rmined to carry out the King's wishes. Hence occurred
the famous "Boston Tea Party,"--a strange tea-party, where no cups were
used, no guests invited, and no tea drunk! Did you ever hear of such a
party? Let us see what really happened.

It was on a quiet Sunday, the 28th of November, 1773, when the Dartmouth,
the first of the three tea ships bound for Boston, sailed into the harbor.
The people were attending service in the various churches when the cry,
"The Dartmouth is in!" spread like wild-fire. Soon the streets were alive
with people. That was a strange Sunday in Puritan Boston.

The leaders quickly sought out Benjamin Rotch, the owner of the Dartmouth,
and obtained his promise that the tea should not be landed before Tuesday.
Then they called a mass meeting for Monday morning, in Fanueil Hall,
afterward known as the "Cradle of Liberty."

[Illustration: Fanueil Hall, Boston.]

The crowd was so great that they adjourned to the Old South Church, and
there they overflowed into the street. There were five thousand in all,
some of them from near-by towns. Samuel Adams presided. In addressing the
meeting, he asked: "Is it the firm resolution of this body not only that
the tea shall be sent back, but that no duty shall be paid thereon?"
"Yes!" came the prompt and united answer from these brave men.

So the patriots of Boston and the surrounding towns, with Samuel Adams at
their head, were determined that the tea should not be landed. Governor
Hutchinson was equally determined that it should be. A stubborn fight,
therefore, was on hand.

The Boston patriots appointed men, armed with muskets and bayonets, to
watch the tea ships, some by day, others by night. Six post-riders were
appointed, who should keep their horses saddled and bridled, ready to
speed into the country to give the alarm if a landing should be attempted.
Sentinels were stationed in the church belfries to ring the bells, and
beacon-fires were made ready for lighting on the surrounding hilltops.

Tuesday, December 16, dawned. It was a critical day. If the tea should
remain in the harbor until the morrow--the twentieth day after
arrival--the revenue officer would be empowered by law to land it
forcibly.

[Illustration: Old South Church, Boston.]

Men, talking angrily and shaking their fists with excitement, were
thronging into the streets of Boston from the surrounding towns. By ten
o'clock over seven thousand had assembled in the Old South Church and