An account of several late voyages and discoveries

J 44 Á Voyale far the D/{covtry the Opinion of the North-Eaíl: was rcccivcd in fome, and fomething relating thcrcumo was pritm:d in t~eTranfaéliom of the Rojal Society. Now w1ll I come to thc Rea.fans thac in. <iuccd me to bclieve therc was a Probability ofa Paffagc.t and thcn the caufc of my undcrraking of thc uid Voyagc. My firíl: Reafon was groundcd on the Opinion of William Barram bcfor~ fpoke of; which was that Norva Zembla and Greenland bdng 2 0 ; Lcagues diftancc bctwccn onc and thc <>thcr tlut if he had fiecrcd a.wa.y North-Eaíl: from th: North Cape, which would have brought him in the mid-way betwixt thc two Lands, that thcn he might havc probably found an o~n Sea, free from Ice, and fo confc.:qucntly a Paffagc; andin that Opinion he remaincd to his dying da.y; for be did verily bclieve that the Ice was not ro be mct off of cithcr Shorc more than 2 o Lcagues, and thc rcft to be free and open, and th:i.t his bcing too ncar thc Shorc of Norua Zembla, was the ca.ufc of bis meeting fo nrnch lec, which w;1s the Overthrow of his Voyagc ; and if he h;¡d livcd, he had purpofdyinrended anothcr Voy¡¡g~ and tohave failed themid-way. Thc f ccond Reafon that n,adc me believe Paífagc was a Lctter fcnt out of Hclland ; whic ispublifucd in the Ti·anfaé!ionsof the RoyalSociery which affirmcth, the Grand Czar o.f Mu(c:o'Via had caufcd a particular Survcy of thc L:mcl of N~t Zembla, a11d that thcy had found ic to be n líland, but to join to the main Land of TarJ,; · 1·ia, 111d that to thc Norrhward of it was a frc and open Sea. Th •