The Iowa transcript. (Toledo, Tama County, Iowa) 1858-1866, 1866-07-25
Foreign Gossip.

1t is stated that Queen Victoria sends a
Geographic dispatch every morning to the
King of Prussia, containing commonly only
these words: "God guide you for the
best"
The 18th Of the group of asteroids
was discovered on the night of June l6, at
Madras, India. The new planet has been
named Sylvia. 1t can only be detected by
very powerful telescopes.
Queen Victoria remarked, recently,
Alice cher daughter) is ruined; for Hesse
has ceased to exist. l have written for her
to come over here; unless che do SO, there
is nothing left for her to do but to 60 to some
cheap place in Switzerland, and live as
economically as she can"
The device of the House of Hapsburg
is the five vowels, A. Z, l, o, U, which the
Emperor Frederick Ill, chooses to interpret:
"Austria Erit Imperatrir Omnis Unirersi. !"
Austria wH be the empress of the whole
world. In the course Of the war, Austria
will probably have often to make use of the
very common device of simple 81 0 u"
The detailed accounts of the fighting in
Ger many, contained in the correspondence
of the English papers, attribute the re-
markable success Of the Prussians to the
superiority Of their arms. The needle gun,
in particular, is mentioned as being very
effective. A military correspondent, who
saw the fighting at Podoli, says that the
Austrians who fell under the fire of infantry
as compared to the Prussians, 6 to /.
The disease called .fe5ris nigrd, or black
death, has appeared in Ireland. Four
cases occurred lately in Dublin, and an in
quest has just been held on an artisan in
Belfast, who, when dying, had deep blotches
and black marks over his body, as if (said
the surgeon who had attended him) he had
been fired at from a short distance with a
blank cartridge. The spots were raised
above the level of the skin, and could be
quite sensibly felt. Death in this instance
was accelerated by drinking. Febris nigra
hss heretofore been almost entirely unknown
in Ireland.
"A letter from Brazilian officer de-
scrihes some Of the beauties Of soldering
in South America: Amphibious crca-
lures abound. In my own tent l have
already killed four snakes. Every morning
find mysclf accompanied by body guard
of fifteen or twenty monstrous toads, which
have frequently spent the night under the
corners OF the hides that serve me as bed.
i1uuihVuS dLSOtoAo YlomCA0NC ACkulUAAy
from lake to lake every night. In Majors
tent, the other day, one was killed that
measured six feet in length, and an unfor-
tunate Brazilian soldier was Unexpectedly
taken off his legs by one Of these horrible
creatures and carried into The nearest lake.
tits stated az a striking instance Of the
forcthought displayed in the Prussian mill
tary preparations, that not only had the War
Office obtained the exact measurement Of
the Saxon railway bridges, but had actually
had the timber required for their recon
s;ruction already prepared and fitted before
the beginning Of the war. As soon, there
fore, as the Saxons had destroyed them,
three hundred carpenters were sent off from
Berlin with the necessary materials, and
had nothing more to do than to put them
together.
The London tea merchants give each
year a prize of $1,000 to the ship that
brings the first new tea TO England. OF
course there is great competition among
the vessels, and this year no less than ten
clippers are to start from Hong Kong and
race all the way to England. Last year
the clipper ship Fiery Cross won the race.
She and the Tapping sailed from Hong
Kong, around the Cape Of Good Hope, aud
into the English Channel, side by side, when
the wind failed, and the fiery Cross, pro-
curing tug, beat her competitor few
hours, accomplishing the voyage in eighty
nine days.
1t is stated in an English paper that at
a late banquet a reporter was sitting direct
~ behind Mr. Disraeli, "taking him down"
in reportorial sense. Tho reporter missed
an important sentance. and somewhat audi
bly, expressed his annoyance. Mr.. Disraeli,
on this, hcsitated in true Parliamentary
style, and very quickly repeated the dropped
sentence No one but the grateful reporter
knew why he did 50. This delicate compli-
ment to the usefulness Of reporters is
worthy Of record, for the great orator was
aware that while assisting an individual to
perform his task, he was also doing SER
vice to the million Of readers who were to
be benefited through the medium Of the re-
porter's pencil and the press.