Stockton Herald, South Durham and Cleveland Advertiser. — 1869-08-06 (Stockton-on-Tees, Cleveland, England)

RUSKIN'S DESCRIPTION OF A BIRD.  740-  We will take the bird first. It is little more than a drift of the air brought into form by plumes; the air is in all its quills, it breathes through its whole frame and flesh, and glows with air in its flying, like a blown flame ; it .rats upon the air. subdues it, surpasses it, outraces it—is the air, conscious of itself, corquering itself, ruling itself. Also, into the throat of the bird is given the voice of the air. All that in the wind itself is weak, wild, useless in sweetness, is knit together in its swig. As we may imagine the wild form of the cloud c,osed into the perfect form of the bird's wings, so the wild voice of the cloud into its ordered and commanded voice ; unwearied, rippling through the clear heavens in its gladness, interpreting all intense passion through the soft spring nights, bursting into acclaim and rapture of choir at daybreak, or lisping and twittering among the boughs and hedges through heat of day, like little winds that only make the cowslip bells shake, and ruffle the petals of the wild rose. Ala , upon the plumes of the bird are put the colours of the sir: on these the gold of the cloud, that cannot be gathered by any covetousness; the rubies of the clouds, that are not the price of Athena, but are Athena; the vermilion of the cioui bar, and the flame of the cloud crest, and the snow of the cloud, and its shadow, and the melted blue of the deep wells of th• 810—all these, svized by the creating spirit, and woven by Athena herself into films and threads of plume; with wave on wave following and fading along breast, and throat, and opened wings, infinite as the dividing of the foam and the sifting of the sea sand—even the white down of the cloud seeming to flutter up between the stronger plumes, seen, but too soft for touch. And so the Spirit of the Air is put into and upon this created form; and it becomes, through twenty centuries, the symbol OI divine help, descending, as the Fire. to speak, but., me the Dove, to bless.—Climen of the Air.  THREATENED ASSASSINATIoN•—Lord Clow. brook received a threatening letter on Friday last, re rpleating him to diarnais his land steward and gardener; it not, he is to he prepared for death. This letter has the representation of a coffin and skull and cross bones. Lord Clonbrook as•embied his employes, and said be was convinced they knew the authors, and pledged himself that if the slightest attempt were made to carry out the threats he would at once, will his family, leave the country, and oryrr.set his foot in it again.  .•. Two railway accidents—one of them of a fatal character—are reported. The first occurred near Edinburgh on Saturday night, when the express train from Carlisle ran into a goods train. Twelve of the passengers were more or less injured—a Manchester merchant named Evans having his nose broken. The accideut which terminated fatally took place on Monday on the high level bridge at Newcastle. A cArriage belonging to a train from Sunderland ran I ff the line and upset, and in attempting to escape by the window Mr Robert Heats, commercial traveller, was crushed to death beneath the falling mass. None of the other passengers were seriously injured. TRAGICAL DEATH OF AN ACTREiS.-3.118e. Lina R—. a young actress, of course beautiful, had turned the heads of numberless officers iii the garrison of Dantgic. As a rule, soldiers are n ore plentifully supplied with courage than money. Recently an officer managed to ruin himself, and one of his comrades, who endorsed his bill, for his love chase. Finding himself unable to meet h,s engagements he attemp:ed suicide, and was successful; his friend followed suit, but did not succeed. A brother officer put the body into a public carriage, and drove To the house of the actress— where Mdlie. was surrounded with admirers. She was so much struck with the sight of the bleeding body of her lover that she was attacked with convulsions. On recovery. she left the town where she had been the cause of so much ui.happiuess, and shortly afterwards died of grief.