wasted; and he
thought it would be no harm--as he was not a merchant, and did not
intend to exercise evil influences upon the people of America by
inducing them to buy tea--if he appropriated to himself a little of this
most desirable herb, which was to be burned and wasted before his very
eyes.

Whenever he had a chance, he slipped a little tea into some part of his
clothes where he thought it would not be noticed, and so gradually
loaded himself with a considerable stock of the herb. In fact, he stowed
away so many handfuls of it, that, when the fire was over, his
companions noticed that he had considerably increased in size; and it
was not long before his trick was discovered. We do not hear that he was
compelled to empty out the tea, but we are told that ever after he went
by the name of "Tea Stacks."

This tea bonfire created a great stir, and although the patriotic party
approved it, there were a great many Tories in the country who condemned
it as a piece of outrageous violence and wanton waste. This latter
opinion was so freely expressed, that the English owners of the cargo
were encouraged to take legal steps against the men who destroyed the
tea. It was easy enough to do this; for the young fellows who had made
the bonfire were very proud of what they had done, and, instead of
denying their connection with the burning of the tea, were always very
ready to boast of it.

When it was understood that the tea burners were to be prosecuted, all
the Whigs of the surrounding country determined to stand by them; and
they subscribed a large sum of money to engage lawyers to defend their
case. The strength of the popular feeling was shown by the fact, that,
when the case was brought to court, the grand jury positively refused to
bring a bill against these young men, although the judge insisted that
they should do so. The matter was thus postponed; and as it was not long
before the Colonies broke out into open rebellion, and a period
followed when Englishmen no longer brought suits in American courts,
there was no further action in regard to the tea burning at Greenwich.

Therefore, unless Mr. Stacks contrived to keep some of the tea which he
carried off in his clothes, the good people of the neighborhood, if they
drank tea at all, made it of the dried leaves of raspberries, or those
of some other bush, which have something of a tea taste, and were thus
enabled to have a hot beverage with their evening meal, with but