345 



been, and continue to be in operation, governed by the 

 same principles, and regulated b\ similar laws, the 

 same results will naturally follow in the one case as in 

 the other. 



It may not be amiss, however, to observe, in order 

 to give a superficial view of the subject, that Damietta, 

 which in the time of St. Louis, (A. D. 1243,) was a 

 sea-port town, is now more than ten miles from the 

 sea. 



That Fooab, which a little more than three hundred 

 years ago, was at the mouth of the Canopic branch, is 

 now more than seven miles above it. And further, 

 the land between Rosetta and the sea, has gained, in 

 forty years, half a league.* 



From this it appears obvious, that the extension of 

 the lands into the sea has been, and continues to be, 

 in an increased ratio, proportioned to the distance 

 from, or below Thebes, Memphis, or any other fixed 

 point, on the river Nile. 



For instance, the increase of the land between Fooah 

 and the Canopic mouth, in three hundred years, ex- 

 ceeds the gain of five hundred and seventy-six years, 

 (that is, from 1213 to the present time,) in proportion 

 as thirteen and a half miles is to ten ; or nearly as nine 

 is to seven. 



The increase or gain of land, in forty years, ex- 

 ceeds that of three hundred, in proportion as eleven 

 and a quarter miles is to seven. Lastly, the gain of 



* Shaw's Travels, p. 340. 



45 



