committee to
watch over the movements of the enemy, knew of the plan of the British
to march to Concord, and on the way to arrest Hancock and Samuel
Adams, will never be known. It is enough to know that they had
received the information, and knew that the British were determined
not to have a report of the march reach the enemy until it had been
successfully accomplished. The question was how to carry the news to
Lexington and Concord ahead of the British troops. There was no time
to waste in lengthy discussions, and in a very short time Paul Revere
was ready for his historic ride. The signals agreed on before affairs
had reached this climax were: if the British went out by water, _two_
lanterns would be swung in the North Church steeple; if they went by
land, _one_ would be shown, and a friend of Paul Revere's had been
chosen as the man to set the signal.

Now, on the night of the eighteenth of April, 1775, _two_ lanterns
swung high in the historic steeple, and off started Paul Revere on the
most famous ride in American history. As Longfellow has so vividly
expressed it:

A hurry of hoofs in a village street,
A shape in the moonlight, a bulk in the dark,
And beneath, from the pebbles, in passing, a spark
Struck out by a steed flying fearless and fleet;
That was all! And yet through the gloom and the light
The fate of a nation was riding that night;
And the spark struck out by that steed, in his flight,
Kindled the land into flame with its heat.

With clank of spur and brave use of whip, on he dashed, to waken the
country and rouse it to instant action--and as he passed through every
hamlet heavy sleepers woke at the sound of his ringing shout:

"The Regulars are coming!"

Then on clattered horse and rider, scattering stones and dirt, as the
horse's hoofs tore into the ground and his flanks were flecked with
foam. Midnight had struck when the dripping steed and his breathless
rider drew up before the parsonage where unsuspecting Dorothy and Aunt
Lydia were sheltered, as well as the two patriots. The house was
guarded by eight men when Paul Revere dashed up to the door, and they
cautioned him not to make a noise.

"Noise!" exclaimed Revere. "You'll have noise enough before long. The
Regulars are coming out!"

John Hancock, ever on the alert for any unwonted sounds, heard the
commotion and recognizing Revere's voice opened a window and said:

"Courier Revere, we are not afraid