Page:Bierce - Collected Works - Volume 09.djvu/59

Rh about to thrust upon your attention. Just keep doubling the number of John Smith's ancestors until you get the number 1,073,741,824. Now when do you suppose it was that Mr. Smith had that number of living ancestors? Make your calculation, allowing 34 years for each time that you have multiplied by two, and you will find that it was about the year 879. It seems a rather modern date and a goodish number of persons to be concerning themselves, however unconsciously, in the begetting of Neighbor John, but that is not "where it hurts." The point is that the number of his ancestors, so far as we have gone, IS about the number of the earth's inhabitants at that date — little and big; white, black, brown, yellow and blue; males, females and girls. I do not care to point out Mr. Smith's presumption in professing himself an Anglo- Saxon — with all that mixed blood in the veins of him; perhaps he has never made this calculation and does not know from just what stock he has the honor to have descended, though truly this distinguished scion of an illustrious race might seem to be justified in calling himself a Son of Earth.

But is he not more than that? In the generation immediately preceding the one under