who had finished their earthly work. Beyond the burial ground
she beheld the harbor. The tide had been at its flood, and was
sweeping towards the sea. A ship was sailing down the roadstead to
begin its adventurous voyage to a distant land.

"Why can I not do something for somebody instead of idling my time
away?" she said to herself, recalling what Mr. Adams had said--that it
was the duty of every woman to forego personal comfort and pleasure
for the promotion of the public good; that everybody should leave off
using tea to let the king, the ministry, and the people of England
know that the men and women of the Colonies could stand resolutely and
unflinchingly for a great principle. With her father, mother, and Tom
she had quit drinking tea; why should she not persuade others to
banish it from their tables? A thought came to her, and she opened her
writing-desk, a gift from her father, beautifully inlaid with ivory,
which he had obtained in a foreign country. She dipped her pen into
the ink, reflected a moment, and then wrote her thought: "_We, the
daughters of patriots, who have stood and do now stand for the public
interest, with pleasure engage with them in denying ourselves the
drinking of foreign tea, in hope to frustrate a plan that tends to
deprive the community of its rights._"[31]

[Footnote 31: The agreement signed by the mothers and daughters may be
found in the _Boston News-Letter_, February 15, 1770.]

In her enthusiasm she walked the floor, thinking of those whom she
would ask to sign it. She would not subject herself to ridicule by
calling upon those who sided with the king, but upon those who she
knew were ready to make sacrifices for justice and right.

"I am glad you have written it, daughter," Mr. Brandon said when she
informed him of what she had done and was intending to do; "I see no
reason, wife, why you should not do what you can in the same way among
the women, to let people on the other side of the sea understand the
Colonies are in earnest. Already there has been a great falling off in
trade between the Colonies and England, and if we can stop this tea
trade it will not be long before the merchants will be swarming around
Parliament demanding something to be done. We must arouse public
sentiment on this question, and you, daughter, are just the girl to
begin it."

Mr. Brandon reached out his hand and took Berinthia's and gave it a
squeeze to let her know he had faith in her.

"I will d