62 Recollections of the Vine Hunt. 



generally attended by a groom; not equal to his 

 brother as a sportsman, but liking the sport, and very 

 ready to ride over fences. 



3rd. Mr. Apletree, of Goldings, near Basingstoke ; 

 not very fast, nor very forward. 



4th. Mr. Edward Golding, of Maiden Earley, near 

 Reading; then lately married, and living at Quid- 

 hampton. He, with his gray Arabian, presented a very 

 neat specimen of a light weight and his hunter : he 

 went admirably, but did not remain long to adorn 

 our field. 



5th. Mr. Sclater, of Hoddington House ; then a 

 young man, living with his aunt at Tangier Park. 



6th. Mr. Abraham Pole, who was often staying 

 with his family at Wolverton Park, but did not reside 

 in this country. 



7th. Mr. Wither, of Manydown* father of the present 

 Mr. Lovelace Wither, of Tangier, hunted frequently. 



Then comes a list of black-coats, including some 

 of the best sportsmen in the field : — 



I St., and far first, I must put Mr. Henry Pole, of 

 Wolverton, now living at Waltham Place, near Maiden- 

 head. He had at one time managed a pack of harriers 



•^ I well remember this Mr. Wither's father, Mr. Bigg Wither, 

 grandfather to the present Sir Wm. Heathcote, from whom I re- 

 ceived kindness when a child. I do not believe that he had ever 

 been a sportsman, but he was held in high respect throughout 

 the country, for his strong sense and high principles. It is 

 said that on one occasion, at some county meeting, when Mr. 

 Bio-c Wither, and a magistrate remarkable for the loudness of 

 his voice, had been in the minority, another gentleman who had 

 also been on the losing side observed, ' Well, though we were 

 outvoted, yet we may have the comfort of thinking that both the 

 voice and the sense of the meeting were really with us.' 



