EXHIBIT 99.4

               CONSENT OF INDEPENDENT CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS

         We have issued our reports  dated  January 15, 1999,  accompanying  the
consolidated  financial  statements and schedule  incorporated  by reference and
included in the Annual Report of Colonial Gas Company and  subsidiaries  on Form
10-K  for  the  year  ended   December  31,  1998.  We  hereby  consent  to  the
incorporation  by  reference  of said  reports  in the Form 8-K filed by Eastern
Enterprises.



                                                       /s/ Grant Thornton LLP
                                                           GRANT THORNTON LLP


Boston, Massachusetts
September 15, 1999