The Mouse's Petition

(Found in the trap where he had been confined all night by Dr. Priestley, for the sake of making experiments with different kinds of air.) OH! hear a pensive prisoner's prayer, For liberty that sighs; And never let thine heart be shut Against the prisoner's cries! For here forlorn and sad I sit, Within the wiry grate; And tremble at th' approaching morn, Which brings impending fate. If e'er thy breast with freedom glowed, And spurned a tyrant's chain, Let not thy strong oppressive force A ...