[ a ] 
to what is fo. To this nation will 
in all probability be referved the 
glory of having afcertained the eter- 
nal barriers of navigation ; toRuffia 
that of having difcovered the true 
connection between the ancient and 
the new world. 
The accounts hitherto publifhed 
of thefe northern exoeditions, tend 
to improve our geographical notions 
of the paflage from one continent 
to the other. It appears, that the in- 
termediate fpace between Afia and 
America, from the 40 to the 70% 
is occupied by clufters of iflands, 
within fight of, or at ieafl at fmall 
diftances from, one another ; and it 
is flill uncertain, whether the laft 
coaft difcovered by the Ruflians, and 
by 
