ndfather; "it was so called, because the British,
without provocation, had fired upon a party of minute men, near Lexington
meeting-house, and killed eight of them. That fatal volley, which was
fired by order of Major Pitcairn, began the war of the Revolution."

About this time, if Grandfather had been correctly informed, our chair
disappeared from the British Coffee House. The manner of its departure
cannot be satisfactorily ascertained. Perhaps the keeper of the Coffee
House turned it out of doors, on account of its old-fashioned aspect.
Perhaps he sold it as a curiosity. Perhaps it was taken, without leave, by
some person who regarded it as public property, because it had once
figured under Liberty Tree. Or, perhaps, the old chair, being of a
peaceable disposition, had made use of its four oaken legs, and run away
from the seat of war.

"It would have made a terrible clattering over the pavement," said
Charley, laughing.

"Meanwhile," continued Grandfather, "during the mysterious non-appearance
of our chair, an army of twenty thousand men had started up, and come to
the siege of Boston. General Gage and his troops were cooped up within the
narrow precincts of the peninsula. On the 17th of June, 1775, the famous
battle of Bunker Hill was fought. Here General Warren fell. The British
got the victory, indeed, but with the loss of more than a thousand
officers and men."

"O, Grandfather," cried Charley, "you must tell us about that famous
battle."

"No, Charley," said Grandfather, "I am not like other historians. Battles
shall not hold a prominent place in the history of our quiet and
comfortable old chair. But, to-morrow evening, Laurence, Clara, and
yourself, and dear little Alice too, shall visit the Diorama of Bunker
Hill. There you shall see the whole business, the burning of Charlestown
and all, with your own eyes, and hear the cannon and musketry with your
own ears."

Chapter VIII

The next evening but one, when the children had given Grandfather a full
account of the Diorama of Bunker Hill, they entreated him not to keep them
any longer in suspense about the fate of his chair. The reader will
recollect, that at the last accounts, it had trotted away upon its poor
old legs, nobody knew whither. But, before gratifying their curiosity,
Grandfather found it necessary to say something about public events.

The continental Congress, which was assembled at Philadelphia, was
composed of delegates from a