West Country Poets

LYNE BRETT (1713-1741)

Lyne BRETT was a native of Plymouth, where he was born in 1713.  He was the author of a tragedy entitled 'The Merchant of Plymouth,' founded on the old story of the murder of 'Page of Plymouth,' by his wife and her lover, which still remains in MS., and numerous occasional pieces.  He died in 1741.  The little piece which follows was written on Plymouth Hoe:

THE SEA

Great God, though every work of Thine
Proclaims its Author all Divine,
We in the ocean plainest see
The noblest attributes of Thee.
When all is bright, when all serene,
When no rude winds disturb the main,
The shining prospect seems to prove
The mildness of the God I love.
But when the raging billows roar,
And foam and dash against the shore,
Then in the tempest does appear
The vengeance of the God I fear.

Transcribed by Sandra Windeatt from: Wright, W.H.K., (1896) West-Country Poets:  Their Lives and Works. London: Elliot Stock, pp.51.