Our  royal  sovereign,  good  King  Arthur  of  ancient
days,  was  known  to  have  passed  into  the  body  of
a  raven.  Cervantes  tells  us  of  a  tradition,  current
through  the  whole  of  Great  Britain,  that  this  much-
beloved  monarch  was  changed  into  a  raven  by  the
art  of  witchcraft ;  and  that,  in  the  due  course  of
time,  he  would  be  again  in  possession  of  his  crown
and  sceptre.  I  don't  care  how  soon.  Cervantes
adds,  that  from  the  day  on  which  the  change  took
place,  no  Englishman  has  ever  been  known  to  kill  a
raven,  and  that  the  whole  British  nation  is  momently
expecting  its  king's  return.  I  should  like  to  see
King  Arthur's  face,  when  his  loving  subjects  tell
him  of  our  national  debt,  and  show  him  the  civil
list.  Methinks  his  long-lost  Majesty  will  groan  in
spirit,  when  he  learns  that  the  first  was  a  present
from  Dutch  William,  and  the  second  a  donation  to
the  country  by  the  cormorant-traitors  who  had
driven  away  our  last  Catholic  king,  because  he  had
proclaimed  universal  liberty  of  conscience,  and  had
begun  to  question  their  right  to  the  stolen  property.
