Aiter an absence from Shanghai of bout five months, during which she has accomplished a remarkable journey in the less known regions of Szechuan, Ins. Bird Bishop has returned. Anyone more different from the conceptions of a person likely to willingly go through the hardships, exertion, and oven' dangers of travel from a foreign-hating populace than Mrs. Bishop it would he dificult to imagine. Seemingly she is a retiring soft-voiced woman whose silver hair is a Gizeor* to respect amongst all but a Chinese mob, and who has reached a period of life when physical comforts aight be fairly ekpsoted, Bub when she begins to talk, selecting her words with the nicest discrimination, she at once exercises a sort of spell over the listener, making him feel the power of her intellect, and the acuteness of her observatory powers. It is. then recognised that Mrs. Bishop is a wonderful woman, possessing suspected force with which to overcome the most forbidding obstacles. No excuse therefore is needed for recording an hour's conversation on Tuesday, in which Mrs, Bishop related _to a representative of the North-China Herald some of her recent experiences. They cannot be better given than in her our words, "Tleft Shanghai," said Mrs, Bishop, on the 10th of January last for " journey in Szechuan. travelled to Ichang by steamer and then by houseboat to Wanhsien, a distance of about 300 miles and occupying three weeks. T only landed a few times for the purpose of taking a photograph or visit~ ing temple. Then I took an open chair—which is not seen in Szechuan, and was therefore the cause of some trouble—aud started on a journey of 1,200 miles. The end of the first stage was Paoningfu, about 300 miles from Wanhsien, The first thing that impressed me exceedingly was
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.