Daily Kennebec Journal

Iron-clads seem destined to be a source of discomfort and disappointment to all nations who give way to the mania for constructing them. The latest sufferer is Italy. The King and Queen proceeded to Spezzia the other day to assist at the launch of the iron-clad Dandolo. The waters of the magnificent bay were covered with hundreds of crafts of all kinds. The Bishop of Spezzia, wearing his pontifical robes, scattered holy water on the vessel, and the King and Queen dashed a bottle of champagne against its bow. Encouraged by these mingled expressions of good will on the part of church and State, the vessel ought to have made a respectable debut, but instead of that it was no sooner started than it stopped. Two-thirds of the vessel was afloat, but all efforts to induce it to get completely into the water failed, and so the day ended in a disappointment which the King is said to have felt very keenly.