Chiltern Hundreds, a wardship of beech forests on the Chiltern Hills against robbers, that at one time infested them; now a sinecure office, the acceptance of which enables a member of Parliament to resign his seat if he wishes to retire, the office being regarded as a Government one.
Definition taken from The Nuttall Encyclopædia, edited by the Reverend James Wood (1907)
Chiltern Hills * Chimæra