atitude, as you sail from _China_
into _Europe_, by the Streights of _Nassau_, the Island of _Nova
Zembla_, (if it be an Island) and the like, being what we call the
North-East Passages: And you cannot blame me for being thus Particular
in this early Protestation, if you consider how ready the Men of this
Age are to Censure, Condemn and Reproach, the Meaning of Authors,
whether they themseves have any meaning or no. If any Man shall presume
to say, there is no such Place, I may as readily answer their
Presumption, by another less Criminal, _viz._ That they never have past
that Way to _China_, and consequently cannot demonstrate the Truth of
what they say.

Having thus premised what I think necessary, to fence this Work against
the Malice of the Times, I am next to tell you, That I shall confine
this Part of my Account to the Transactions of the Northern Part of
this great Island, and therein to what happened in this Case of the
Election of their Noble Councellors only; yet I must Hint a little at
what had been transacting in the Southern Parts of the Island; and this
is absolutely necessary, in order to make the other Accounts
intelligible.

In order to this, you are to understand, That the Southern Part of the
Island was the most remarkable of any, as to the Policy of their
Government, and the Character of the People; and excepting _Englishmen_
and _Polanders_, there is not such another Nation in the World: Here
they reckoned about Fifty three several Sects, Divisions, and espoused
Opinions in Religion, upon most of the Heads whereof the People
actually seperated from one another; such as, (1.) _Churchmen_, and
among them _High Church_, _Low Church_, _Non Jurors_, _Prelatists_,
_Socinians_, _Arians_, _Arminians_, _Deists_, _Atheists_,
_Immoralists_, _Flyers_, _Soul-Sleepers_, _Prophets_, _&c._ (2.)
_Presbyterians_, and under that head all kind of Dissenters,
_Cameronians_, _Independants_, _Anabaptists_, _Baptists_,
_Seventh-Day-Men_, _Sabatarians_, _Donatists_, _Gnosticks_,
_Antiprelatists_, _Muggletonians_, and various undistinguishable
_Quakers_ both wet and dry, _Sweet Singers_, _Family of Love_,
_Christian Jews_, _Jewish Christians_, and the like. In the State, the
Divisions were no less Fatal, or the variety greater in Proportion,
these we may, as I said before, call by the Names which the like
Factions are distinguish'd by here; such as _Tory_, _Whig_, _Low
Church_, _Hot_ _Whig_, _Old Whig_, _Modern Whig_, _Hi