2 RECORDS OF OLD TIMES 



manhood at his father's house at Bradenham, near 

 High Wycombe, and at Hughenden, which 

 adjoins the former place. These villages are 

 situated in the most picturesque parts of the ' beech- 

 clad Chilterns,' embedded in the umbrageous 

 shelter of the beech trees, truly ' recubans sub 

 tegunne fagi.' Much as I have travelled over 

 Europe, and nearly the whole of the United 

 Kingdom, I have repeatedly said that nowhere 

 can be found more perfect sylvan scenery than 

 that along the Chiltern Hills, or more real pastoral 

 beauty than the Vale of Aylesbury, or more 

 lovely views than those in the Valley of the 

 Thames, from Henley to Maidenhead. Nor should 

 the north of the county be despised. The Valley 

 of the Ouse, the classic groves of Stowe, the 

 woodlands around the Claydons, with the breezy 

 heights of Brill, are all admirable. 



But it is with the country about the Chiltern 

 Hills I am tempted most to dwell, and the recent 

 revival by Sir Henry Irving at the Lyceum 

 Theatre of that most delightful play of Shakespeare, 

 ' Cymbeline,' with the delineation of everything 

 that is lovable, womanly, and charming in Imogen, 

 has touched a chord which impels me to dwell on 

 that interesting district. This part of the county is 

 but little known ; yet it is here that the two rural 

 villages of Great and Little Kimble are situated, at 

 the foot of the highest part of the Chiltern range, 

 and here most undoubtedly dwelt the British King 

 Cymbeline, or Kimbeline, with the ' fair Imogen ' 



