The Two-Horned Beast, and How He Has "Come Up."
Under such a heading it may be necessary that we first state explicitly that we regard the Two-horned Beast of Rev. xiii, 11, as a symbol of these United States. Having said this, our meaning will be understood, and the force of the following facts appreciated. John saw this beast "coming up" at the time the other beast (Papacy) received a deadly wound by a sword, which was accomplished by Buonaparte in A. D. 1798. How rapidly it has since been coming up the following "Facts about our Country," from the Boston Transcript, will illustrate: "The territorial limits of the United States include somewhat more than one third of the area of the continent of North America. The superficial area of the Union amounts to two millions nine hundred and thirty-six thousand one hundred and sixty-six square miles. At the close of the Revolutionary war in 1783, the limits of the United States did not exceed 820,680 square miles. Louisiana, purchased in 1803, had an extent of 899,579 square miles, or more territory than was included in the original States. By the addition of Florida, Texas and New Mexico, more territory was secured than the whole original extent of the United States, so that since the peace of 1783 the country has increased in size more than three fold. The American Republic has a territorial extent nearly ten times as large as that of Great Britain and France combined. It is one sixth less only than the area covered by the fifty-nine empires, states and republics of Europe. Over two-fifths of the national territory is drained by the Mississippi River and its tributaries. The frontier line of the United States on the British possessions is 3803 miles. This is about the distance between Liverpool and Albany. Massachusetts constitutes one three hundred and eightieth part of the national area. The Territories are larger in extent than the States of the Union, the difference in favor of the former being 7946 square miles. The ten largest States have an area that exceeds by 250,000 square miles, the extent of the other twenty-one States. Seventy per cent of the whole territory of the Union is west of the Mississippi River! The slaveholding States have 851,508 square miles, and the non-slaveholding States, 612,597 square miles. Eight of the largest States have an area as large as the remaining twenty-three States. The New England States have about one-fortieth of the territory included in the Union."