190 PRESENT AND FUTURE OF AMERICA. 



Therefore, it may be inferred that the United States are 

 capable of supporting at least some 700,000,000 of 

 people. 



Now, there may be those who say, u that amount can 

 never be obtained ; that it never had been obtained." It 

 may not be amiss to draw the attention of the doubtful 

 to the possibility of the States arriving at so extraordi- 

 nary a degree of populosity. Ancient Egypt is repre- 

 sented as about 200 leagues, or say 600 miles, in length, 

 and confined between hedges of mountains on each side 

 of the hill, which, on the east side, approach that river 

 to within a half a day's journey, say 15 to 16 miles. 

 On the west side, the country extends from TO to 90 

 miles ; and from Alexandria to Damietta, the widest 

 part, it is only about 150 miles ; not more than one 

 fourth the area of Texas. Yet it is represented to have 

 contained, under the reign of Amasis, 20,000 inhabited 

 cities, one of which Thebes is said to have been able 

 to send forth at once from her 100 gates, 200 chariots 

 and 10,000 fighting men from each gate, or, in all, 

 1,000,000 soldiers. Allowing, at a very low calcula- 

 tion, five inhabitants to every soldier, it would make the 

 city of Thebes, one only in 20,000, to contain 5.000,000 

 of inhabitants. These historical statements of Egypt 

 may be, perhaps, exaggerated, but could not be so far from 

 the facts as to deceive all. We are rather prone to reduce 

 populations below what they actually number. Before the 

 first census of Irelancl, taken in 1812, the English always 

 represented her at less than one half of her numbers. 

 The wonderful works of Ancient Egypt are certain evi- 

 dence of an amount of population not to be equalled to-day 

 by any country, even China comparatively. Probably, at 



