Page:Notes and Queries - Series 10 - Volume 4.djvu/638

 528 NOTES AND QUERIES, do"- s. iv. DEC. so, iocs. the above, seventy-nine preliminary volumes were printed before August, 1880, the matter being arranged in chronological order; but these were only used as printer's copy. Altogether the compilation cost the U.S. Government 570.000/. to produce. The work is of such great importance that a brief summary of its contents in the words of Major Ward is appended :— "The 1st Series—111 books and an atlas-em- braces the official reports of all military operations. These reports are arranged according to campaigns and theatres of operations. Union reports are printed first and are followed by Confederate Reports. " The 2nd Series- 8 books—relates to prisoners of war. " The 3rd Series—5 books—contains miscellaneous correspondence and reports, such as the annual reports of the Secretary of War, of the General in Chief, and of the heads of the various corps and departments; also correspondence between National and State authorities." "The 4th Series—3 books—is similar to the 3rd Series, but refers exclusively to the Confederate side.'1 The last volume—No. 130—con tains a preface giving a history of the publication, five pages of explanations as to abbreviations, plan of indexes. <kc., a synopsis of the con- tents of each volume, a special index for the principal armies, army corps, &c., a table showing volumes pertaining to contempo- raneous operations, a general index of 1.087 pages ; and finally, 150 pages of addi- tions and corrections. M. J. D. COCKLE. WK must request correspondents desiring in- formation on family matters of only private interest to affix their names and addresses to their queries, in order that answers may be sent to them direct. "FROM PILLAR TO POST."—The original form of this expression was " from post to pillar." Of twenty-two quotations between 1420 (Lydgate) and 1700 now before me, seventeen have the original and five the later form, three of the latter being in verse, and having post riming with tost, tossed, which was apparently the/ons et origo of the transposition. The earliest of these is from Skelton, a century later than Lydgate. In those times, and much later, the phrase nearly always qualified toss, there being in our instances one solitary exception before 1600. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries toss began to be replaced by hang, bounce, bandy, and drive. But drive is a word of many meanings; one may drive a man or beast as well as a ball, and the taking of it in that sense led to the later use of the phrase with hunt, chase, drag, harry, run, &c. I suppose it was its occurrence with these verbs that led Dr. Brewer aptly to hazard the guess (unfortunately repeated in some quarters as an "etymology") that the phrase belonged to the driving of a horse in the manege ground. The constant early use of toss, and in later times of bandy, bounce, and bang, suggests that the expression referred to some game of ball in which posts and pillars were used, or came in the way. I see in the description of the tennis court in Julian Marshall's ' Annals of Tennis ' much mention of " posts," each with its distinctive name, and of galleries or openings " between the posts," also light rods of wrought iron, which sometimes take the place of posts. Much is said also of the danger of a ball striking a post and rebounding. May I throw out the conjecture, then, that the game in which there was a chance of some- thing being tossed from post to pillar was tennis? Unfortunately, Julian Marshall is no longer with us, to tell us if the conjecture seems to him likely ; but perhaps some one else, who has played tennis (real tennis, that is, and not the modern lawn game, to which commercial enterprise has "conveyed" the name), will tell us what he thinks. J. A. H. MURRAY. DESCENDANTS OF THE PLANTAGENETS.—I am now preparing the volume of 'The Plan- tagenet Roll' dealing with the descendants of Anne, Duchess of Exeter, the sister of Kings Edward IV. and Richard III., and I subjoin a list of those persons and families concerning whom I am seeking information. I should be extremely obliged for any infor- mation as to whether they have issue surviv- ing ; and, if so. where or from whom I could obtain particulars. The figures in paren- theses indicate the sections, and are for my guidance alone. Hunloke (3).—Thomas Windsor, Robert, James, Catherine, Charlotte, Anne, Mary, Mariana, Barbara, and Henrietta, brothers and sisters of Sir Henry, 4th Bart., who d. 1804. Heneage_ of Hainton (5).—Thomas, Eliza- beth Maria, and Katherine, brother and sisters of George Fieschi H. of H. who d. 1782. Heneage of Hainton (6).—The four younger sons and two daughters of George II. of H., who d. 1731. Gallini = Bertie (10/11).—Sir John G., who d. 1805 ; in. Lady Elizabeth Bertie, and had a son and two daughters. Bertie (15).—Edward B., d. 21 Sept, 1733;