint should again be laid, she proceeded to fill up the well that had caused all the bother with stones and whatever else came to hand. The spouse of Lewis by some means found out what was going on at the well, and she informed her husband, who remonstrated somewhat forcibly - and then the fast and furious fun began. The Welsh is universally admitted to be a very strong language, and those who heard the epithets that were built up by the contending parties at that well would be very indisposed to question that the language was strong The parties accused each other of dishonesty of appropriating to their own use articles of every description. Butter, potatoes, cream, meat, eggs, and other things had gone wrong, if they were to be believed, and they fulminated away at each other until their stock of nouns and adjectives was exhausted, and they were so thoroughly tongue-tired that they could not proceed further. It is certain that after the parties had finished their wordy war they required some of the well water to wash their mouths out. Mr. W. W. Mitchell appeared for Lewis Thomas Lewis and wife, and Mr. J. A. G. Evans for Catherine Davies.
Notes:
Linked to
Ferwig (p)/
Tanners Arms , Ferwig

Total: 1