when first turned out from the hands of its builder. The latter was not, however, one of the Peckhams, but their successor in the estates, Sir Roger Hill. Sir Roger began his mansion in 1670, and finished it in 1701. The cost of it, as we may see by his accounts which have been carefully preserved in the house itself, was £5,519 16s. 9d. The old house of the Peckhams seems to have been pulled down entirely, and the present large square building rests on an excellent underwork or crypt with a vaulted roof. Though the house stands somewhat low, this basement or cellar is never flooded, and the rooms above are therefore at all times perfectly dry. Another architectural feature which we shall notice is the deep overhanging cornice which runs all round the exterior walls. The interior is full of tapestry and family portraits, and the most interesting apartment is a small private chapel. The screen, seats, and other fittings of the chapel, which are painted and gilt, are evidently of earlier date than the house. In fact, they are ecclesiastical work of the sixteenth century, and are said to have been brought from a chapel in the old house at Bulstrode. The chapel window is filled with family arms. The Place soon passed away from the family of Hill. Sir Roger's grand-daughter, Abigail Lockey, a widow, married, as a second husband, Lewis Way, the ancestor of the present owner, and was herself his third wife. The portraits are to be found in nearly all the rooms. In the ante-room to the library, where there are beautiful oak panels, hangs that of Sir Roger Hill. In the library itself, which is also oak-panelled, is that of Lewis Way and his family. Abigail, the heiress, who brought him Denham Place, is in the dining-room. The billiard-room has a remarkable frieze. It represents a landscape and buildings, such as those which Dutch painters of the seventeenth century frequently introduced into their pictures, executed in plaster-work in high relief and coloured. Through the park runs the Misbourn, the upper portion of which we visited at Chalfont. And now we have finished our wanderings up and down the famed Hundreds of the Chilterns. We have walked across the chalk downs, and have strolled along the banks of the Thames and the Coln. We have stood beneath the shade of the beech woods, and we have followed many a country lane and footpath. We have in short tried to see every part of this most interesting southern portion of the county of Buckingham. No church nor monastic house, no mansion nor college has, we trust, escaped our notice, if it was worthy of it from its beauty, its antiquity, or its associations. We have tried to catch glimpses, as it were, of men and women not unknown to fame and history, who have been in any way connected with the places which we have visited. Let us conclude our attempt to make this attractive little bit of our country still better known than it is, by quoting once more from the letters of the poet who has made the quiet little village, which forms nearly the centre of our district, world-known by his "Elegy written in a Country Churchyard." "The drift of my present studies," writes Thomas Gray, "is to know, wherever I am, what lies within reach that may be worth seeing, whether it be building, ruin, park, garden, prospect, picture, or monument; to whom it does or has belonged, and what has been the characteristic and taste of different ages. You will say this is the object of all antiquaries; but pray what antiquary ever saw these objects in the same light, or desired to know them for a like reason?" Conscious of many imperfections, though we have done our very best to make this sketch of the Chiltern Hundreds attractive and trustworthy, we dare |