SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                             Washington, D.C. 20549

                                    FORM 8-K

                Current Report Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of
                       The Securities Exchange Act of 1934




         Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): June 25, 1998


                               EASTERN ENTERPRISES
             (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)


Massachusetts                     1-2297                       04-1270730
(State or other            (Commission File Number)           (IRS Employer
jurisdiction of                                            Identification No.)
incorporation)


                  9 Riverside Road, Weston, Massachusetts 02193
                  (Address of principal executive offices)(Zip Code)


        Registrant's telephone number, including area code (781) 647-2300


                                      None
          (Former name or former address, if changed since last report)






Item 1 through 4 and Items 6, 7(a) and (b), 8 and 9.  Not Applicable.



Item 5.  Other Events

          Incorporated  herewith is one PRESS RELEASE attached hereto as Exhibit
          99.1.



Item 7.  Financial Statements and Exhibits

          (c)     Exhibits

                  99.1 -- PRESS RELEASE











                                    SIGNATURE




         Pursuant to the  requirements  of the Securities  Exchange Act of 1934,
the  registrant  has duly  caused  this report to be signed on its behalf by the
undersigned hereunto duly authorized.




                                                         EASTERN ENTERPRISES


Date:  June 29, 1998                            By:    /s/ Walter J. Flaherty
                                                           Walter J. Flaherty
                                                 Senior Vice President and CFO












                                  EXHIBIT INDEX



         Exhibits                                             Page


         99.1 -- Press Release                                            5





                                                            Exhibit 99.1


              U.S. SUPREME COURT DECLARES COAL ACT UNCONSITUTIONAL
                        AS APPLIED TO EASTERN ENTERPRISES

         Weston,  MA.  -- June  25,  1998 --  Eastern  Enterprises  (NYSE:  EFU)
announced  today  that the U.S.  Supreme  Court,  in a decision  announced  this
morning,  overturned  the First  Circuit  Court of Appeals'  decision in Eastern
Enterprises v. Kenneth Apfel, et al., declaring the Coal Industry Retiree Health
Benefit  Act of 1992 (the Coal Act)  unconstitutional  as  applied  to  Eastern.
Eastern  had  asserted  that the Coal Act  violated  the Due Process and Takings
clauses of the Constitution  due, in part, to its  unprecedented  retroactivity.
The Coal Act required all companies that signed coal miner collective bargaining
agreements back to 1946 to pay premiums for lifetime health benefits for retired
miners and their  dependents  even though such benefits  were not  contractually
provided for until 1978.
         In writing for the  majority  opinion,  Justice  O'Connor  stated,  "In
enacting the Coal Act,  Congress was  responding  to a serious  problem with the
funding of health  benefits for retired  coal  miners.  While we do not question
Congress'  power to address that  problem,  the  solution it crafted  improperly
places a severe, disproportionate,  and extremely retroactive burden on Eastern.
Accordingly,  we conclude that the Coal Act's allocation of liability to Eastern
violates  the  Takings  Clause,  and that [the  statute]  should be  enjoined as
applied to Eastern."
         Eastern's  Chairman  and  Chief  Executive  Officer,  J.  Atwood  Ives,
commented,  "We are extremely  gratified by the Supreme  Court's  decision which
recognized  the  inherent  unfairness  of the Coal Act.  With the removal of the
potential  liability imposed on Eastern by the Coal Act, we can focus all of our
energy and financial resources on enhancing shareholder value."
         Beginning in 1993, Eastern established reserves totaling $80 million to
fund this liability. As a result of today's Supreme Court decision, Eastern will
reverse  that  charge,  less  associated  expenses,  to its second  quarter 1998
earnings,  resulting  in an  extraordinary  gain of  approximately  $75 million,
pre-tax, or $2.35 per share.
         Eastern Enterprises owns and operates Boston Gas Company, New England's
largest distributor of natural gas, serving 530,000 residential,  commercial and
industrial  customers in Boston and 73 other  eastern and central  Massachusetts
communities,  and Midland  Enterprises  Inc., the leading  carrier of coal and a
major carrier of other dry bulk cargoes on the nation's inland waterways, with a
fleet of 2,348  barges  and 87  towboats.  Headquartered  in  Cincinnati,  Ohio,
Midland provides  low-cost marine  transportation to many of the country's major
industrial and agricultural regions. ServicEdge Partners, Inc., a new subsidiary
of Eastern,  provides HVAC  equipment  installation  and service to customers in
eastern Massachusetts.
         This release and other company  reports and  statements  issued or made
from  time to  time  contain  certain  "forward-looking  statements"  concerning
projected future  financial  performance,  expected plans or future  operations.
Eastern cautions that actual results and developments may differ materially from
such projections or expectations.
         Investors should be aware of important  factors that could cause actual
results  to  differ   materially   from  the   forward-looking   projections  or
expectations. These factors include, but are not limited to:
                     the effect of  strategic  initiatives  on earnings and cash
                     flow,  temperatures  above or below  normal in  Boston  Gas
                     Company's  service area,  changes in market  conditions for
                     barge   transportation,   adverse   weather  and  operating
                     conditions on the inland waterways,
                     uncertainties   regarding   the  start-up  of   ServicEdge,
                     including expense levels and customer  acceptance,  changes
                     in economic  conditions,  including  interest rates and the
                     value of the dollar versus other currencies, regulatory and
                     court decisions, and developments with respect to Eastern's
                     previously-disclosed environmental
liabilities.

                   Most of these factors are difficult to accurately predict and
are generally beyond the control of the Company.


Eastern                            Enterprises' press releases are available via
                                   fax by calling, toll-free,  1-800-311-4607 or
                                   on the Internet at Eastern's Home Page on the
                                   World Wide Web:
                                               http://www.efu.com


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